Posted on 07/10/2007 10:00:07 PM PDT by goldstategop
President Bush and his pro-amnesty allies both in and out of Congress suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the American people. Like any other public controversy, there are vested interests served on both sides of the amnesty issue, but I'd like to raise some ordinary non-rocket-science questions to the pro-amnesty crowd, many of whom are my libertarian friends.
Do people, anywhere in the world, have a right to enter the United States irrespective of our laws pertaining to immigration? Unless one wishes to obfuscate, there's a simple "yes" or "no" answer to that question. If a "yes" answer is given, then why should there be any immigration requirements, such as visas, passports and green cards, for anyone who wishes to visit or reside in our country? Why not abolish the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services?
If your answer is "no," one does not have a right to enter the U.S. irrespective of our laws, what does that make a person who does so? Most often we call a person whose behavior violates a law a criminal. If people commit criminal acts, should there be an effort to apprehend and punish them? In general, my answer is yes, with one important exception.
I was summoned for jury duty some years ago, and during voir dire, the attorney asked me whether I could obey the judge's instructions. I answered, "It all depends upon what those instructions are." Irritatingly, the judge asked me to explain myself. I explained that if I were on a jury back in the 1850s, and a person was on trial for violating the Fugitive Slave Act by assisting a runaway slave, I would vote for acquittal regardless of the judge's instructions. The reason is that slavery is unjust and any law supporting it is unjust. Needless to say, I was dismissed from jury duty. While our immigration laws are overly cumbersome and in urgent need of streamlining, they do not violate human rights and should be obeyed.
Many pro-amnesty supporters offer the canard that there are 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants in our country. We cannot keep every illegal immigrant out or expel the ones living here. That might be true, but it is also true that we can't prevent every rape and murder. Does that mean we shouldn't attempt to enforce the laws against rape and murder and try to prosecute the perpetrators?
In addition to greater efforts to secure our borders, there are several non-rocket-science steps we can take. People who are here illegally should be denied access to any social service such as Medicaid, public education and food assistance programs. An exception might be made for temporary emergency medical treatment. In some cities, such as Los Angeles, police are prohibited from asking people they stop about their immigration status. While state and local police shouldn't be turned into federal agents, they shouldn't knowingly conceal criminal acts.
The United States is a nation of immigrants from all over the world. The resulting ethnic mosaic goes a long way toward explaining our greatness as a nation. Immigration has always been a blessing for us, and it still is. But yesteryear's immigration and today's differ in several important respects. For the most part, yesteryear's immigrants came here legally. Because there was no welfare state, we were guaranteed that they'd work as opposed to living off the rest of us. Furthermore, they sought to assimilate and adopt our culture and become Americans. That's not so true today, where Hispanic activists seek to impose their language and culture on the rest of us. At some public schools, they've raised the Mexico flag atop the U.S. flag. They've announced that they seek to take back parts of the U.S. that were formerly Mexico.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Our elites became what they are because in the last 20+ years our elite colleges have been discouraging nationalism, sovereignty and replaced it with international corporatism and globalism. Just sit in on a course taught in colleges that produce our corporate/political elites and you will know what I mean. If America wants to survive they must also need to re adjust the K-12 education system as well as the higher education. Otherwise the seeds of our own destruction will keep sprouting up like weeds within our midst.
Well said.
Meanwhile Bush twiddles his thumbs with K-12 while another generation is screwed with what you described. Schools would spring up all over if they could have vouchers. As it is now, parents either homeschool, private school or public school them. Most get stuck with public school.
“hey must also need to re adjust the K-12 education system”
No chance of that. That ground is held by the enemy.
Another question that should be asked is “why would you expect that anyone who deliberately broke the law to get into the country would respect the law once they got here?”
HAH - perhaps I should remember this the next time I’m called up for JD (I think he meant to say “Irritatedly,” though).
Interesting comment(s).
In fact, Milton Friedman wrote about the very issue you’re raising back in 1955: “The Role of Government in Education.”
The problem is that the teacher unions and the school administrations have a contrived monopoly on education.
It’s tough to break a monopoly. I once thought about this issue back in the 1990’s when I was a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. And, all I would get is responses like "you're an idiot."
In short, it’s a waste of time because political pressure and opportunism supersedes rational thought (e.g. see Chubb and Moe, Markets and American Schools).
Demand a border fence! Build it NOW!! Beef up the border patrol and close our borders!
U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121
U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121
White House comments: (202) 456-1111
Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep
Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Toll free to the US Senate:
1-800-882-2005. (Spanish number)
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Courtesy of a pro-amnesty group, no less!!
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE Washington, D.C. 20003
phone: 202.863.8500 | fax: 202.863.8820 | e-mail: info@gop.com
Take a look at their hidden agenda: http://www.mexica-movement.org
You don't have to get that intellectual to get excused from jury duty, Dr. Williams. Just say "I'm a life member of the NRA."
Or, if you really want to be selected for jury duty, say "I love People Magazine, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and Entertainment Tonight".
‘why should there be any immigration requirements, such as visas, passports and green cards, for anyone who wishes to visit or reside in our country? Why not abolish the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services?’
what tha?
abolish ICE...? say...thats not a bad idea....i say abolish ALL immigration enforcement WORLD wide....peeps should be allowed to roam freely...it’s not natural to be hemmed in an stuff.....people need ..room to roam ...room to let their emotions EXPAAAAND....give the people what they want...
WALTER’s right here as far as he goes ..trouble is he dont go near FAR enough....
he’s far but not FAR OUT.....
SEE how u like dis homer...
i feel if we all crossed each other’s borders... hugged and held hands sang some coca cola songs kumbayad the hell out of each other....and then outlawed firearms then well then we’d all be safe global world wide love bunnys, hand in hand just a happily hippity hoppin down the bunny trails...of our lives.
we could give to each other according to our abilities and receive from each other according to our needs....
i bet none of this aint never been tried before and i bet it’d work if it WAS tried....
i’ve put my philosophy down in a song i wrote with ringo and some others..i hope that you will like...it.
all together now!
imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
i feel better now....and say ‘GOOD DAY’ to you.
GOOD DAY!
and
kumbaya
!
“If people commit criminal acts, should there be an effort to apprehend and punish them?”
Depends. Sometimes we commute their sentences.
This was an excellent discussion of immigration by Dr. Williams and I completely agree with everything said in that regard.
Unfortunately, Dr. Williams allowed himself a distracting and very wrong-headed diversion.
I agree that he was right in what he said he would have done if he had been a juror sitting in a case brought under the Fugitive Slave Act. What he said he would have done was to commit an act of jury nullification.
This was a matter before the courts 150 years ago. Notwithstanding the rare occasions on which a citizen should ignore the law and judge's instructions, our entire jury system depends on the general willingness of citizens to follow the law. Dr. Williams needlessly, and without a great moral wrong on the table, baited the judge into questions that made it impossible to seat Dr. Williams to do his duty as a citizen-juror.
Intellectuals act like this sometimes. And, when they don't have editors, they sometimes write like this. I really did, though, like all of what Dr. Williams said that was on topic, i.e. about immigration.
I can support amnesty for some illegals under certain circumstances (i.e. mercy is good) but amnesty-as-a-right for everybody is a disaster.
And I still can't understand why we conservatives fail to go after the ripe fruit.
Why haven't we sought to repeal (that's REPEAL, not pass) this aspect of the Civil Rights law that prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of the ability to speak English?
Why hasn't any "conservative" proposed an amendement to the Constitution saying "It shall read all persons born of citizens of the United States or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside"?
Milton Friedman was a fine man - miss him ... .
In any event, it can be changed. It takes work and effort. Hey, if Belgium has the money follow the kid so can we. Belgium has SCHOOL CHOICE.
You know that Walter Williams is libertarian don’t you? Are you also aware that like Walter Williams, most libertarians are not in favor of unlimited emigration?
As long as the US operates as a welfare state, unlimited emigration is simply stupid, like Bush.
Globalism in itself is benign. It is simply the result of advanced technology. What the socialist want to do is turn us all into their own image.
And just for the record, Dr. Williams should have done what I do when I'm called for jury duty and get asked that same stupid question.
I just smile and say "Sure".
Then if I think the law is stupid, I can vote not to convict.
Jury nullification is a sacred duty and judges who toss jurors off for stating what the law actually is should be impeached.
L
ping
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