I agree.
I used to work here.
The entire project was completed (in a swamp) in 18 months.
Nuff said.
I agree.
I used to work here.
The entire project was completed (in a swamp) in 18 months.
Nuff said.
The entire project was completed (in a swamp) in 18 months. Nuff said.
bttt!
AFTER:
Very recently I completed a course of instruction presented by the Department of Homeland Security. Here are a couple comments on the material presented. No fence wouldn’t surprise me.
The National Strategy for Homeland Security, reissued October 2007 includes this vision statement:
“A secure Homeland that sustains our way of life as a free, prosperous, and welcoming America.”
The DHS vision presented on their website, - “Preserving our freedoms, protecting America ... we secure our homeland” – obviously differs from this reissued version. The “welcoming America” portion is especially disturbing given the problems on our southern border.
Next we were shown the four segments of domestic incident management, these being Prevention, Protection, Response, and Recovery. Not very different from the strategic goals DHS presents on their website.
The instructor then made an unexpected comment. He stated that “prevention”, though included in the DHS mission, was really a function of the Department of Justice.
DHS also includes on their website an interesting mission statement:
“We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the nation. We will ensure safe and secure borders, welcome lawful immigrants and visitors, and promote the free-flow of commerce.”
Note the differences in the reissued vision and mission – a welcoming America as opposed to welcoming lawful immigrants and visitors; prevent and deter as opposed to prevention is a function of Department of Justice.
Having been in Washington too long, I guess, I stated that if I were a conspiracy theorist these subtle changes could really make my case. My statement was met by silence – what I perceived as hostile silence.
"Voters are looking for a solution - after this era of failing on most major problems - that builds on our immigrant tradition. We believe this is a progressive approach to illegal immigration that Democrats should embrace without apology. It combines acknowledgment of the problem, pragmatic and tough ideas to stem the flow of illegal immigration with a path to citizenship laden with the kinds of requirements that anyone should meet if they are to attain the honor of being an American citizen. This survey confirms the power of this approach with the electorate. The following elements are essential components of a winning national Democratic approach on illegal immigration: * Recognition of the problem: 'get it.' Candidates ignore the issue at their peril. It is essential to convey an appreciation that illegal immigration is out of control and needs to be addressed immediately and seriously. If leaders do not show their own frustration with the problem, they will not be heard on this issue - and many others. * Attack Bush for losing control of the problem. A strong critique of the Bush administration's failure to address this issue shows that we understand the problem and empathize with voters' frustration with the lack of leadership on this issue. * Enforcement at both the border and with employers. Voters believe that controls at the borders and enforcement in the workplace have disappeared, allowing the problem to get out of control. They are particularly angry with companies that are looking for cheap labor, partially explaining why this is happening. * Opposition to non-essential benefits. The public's leading concern about illegal immigration is that the immigrants get access to non-essential government benefits at a time when government spending is squeezed and taxes are a burden. There is strong opposition to Medicaid, taxpayer-subsidized health care, for illegal immigrants. But they are also strongly opposed to drivers' licenses, an implicit recognition of legal status and claim on benefits. * Support for emergency health care and education. Most Americans accept access to emergency health care for illegal immigrants and education through high school for the children of illegal immigrants who are U.S. citizens. * Positive views of new immigrants. Negative attitudes toward immigrants combine with a lot of respect - many in a new survey describing them as 'hard working,' 'family-oriented' and 'trying to be good citizens.' That creates an opening for an inclusive approach, based on America's strength as an immigrant nation. There is strong support, for example, for undocumented immigrants in the U.S. military being able to win nearly immediate citizenship. * Toward a solution: responsibility and a path to citizenship. A large majority of voters support a path to citizenship if we are serious about having to qualify for citizenship: expelling anyone who has committed a crime, others pay a fine and taxes, learn English, and get in the back of the queue. But if voters hear only the part about a path to citizenship without the responsibilities, they do not support this - and punish incumbent Democrats. But if Democrats 'get it' and are very serious about getting the problem under control, including benefits, their leaders can get support for solving this problem in ways consistent with our values. A Deadly Serious Issue With the problem out of control, voters believe immigrants are taking more from the country than they give. The public feels this way when asked only about "immigrants," not even "illegal immigrants." The view that immigrants take more than they contribute is most pronounced among some key demographic segments, including senior citizens and men with no more than a high school education. In congressional battleground districts, a clear majority (54 to 36 percent) believes immigrants take more from the country than they give. That leads almost 40 percent of the voters to say that "immigration is among the country's biggest problems" and reject the idea that immigration does not rank with our top problems, like Iraq, health care and energy independence. This is a top priority for a large bloc of voters and cannot be swept aside. That includes 33 percent of Democrats and 42 percent of African-Americans. When the focus turns to illegal immigrants, public opinion turns more negative. By a more than 2-1 margin, the public thinks illegal immigrants take more benefits such as education and health care than they contribute with work and taxes. Positive Views of Immigration and Immigrants At the same time, however, attitudes toward immigration are not wholly negative. By about two-to-one, voters think immigration is good for America. "