Close the Borders

The New York Times (Letter to the Editor) ^ | December 26, 2001 | BRENDA WALKER

[RLK]

Cato Handbook for Congress: Immigration = a bunch of airhead fanatics drunked up on slogans

[grania]

The immigrants that are lowering the average pay are unskilled;

Skilled laborers in technology, medicine, education, also impact salaries.

[doosee]

The premise of "closing the borders" is fantasy land. Making the borders fully secure so that NO illegal people can cross should be the goal. But, in the long run, we live and work in a global economy, so the borders must stay open for commerce to thrive. The day when America has no immigrants who want to come here will be a dark day indeed.

[Joe Boucher]

The dishes man. Who will wash the dishes? Who will dig the ditches? Pick the fruit? Africa is in a coutinual state of being pathetic, I'm suprised America doesn't have a plan to import from there for the low skilled low pay jobs too.

[sarcasm]

Immigration policy must be made on the basis of what is good for the United States - for too long our policy has been determined on the opposite basis - what is good for the immigrant.

[doosee]

Immigration policy must be made on the basis of what is good for the United States

I agree fully. I am a hard liner on who should get in to this great nation even for a short visit. Tom Ridge has received my suggestions on requiring a polygraph exam on every VISA applicant. Many think this is draconian but if we ever want to feel safe on a plane or anywhere for that matter we will have to outdo the Israelis on checking out the incoming.

[TEXICAN II]

Libertarians act & speak as if they have no concern for the consequences of their much vaunted 'philosophy'-morals? who cares ( God is just an invention of failed religions, & their moral codes are soo inconvienient )! Results in our society? Not their concern! Borders, language, culture? Only issues raised by zenophobes & bigots!

Libertarians vagely resemble the commie-lib-socilaists, with their foolish good intentions & the consequences be d---- attitude! What a loud voice from such a small & short-sighted crew.

[IceGirl2]

Not only must the borders be closed here, but in all of the illegals should be shipped out. This will only happen if we work on our Congressmen. Actively participate in their town meetings, go to their local offices, and make yourself known.

The borders must be sealed and no more Moslems should be allowed to immigrate to this country. They have proven that they put their so-called 'religion' above their duties to this country. They will never change and they should not be allowed here. There has been no blanket condemnation of the criminal bin Laden here. There is no indication that their sentiments are in favor of the USA winning this war against terrorism. They continue to support organizations that PAY THE FAMILIES of suicide bombers. They are disgusting.

[TEXICAN II]

The Imperial Federal Government does import from all around the world! You & I pay the costs. Some major contractors ( those who erect buildings, for example ), actually shop for the cheapest labor & import them in groups from specific places.

I have first hand knowledge of the high numbers of such labor & ALSO of the apprx 33% of the graduate students at a major Texas public university who are aliens. I pay for their stinking dorm/apartments, books, tuition & fees. I want this ended immediatly.

Who will do the low-end labor? Pleanty of folks-we might find that a free market works wonders. Imagine employers who pay what the market demands! Sure, costs will go up, but do you suppose we would perish?

[.45MAN]

As more people in an area agree to work for lower wages, the median wage does go down over time. Companys look at what the area is paying in all jobs and adjust's it's raises in accordance. Thus the wages in that area do not keep up with the cost of living, and everyone suffers.

[Joe Boucher]

I asked an official in D.C. once why we are allowing all these aliens in to our military colleges as well as military training sites? Also why so many foreign students in universities. He stated that what we were trying to do is to teach and show our superior way of life. Hopefully they go back to their own homelands and take our vaules with them and have a positive attitude about us. That doesn't say anything about the ones coming strictly for economic purposes. I imagine if I were from Cuba and I had half a chance to come here for a real life I'd try to too.

[mvpel]

"show them our superior way of life..." Yeah, fat lot of good that did for the 19 hijackers of the WTC, Pentagon, and Pennsylvania flights.

How about they come over and see our superior way of life LEGALLY? Gee, what a concept.

I'm a Libertarian, but I will only get on board with the Libertarian ideal of open borders when we achieve the Libertarian ideal of our wallets no longer being looted to pay for socialist welfare-state schemes.

[Joe Boucher]

If you buy the republican line the open borders are an attemt to sway voters as immigrants most often vote and identify as domecRAT. If you buy the Dims they say it's only responsible to let in those poor downtrodden yearning to be free. The people seem to have it right, CLOSE THE BORDERS. I really think the repubs. want illegal immigration as it provides cheap labor also it keeps the masses mad at the immigrants.

[Clemenza]

Socialist Euro-peons would be just as bad for this country, albeit in a different way than illegals from other countries.

Last time I was in France, Germany, England, etc., all had 1. negative native birth rates and 2. High levels of immigration.

F--k Europe. God bless America.

[sarcasm]

Kindergarten issue: one year not enough

ANTA ANA, Calif. - Seeking a dramatic way to spur achievement among their largely immigrant pupils, school officials here are proposing to shore up the early years by establishing a two-year kindergarten.

As states seek to boost their expectations for students, kindergarten increasingly is becoming more academic, with some schools moving to eliminate recess to provide more classroom time and others seeking to retain underachieving pupils who don't appear ready for the first grade.

Many parents now are opting to enroll their children in kindergarten at age 6, believing that the extra year of maturity would help them perform better.

The Santa Ana Unified School District apparently would be the first school system to institute a second year of English-language and academic enrichment for kindergartners who have mastered some basic skills but fallen below expectations in many other areas.

''Kindergarten has come a long way since finger painting, graham crackers, and naps,'' said Mario Cuevas, who has been teaching kindergarten in Santa Ana for seven years.

''I think'' an extra year ''would give them a leg up,'' he added. ''They will be stronger and more confident when they enter first grade.''

The Santa Ana proposal is fueling the heated national debate over early childhood learning: Whether kindergarten should be optional or mandatory, full day or half day, basic or rigorous.

Today's kindergarten resembles the first grade curriculum of 20 years ago, and some educators argue that many children at that age often are not ready to handle the higher demands.

''I'm worried about what we're doing to our children,'' said Harriet Egertson, administrator for early childhood education at the Nebraska Department of Education.

In its 2000 study called ''Unacceptable Trends in Kindergarten Entry and Placement,'' the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education concluded that children who start kindergarten at age 6 do no better than their peers who started at 5.

''A lot of measures don't accomplish what people think,'' Egertson added. ''We'd be better off if we moved back in time to what we once considered appropriate for this age group.''

Alan Simpson, spokesman for the National Association for the Education of Young Children, said, ''Any good lesson can be taken too far. A well-designed kindergarten should be developmental, taking into account where children are in their development and that they learn at different paces.''

Like many urban school systems, the Santa Ana district is coping with several educational barriers: 85 percent of students live in poverty, 75 percent have a primary language other than English, and 75 percent have parents who never graduated from high school.

District officials say many pupils enter kindergarten already behind - they never attended preschool, their parents don't read to them, and they don't know English well - and that one year is not enough time to catch up.

Rather than retaining pupils, many early childhood experts prefer prekindergarten programs and full-time kindergarten to boost achievement levels. Georgia and New York are among the handful of states offering free universal preschool programs.

The Santa Ana school board is expected to vote on the proposal soon. In the meantime, principals are establishing their own programs to help kindergarten pupils. At Lowell Elementary School, where nearly 100 percent of the pupils speak another language and are low-income, teachers have established an after-school program that offers parents English classes as well as instruction on how to improve their children's achievement.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

toenail FYI #56

sarcasm:
thought you might find toenail's post linked below of interst.In Sweden they have no kindergarten and kids start school at sevan.

The Public School Nightmare:
Why fix a system designed to destroy individual thought?