October 16, 2009

JT gives Ryan last word on protest, may get protested itself

Protestors the JT covered this week may be targeting Racine's newspaper next week.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the head of the Hispanic-advocacy group Voces de la Frontera, is attacking the paper for refusing to publish a commentary she wrote as a response to Rep. Paul Ryan's commentary published on Thursday's Opinion page.

Neumann-Ortiz is claiming Ryan's commentary contained inaccuracies that Voces de la Frontera hoped to correct.

At issue is Ryan's alleged relationship with the Federation of American Immigration Reform, an organization labeled a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Voces de la Frontera is claiming Ryan granted the organization an interview and appears on their website.

The JT previewed and covered a protest outside of Ryan's office on Tuesday. We had photos of the event, too.

Ryan responded to the protest, and the JT's coverage, in a commentary in Thursday's paper. He said the alleged interview had nothing to do with immigration reform - only health care and football - and wasn't even with someone from FAIR. Here's an exerpt:
We were first made aware of this confusion last week after being contacted by a representative from Voces de la Frontera. We quickly clarified the situation with Voces de la Frontera, and my name was subsequently removed from FAIR's Web site, where it had been incorrectly listed. I was surprised that Voces de la Frontera decided to go forward to protest something that I did not do, but more troubled by the coverage of the event.

[snip]

I understand that there are new pressures to break stories and turn things around at a moment's notice. But I'd ask that in the future, The Journal Times makes certain every effort is made to ensure accuracy prior to publication - and once the facts are made clear, that they are expressed in an even-handed manner.
After reading the commentary, Neumann-Ortiz said Voces de la Frontera drafted their own commentary and asked the JT to run it. The newspaper refused.

Voces de la Frontera is now considering another protest, this time in front of the JT's offices, Neumann-Ortiz said. She said the newspaper's refusal to run their commentary amounted to censorship, and that the newspaper should allow Voces de la Frontera's commentary as a matter of fairness.

After the JT refused to publish the commentary, Neumann-Ortiz sent it to RacinePost. The commentary is published below.

For what it's worth, it appears a couple of issues fanned this fire's flame. First, if we take Ryan at his word, then it appears FAIR overstated his involvement in a recent "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" event. Ryan said he only talked about health care legislation, not immigration reform, though his name was proudly listed on FAIR's website as an example of the group's influence on immigration issues.

Second, Voces de la Frontera used the reference to point out Ryan's record on immigration, which they oppose.

Third, the initial JT story didn't include Ryan's explanation of his appearance at the FAIR event. Ryan's office was closed Monday because of Columbus Day.

Fourth, the JT gave Ryan free space to further explain his side of the story even though reporter Paul Sloth explained the issue well in a story covering the protest. This, in turn, created reasonable expectation in Voces de la Frontera that they would get unfettered access to the Opinion page to explain their concerns about Ryan's stance on immigration reform.

The JT, which has an exclusive deal to publish Ryan's commentaries, decided to give Ryan the last word on the issue. Voces de la Frontera, which is good at organizing protests, appears determined to not let that happen.

Here's the commentary the JT declined to publish:

Voces de la Frontera responds to Congressman Ryan’s editorial

Voces de la Frontera is pleased that Congressman Paul Ryan has disassociated himself from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a Washington DC organization widely recognized as a hate group.

Mr. Ryan’s statement on the matter, however, is inaccurate when it alleges that Voces de la Frontera was advised of this by his office prior to the rally. That is simply not true.

It is also important to recognize that the Journal Times cannot be held accountable for the fact that Congressman Ryan’s name was listed on the event website of the organizers as a participant, whose “…presence at Hold Their Feet to the Fire is also a recognition of the important role that FAIR plays in the immigration policy debate.” At this time his name still has not been removed. This raises serious questions about Congressman Ryan’s position on immigration reform and his relationship to this anti-American hate group.

Despite this confusion, it would be easier to believe Congressman Ryan’s denial if his position on immigration reform had not shifted over time. He has gone from someone who was willing to engage in an honest dialogue with the immigrant community and who supported comprehensive immigration reform to supporting repressive, anti-democratic legislation like HR 4437. If passed, 4437 would have turned labor unionists, teachers, priests and doctors into felons for not reporting undocumented immigrants to federal authorities.

Many of the students that participated in Saturday’s protest came to ask why Congressman Ryan had turned his back on them by not cosponsoring the DREAM ACT, legislation allowing earned legalization for students aspiring to purse higher education. Besides his co-sponsorship of Ag Jobs this year, which helps agricultural workers achieve legal status, he has to date refused to provide the leadership necessary to move a broader bill forward, that is essential in making Ag Jobs a reality.

Congressman Ryan’s position on immigration reform has shifted from one based on American principals of justice and equality to one that caters to the blindest prejudices.

As a grassroots community organization dedicated to protecting the rights and opportunities of all workers and families in Wisconsin, regardless of race or background, Voce de la Frontera continues to ask Congressman Ryan to sign a pledge affirming his principled stance to not affiliate with hate groups, whether it be FAIR or one of their other front groups.

Moreover, we ask Congressman Ryan to engage in a constructive dialogue aimed at passing the DREAM ACT this year. Our goal remains: We want Congressman Ryan to work with the immigrant community to secure immigration reform legislation that protects the rights of workers, keeps families united, and provides an earned path to citizenship.

In closing, we respectfully ask Congressman Ryan to sign the following pledge:
As a representative of the first district of Wisconsin, I pledge to take a stand against hate. Specifically, I will not associate with nor participate in events organized by groups that have been designated as hate or white supremacy groups, which have known alliances with such groups, which accept funding from such groups or that publish materials that are hateful or racist in nature.

Furthermore, I recognize that using the rhetoric of hate in political debate stands in the way of progress on important issues like immigration reform. I will not participate in the scapegoating of immigrants. Instead I commit to working toward practical and humane long term solutions to fix our broken immigration system; solutions which will give undocumented people an earned path to citizenship, protect US and immigrant workers, keep families together and enhance our nation’s safety and security. I commit to work toward building a world that is inclusive of all people and to oppose those who would exclude others just because of their race, religion or sexual orientation.

The struggle for equality and citizenship in this country has a long and proud history beginning with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We are writing our chapter, our future, like every other generation that has come before us seeking a better life in America; Congressman Ryan which side are you on?

91 comments:

  1. Please, if your illegal please go home.

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  2. Maybe the JT refuses to publishe your retort until it has confirmed the allegations this time. If the first story was all a big lie generated by voces, why would the journal print another?

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  3. Voices is a hate group. They should clean up their own house before you judge.

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  4. The JT has an exclusive agreement to publish Ryan's commentaries and as a result never offers a counter-point or even a fact-check to the information Ryan presents. This cozy agreement is irresponsible journalism of the highest order. Whether you side with Voces or not, Mr. Ryan has a large enough public platform to make room for healthy criticism.

    Listen to both sides and then make up your own mind.

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  5. FAIR is well recognized hate group.

    Voces de la Frontera, a low wage worker and immigrant organization, and the students who picketed Congressman Ryan's office should be congratulated for standing up for the long held American principles of justice and equality for all.

    Voces is right to ask Congressman Ryan if he has turned his back on our nation's promise, emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty? "Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
    The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
    I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

    FAIR is an anti-American, hate group and Congressman Ryan should renounce any association with such an organization.





    Congressman Ryan should publically condem

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  6. Voces de la Frontera received plenty of coverage in the JT's and of course the liberal pig Post gave it tremendous coverage. What followed was a response from Ryan which should have been the end of story. How many times do you want this story to go back and forth? Voces de la Frontera should give it up, even though the story should have been put to bed, the liberal pig Post has to keep it going. So pigs Pete and Dustin are you going to go back to Ryan to get another comment? I don't think so. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for this latest Voces de la Frontera protest - the Post would not have covered Ryan's comments at all. How do I know - because I've been asking ever day for the liberal pig Post to run it since the JT's did.

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  7. Hyperbole aside, it does appear Rep. Ryan has shifted his once moderate, favorable position on immigration reform considerably to the right.

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  8. The Journal Times refusal to print a guest commentary from Voces de La Frontera gives us a glimpse of the papers bias. Why would a main stream paper not allow a group whose integrity has been assaulted in their paper be given a chance to respond in the comment section of their paper?After all, it has no reflection of the papers reporting. It would the fair thing to do. Perhaps the Journal Times is having a love affair with Paul Ryan. After all He gets lots of ink in their paper and very little criticism. Or perhaps the Journal Times itself is anti immigrant.

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  9. Please stop with the name calling of Pete and Dustin. You might not always agree with what they write but it is insulting to refer to them as "pigs." These are two men who have stepped up to the plate to give Racine and the surrounding areas another voice, outside of The Journal Times. So anonymous 2:31 what have you done positive for the community? name calling is so easy but to put your nose to the grindstone and do some positive, now that is hard work. Stop with the name calling and let's have a bonafided discussion as to how we can improve the lives of our citizens, irregardless of who they are.
    Keep up the good work Pete and Dustin. You have many supporters.

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  10. I would like to know more about this deal that Paul Ryan cut with the Journal Times. To me, this borders on dangerous. How can they allow a politician to have an entire section of the paper dedicated to whatever they want to say.....without a fact check or verification process? wtf?

    Great deal for Paul Ryan, but terrible deal for Racine. Democrat or Republican - that's not not right. Sure, it is nice that he takes the time to give Racine an update on the goings on in Washington. The problem is that nobody is allowed to challenge it. That's bad for democracy and constitutes media bias. As the JT is the major source of news in Racine, it gives Paul Ryan a tremendous advantage in getting his message out.

    Conservatives would be pulling their hair out and calling the JT a left wing rag (or pigs!) if it was a liberal being given free campaign space on the JT every week. Talk about indoctrination.

    The JT has a responsibility as journalists that isn't being fufilled here. This is just another example. Paul Ryan's section needs to be removed or at least opened up for debate.

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  11. For those who would see conspiracies at each turn, think on this. I went tot he FAIR web site to see the Ref. to Ryan. It was in a list of congress people who attended the event reported by RJT and Racine Post. Then I searched for "Paul Ryan" across all their web site, and found 2 refs. But when I went to the first one, his name did not appear on the site. I found the spot it claimed his name was in, but it wasn't visible to a human eye.

    This has nothing to do with whether FAIR is a "hate group" and how bad that might be or how close Ryan listens to them. He has certainly granted them some credibility, along with the others who attended. And you shouldn't mess with the Southern Poverty Law Center. They are far too familiar with hate, hate groups, and hate crimes.

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  12. As of 4:33 pm, 10/16/09, Paul Ryan's name was included on the FIAR web site: http://www.fairus.org/site/PageNavigator/issues/legislators_at_feet_to_the_fire_2009

    The heading of the piece is, "More than Two Dozen Members of Congress Discuss Immigration Reform at Hold Their Feet to the Fire"

    Anon 4:28 is right - his name is not displayed on a search of the web site, but it is pretty darn prominent on the page noted above.

    Let's see how long it takes FAIR to remove that reference.

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  13. Voces has made a plausible connection between Ryan and this group, he after all, works for us. Asking for an explanation on his connections is not too much to ask.

    I am very troubled about the Journal's refusal to print a commentary that seemed fair enough and asks some good questions of a public servant. When a newspaper will not allow interested individuals to question an elected official particularly if he has stated an error or misrepresented them...well that's not journalism at all.

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  14. This is the amount of incredulous influence the--OPEN BORDER--lobbyists (business power brokers and ethnic zealots)) have on certain Democratic devious rabble? Once again the senate top echelon have huddled secretly (BEHIND CLOSED DOORS), recklessly placing E-Verify worker identification system in jeopardy. The obnoxious R-O-P-E Senate group as its being called on the Internet and nationwide, who are marked as Reid, Obama, Pelosi Emmanuel have indifferently pushed American Workers in the background, allowing the millions of illegal aliens to take their jobs. They have driven into the ground amendments from appearing in the final Homeland Security "conference committee" bill. They eradicated--ANY CHANCE--of a Senate's permanent authorization of the E-Verify program. These sleazy politicians are banqueting on the bones of unemployed US labor, without a second thought.

    They have religiously under-funded, undermined the Senate's mandate to beef up and complete the final 300 mile Mexican border fence. Then again it was never the original border wall as designed by Rep. Duncan Hunter. Illegal Aliens would have first had to scale the--FIRST--fence, run across the two lane highway for the Border Patrol vehicles, then scale an identical--SECOND FENCE. Under funded and weakened just like E-Verify, the police 287(g) arrest and detainment and ceasing the massive ICE raids. Finally the ROPE group strangled the Senate (already) passed ability of countrywide businesses to run their previous hires employees through E-Verify. So you can guess this is a harbinger to drop on the AMERICAN WORKER YET ANOTHER ULTIMATELY EXPENSIVE BLANKET AMNESTY. THOSE TAXPAYERS WILL BE FORCED TO PICK UP A TRILLION DOLLAR TAB. Be advised that Reid D-NV , Pelosi D-CA have one of the largest population of illegal immigrants in the country, who they are subservient too. Remember to expend your frustration and anger at 202-224-3121on your lawmakers. They are juggling with millions of American Workers job lifeline, by pandering to people who shouldn't even be here? Even the federal program 287 g, has been curtailed,for indigenous police. Now they must fall back on state and municipal laws to apprehending illegal foreign nationals. Lets face it US government immigration was never meant to be enforced, such as the original 1986 Simpson/Mazzoli AMNESTY bill. It was rampant with corruption and fraud, carefully manipulated to be use to keep illegal out.

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  15. Sheriff Joe of Maricopa County must now draw his powers from State law, that he has sworn to upheld. But he will be accused of racial profiling and being anti-immigrant. But then we all now that Arizona like California is hardly able to breathe under massive impact of illegal labor and families who squat in each state. Why do we not see through Nancy Pelosi, who hires illegal cheap rate labor in her vineyards and concurs with a bunch of radical Liberal Marxists in Sacramento, who annually explodes the treasury in--SANCTUARY CITY AND STATE--CALIFORNIA, for free handouts for illegal aliens who have settled there. Then they are continuously re-elected in a none verification atmosphere of illegal voters, who just have swamped the ballot rolls. Even ICE has had a Cease and desist order so not able to carry out sweeping raids on dishonest businesses. NOW IF YOU BELIEVE THAT ALL POLITICIANS ARE WORKING FOR AMERICANS? Then I have some prime real estate on the Moon, I can sell you cheap.


    MY SUGGESTION IS DON"T BUY ANY SERVICES FROM BUSINESS THAT DOESN'T DISPLAY THE E-VERIFY PLACARD. Remember the real conniving happens in rooms hidden from the public awareness in conference committees. In addition, Remember Harry Reid as an incumbent Senator who carries the ugly stain of being anti-American Worker, Anti-Sovereignty must not be re-elected. Speaker Pelosi must go? So must Emmanuel? They have proved they cannot be trusted As NUMBERSUSA president says," With no chance now of E-Verify dying in any minute, because they couldn't annul the 3 year extension? The pro-amnesty forces no longer can try to use it as a bargaining chip. States, counties, cities and businesses can now be quite confident that they can set policy based on the E-Verify program being around." IT'S NOT PERMANENT YET NO THANKS TO ROPE. This group has given preference to illegal workers instead of the 15 million authorized AMERICAN WORKERS. COMPREHEND MORE OF THE CORRUPTION THAT CANNOT BE DENIED BY POLITICIANS AT JUDICIAL WATCH. NUMBERSUSA will explain in detail the consequences, that includes the 2010 Census, Health Care, ACORN, Local police alien enforcement, hidden welfare programs, Anchor babies-Birthright citizenship, criminals amongst the illegal immigration occupiers. CAPSWEB for OVERPOPULATION information. Read the immigration enforcement--GRADING--of each and every one of them at NUMBERSUSA. Currently undercover of darkness the Democratic administration is arranging a--SOCIAL SECURITY--totalization agreement between US and Mexico.

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  16. The notion of an “illegal” alien in America is a fairly modern construct with little basis in our history, and it’s pretty much out of sync with our supposed beliefs in freedom and democracy.

    For most of our history, America was open to all comers, and Americans particularly resisted the idea that people should be restricted in where they went, whether it was over the Alleghenies, into Mexican Texas, down to Spanish Florida or over the Rockies to California. It was called Manifest Destiny, and we weren’t too particular about observing the immigration regulations of England, France, Spain, Russia, Mexico, or any of our neighbors.

    There’s nothing more basic in American history than our firm belief in that freedom of movement, to live where you wish to live, to make your way anywhere you want the best you can.

    For white people, anyway.

    My German forebears needed only to sign allegiance to the English King to come to William Penn’s Pennsylvania. It was getting out of the Rhineland that was hard, not getting into America.

    When the state of Wisconsin was established, foreigners only had to signify an intention to become a citizen in order to vote, virtually immediately upon arrival.

    We only started to exclude people, Japanese and Chinese first, in the late 19th century, primarily because of fears of a “yellow peril” from Asia.

    We extended this xenophobic policy to other supposedly “racially inferior” people when a lot of folks from southern and eastern Europe began to arrive, hence the lopsided “national quota” system that favored northern European white immigrants through much of the early 20th century. It took a long time, a couple generations, for many immigrants from those other regions to finally be considered “white,” and thus desirable newcomers, at least by the racist standards of most Americans of the time.

    At about the same time, we made Mexicans and other South American immigrants “illegal” for the first time; ironically, many who already were here!

    There’s a really nasty, racist heritage associated with modern immigration policy.

    It is, in many respects, decidedly un-American.

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  17. My Dad came to America in 1963, by september of 1965 he was able to bring my mother and start taking citizenship classes in Kenosha after several years of my mom and dad became citizens several years later. If my parents had to do it everybody should.

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  18. Anon,

    And practically everybody would, given the chance. Only problem is our restrictive immigration policies prohibit most people from coming in the first place.

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  19. Perhaps many people unfamiliar with our immigration policies don't realize that unless a would-be immigrant has a special skill or is closely related to someone already in the United States, it's nearly impossible for them to get into the country for "legal" permanent residence from overseas.

    And even if somebody's really, really lucky, they'd have to wait anywhere from 7-14 years to get in under the quota.

    It's a far cry from the experience of many of our parents and most of our grandparents or great-grandparents.

    Under the current restrictions, only about a million people can enter legally each year. There's another million to million and a half who crash the gate, often risking their lives to get here, because their desire to be part of America is so strong.

    We've always been that shining city on a hill, that magnet for the strong, the independent, who want to share in the American dream.

    But now we slam the door shut on people like that.

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  20. No one's ever come to America because it's easy, because it's not.

    The immigrant experience of yore - work hard for a generation, sometimes two generations - learn English, go to school, perhaps found a business, all for the promise that maybe your children, or your children's children will make a better life for themselves.

    America's hard. Only the strongest, fittest and most enthusiastic come here, "legal" or "illegal."

    The reluctant or lazy ... well, they stay home.

    I'm always struck by the reaction to America from many of my friends from other countries - they can't believe the pace here, that people have to work so hard to make it.

    There's opportunity, yes. But you've really got to be good at it to make it in America. The risks are great, but the rewards are considerable, if you're willing to work hard.

    Those are the people who come here, and we should welcome them, not shut them out.

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  21. Thank you Randolph for your thoughts, once again your perspective adds class and a sense of historical levity to this discussion.

    I would like to return this thread to the issue of the JT and their free hand they have given Mr. Ryan to the exclusion of differing opinions. Their own reporters are held to a stricter standard for verifying facts, so it only makes sense they would ask Mr. Ryan to verify his or allow others to at least disagree or clarify factual errors they are not bothering to check.

    I know the Letters to the Editor are people's opinions, otherwise I hope that everything else in the paper is somewhat vetted.

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  22. Thank you, Maggie Rose.

    I’m also struck by the self-created conundrum of creating lower wage pressures by the introduction of “illegal” aliens into the work force.

    If we were smarter, making more immigration “legal,” this problem would, of course, disappear overnight.

    If all immigrant workers were made legal, above board rather than under the table, then minimum wage rates would apply, they’d be eligible for organizing and collective bargaining, and more tax withholding would be forthcoming.

    Instead, we artificially restrict legal immigration, creating an unofficial, cash-only underground labor pool that competes with the legitimate, tax-paying, above-board economy.

    It makes absolutely no sense, unless the real reason is to prevent more people of color from participating freely, openly in the American economy.

    Thus, we cut off our nose to spite our face because of these lingering racial prejudices.

    I'm always astonished at how successfully the power elites manipulate the populace to their own ends, especially when they can appeal to people's racial and ethnic prejudices.

    It's the same phenomenon witnessed during the Civil War when a few rich plantation owners in the South managed to convince the majority of poor whites to support a war to support slavery in which they had no real stake.

    Indeed, it was to their detriment. The slave system substantially depressed wages for free whites, just as the current "illegal" immigrant system depresses wages for everybody now.

    Allow everyone to be subject to the same rules, and the bottom half makes out lots better.

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  23. Oh, and does anybody really believe that mega-billion-dollar agribusiness, the meatpackers and the construction industry are going to countenance deporting millions of their current workers so they can pay a lot more for fewer “American” workers?

    Yeah, I’m sure the politicians they have in their pockets are going to jump right to it. Not!

    The only solution to all this is sane immigration reform with a pathway to legal residency for the millions of workers who now labor at substandard wages, depressing the incomes for everybody else while lining the pockets of the owners that benefit from this modern-day quasi-slave system.

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  24. The term "illegal aliens", as Randolph said, is a relatively new term in the American vocabulary.

    I can not help but believe this is related to the current perfect storm of economic issues we find ourselves in. I just think we are devaluing the efforts of all those who came before us. Those who died to protect the freedoms we fought for over the years to retain. The fundamental meaning of being an American is currently at risk.

    From my perspective, being a senior citizen, being an American when I was a youngster was a whole lot different than what people are trying to make us believe it should be today. It's an oxymoron to use the words "illegal immigrant". That Statue of Liberty still means something important to me because my own parents immigrated to America in the late 1940's from England.

    And just because some idiots in Corporate American lobbied Congress and was successful in getting our jobs moved overseas should not be justification to forget what this country stands for. Nor for the recent stupid bailout of banks with their over zealous bank lobbyists. What a mess that has created for future generations of Americans.

    I suggest you all see the movie "Capitalism: A love affair." There you will learn one huge lesson. Capitalism is not democracy. Why see it? Because it is there you will finally see the connection between the hugely stupid ways of our largest corporations and the seemingly unaware reaction of our citizens to the effects of those decisions. But even worse the lack of spine of our elected legislators to stand up to those corporate lobbyists who wanted the government to bail them out.

    So ultimately, what has that to do with this thread? Everything.

    It is argued that this country doesn't have the resources to fund, for example, health care, unemployment and retirement needs of those who have recently immigrated to our shores. And those who don't understand the big picture complain about how the immigrants are therefore the problem. How sad. They are no more responsible for the lack of resources as your kids are. Greed on the part of the largest corporations are the ones really responsible.

    To fix the issues we are confronted with is going to take generations to repair, if ever. And from what I see it is only going to get worse before it gets better. This is not a proud time to be an American.

    To those who have blindfolds on, go and repeat your uninformed rhetoric. I can already hear you. But realize that the more we disregard the real reasons the more the American way of life will continue to slip though our fingers.

    Rees Roberts

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  25. Rees Roberts,

    Thanks, but I am more optimistic that we will ultimately do the right things.

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  26. Rees Roberts10/17/2009 1:13 AM

    Randolph:

    I sure hope you're correct. But in many ways the perfect storm I spoke of in my earlier post is vastly larger than merely immigration issues.

    We also need to be on top of issues such as Global Climate Change and Peak Oil. These, in addition to immigration, health care and the economy, which are the current crisis's, could stretch this country to exhaustion.

    I just fear, if we have this much discussion and disagreement on immigration and health care then God help us when petroleum begins its relentless decline combined with the stresses to our bread basket heartland of climate change if we do not respond to the warnings.

    Again, I hope you are right. But if we are having this much of a problem arriving at consensus over immigration and health care, I truly fear how people will react to the issues I just spoke of. That is really scary stuff.

    Rees

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  27. "Oh Rees, you're such a fine person. Oh Randolph, I can't tell you enough how good you make me feel. Oh Rees, people like you make life worth living. Oh Randolph, I am so humbled by your kind words. Oh Rees, the world is a far better place because of your presence."

    If you want to pat each other on the back, go have a cup of coffee Dunn Bros, or share a hymnal at Olympia Brown Universalist.

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  28. Dear Randolph, As anybody from Canada or the Western European social democracies will tell you, rank-and-file Americans live to work rather than work to live. How did we become such workaholic fools? Although our sad country's Puritan legacy and silly Victorian Transcendentalist tripe must bear some of the blame, a lot of our misery stems from the oligarchy's sneaky way of luring low-wage foreign-born labor here with rags-to-riches fairy fibs and then forcing us to compete with those brainwashed serfs. Because the plutocrats have been allowed to flood our labor market with desperate immigrants, our workers haven't been able to build themselves the superb social safety net enjoyed by their Canadian and Western European counterparts. In view of our current economic crisis, I propose that our workers organize and demand a ten-year moratorium on all immigration except for humanitarian purposes. All illegal aliens should be rounded up and deported or, at the very least, be banned from gainful employment on American soil. Free trade--the destroyer of our lower-middle class--should be replaced by protectionism. Then, perhaps, the American worker will cease to be an exploited bipedal beaver and join the human race.

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  29. Until we dump the "nation of immigrants" mystique in history's trashcan, the American toiler will remain the laughing stock of the developed, post-industrial world.

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  30. In America, our workers have been so brainwashed and stultified that they don't even know that they're wage slaves and salary serfs. Nope, they're so dumb that they believe in Horatio Alger stories and see themselves as future billionaires.(Nobody else in the developed world is that naive. In Western Europe and Canada, the workers know that they're toilers and realize that the corporate crooks are their enemies. If the present depression inspires our workers to wise up and rise up against their exploiters, it will be worth it.)

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  31. Dear Randolph, Whoever told you that our sorry land is a shining city on a hill was either evil or crazy. America is nothing but the poverty pit of the developed world, a grotesque squirrel cage and rat maze where most of us scramble for the exclusive benefit of our hyper-privileged money-masters.

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  32. When the Waxtrash Corporate Crime Family and its lackeys are tried, convicted and divested of all wealth by the people's government, I'll be proud of our country. Until then, America is nothing but a playpen for big-buck bullies who exploit workers galore, including the illegal wage slaves they entice to our shores.

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  33. If we could convince desperate Third and Second World people that there are NO opportunities in America for anyone other than those who already are rich, the immigration problem would solve itself. Most people--barring criminals and misfits--like their homelands and want to remain there. Take away the Horatio Alger crap and tell prospective immigrants how awful existence for ordinary Americans is and they'll stay home.

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  34. Actually, immigration should have been curtailed or even halted right after the Civil War. Then the newly-emancipated Black people would have had a better chance to rise. What's more, the First Nations and our Southwestern Hispanos would have been able to hang onto more of their land. Finally, our poor and working class Caucasians wouldn't have had to compete with wave after wave of easily-exploited desperate paupers from Europe and the Pacific Rim.

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  35. Immigration creates diverse, dynamic societies which are well-nigh impossible to govern. The economic chaos, racial animosity, and governmental gridlock with which we're afflicted are no accidents. Letting the rich flood the realm with exotic slaves helped destroy the Roman Empire. Allowing the oligarchy to swamp our land with cheap, docile foreign born wage slaves will do the same to America.

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  36. Randolph, I want to move into your house. May I walk in and help myself? Will you feed and support me? I am serious here. I really, really want to live in your house. Your home is much better than my apartment. I believe that I have a right to live up to my potential in your house.

    Again, I am serious here. Do you have a serious reply?

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  37. Orbs,

    If Randy lets you move in, can we film a reality show?

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  38. Dear Randolph, American capitalism compels our ordinary people to work extraordinarily hard for peanuts. Flooding the country with desperate foreign-born serfs is one way the plutocrats keep the American worker down and out. If the immigrants weren't conned into coming here by fairy stories about lush living in America, they'd stay home and stop stealing jobs and depressing wages and working conditions for our people. Until we may obtain a ten-year moratorium on immigration, we can sabotage the richie-poos' cheap labor schemes by turning in every employer we suspect of hiring illegal aliens. Also, we should report every illegal alien to the authorities and let them know which landlords rent to illegals. The frontier era is over, Manifest Destiny is obsolete and the time has come for severe curtailment (if not abolition) of immigration.

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  39. One way to prevent the circulation of false ideas anent existence in this gerbil cage of a country would be to halt the circulation of old TV shows which glamorize this hellish place. Maybe if Second and Third World wage slaves didn't see reruns of "Dynasty" and similar crap, they wouldn't associate the U.S.A. with luxury.

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  40. The same applies to our movie industry. Hollywood's stupid products have played a major role into tricking foreign paupers into moving here.

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  41. There's also a moral and ethical issue involved with immigration. If, as Randolph claims, the strong and the independent people are lured here, America is guilty of depriving Second and Third World countries of the people who could help those lands improve themselves. Because of our filthy rags-to-riches myths, the best and the brightest people are enticed from underdeveloped countries to our shores. People who should be back home building better societies in their lands of origin are here scrambling for pennies and undercutting the wages of our workers in the process. It's time to tell would-be immigrants that Horatio Alger books belong in the fiction section and that they'd be better off using their talents to improve their homelands.

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  42. Free trade must go. Frankly, free trade (which benefits only the rich) brought us the current depression. Protectionism and isolationism plus socialism will end it.

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  43. The internationalism of our elite is downright sickening. Here in The Dumbbell City, we have a corporate crime family whose money-bag members spend more on exotic cranes in Red China than they do on poor American kids. Multi-national corporations and the crass cruds who run them love cheap foreign labor and bring it here to break American workers' unions and lower our toilers' wages.

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  44. Just out of curiousity, how many other senators or congressmen have, and use, the ability to communicate with their constituents on a regular basis? I think it is a good thing that Congressman Ryan has a weekly column in the JT.

    There are so many sources on information these days, that it is good to hear directly from our congressman. That way you don't have to filter out what he means from other sources that have their own agenda.

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  45. I'm really confused about the deal Ryan has with the JT. How can he have any sort of deal with any news outlet? He's supposed to be telling his constituents everything that's public as it happens. That means telling any news outlet/agency that makes any request should have equal access as well as each of us.
    I'm as ticked off about that as anything else in this story.

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  46. Why isn't voices concerned about what ACORN was trying to help do? Why aren't they out there protesting them? They should be concerned about whether those woman got jail time. They should be demanding the whole organization be investigated. Latin child sex slaves should rate high.

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  47. Change the law. Why are we even debating this? It will still be illegal at the end of the day....until it isn't.

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  48. Dear 10:36, One reason you won't find folks from certain countries attacking ACORN's involvement in kiddie prostitution is the sad fact that prostitution and sexual activity at an early age are legal in those underdeveloped lands. For historical and religious reasons, people from such cultures have been taught that girls are nubile (ready for marriage) at age twelve and that men require the services of prostitutes in order to avoid the mortal sin of sodomy. In the cultures we're discussing, the madonna/whore view of women and their role prevails. To people with this mentality, baby brothels aren't that shocking and poor families may even sell a daughter to a pimp to get some cash or have one less mouth to feed.

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  49. At the risk of sounding politically-incorrect, Second and Third World immigrants bring a lot of nasty mental baggage with them. Machismo, family feuds, honor killings, tolerance toward prostitution and culturally-sanctioned sexual exploitation of children are part of the putrid package.

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  50. Okay so it is a cultural thing for them to accept sexual abuse of their daughters. But...Why then all the outrage over an interview? Now they have a moral compass? That is too self serving for my tastes.

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  51. Centuries ago, Spain and Portugal imposed their cultures on certain regions of the Western Hemisphere. Unfortunately, at the time they did this, Spain and Portugal were run by men and token women who accepted prostitution as a fact of life and sold their girls into arranged marriages when they turned twelve. Sometimes their religious leaders gave them dispensations which allowed the girls to become wives at an even earlier age. During that time, the average lifespan in Spain was twenty-seven years. So, to those colonists, what we'd call the sexual abuse of children wasn't seen as all that bad. (Heresy and sodomy were considered more wicked than fornication with prostitutes of any age.) So a certain organization's lack of rage at ACORN's crimes is comprehensible.

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  52. Dear 12:53, Hey, I'm on your side. When I brought up certain groups' culture, I wasn't defending the people in question. At the risk of sounding intolerant, I'll go so far as to state that some aspects of their culture are a menace to our citizens and our values. For example, the sixteenth-century Spanish concept of "point of honor" is still alive and sick in Spain's former colonies. Due to this crazy notion, grown men will avenge perceived insults and defend their "honor" with knives and guns. In some erstwhile Spanish colonies, family feuds fester for generations and take lives galore. Then there's the nasty custom of "honor killing" which North African Muslims imposed on Spain during the Islamic occupation (711-1492). Although it pretty much died out in Spain by 1900, it's still flourishing in some of that nation's ex-colonies. Even today, in some small towns, male relatives of middle class girls who've "scandalized" the community will kill them to "remove the stain" from their precious family honor.(From what I've heard, elite class female transgressors just move to a large city while poor offenders, whose families have no "honor" to uphold, wind up as prostitutes.)

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  53. ^^^^ Seems to me that "point of honor" super-machismo is alive and well here in the U.S. in our urban areas, no? Has society not tolerated that for the last 40 years, calling it "their culture" and such? Where are we now, two and one-half generations of this later?

    Randy, I follow and understand your logic but in order to agree with it I'd have to take a number of large leaps an suppositions. I know your beliefs on this are popular in certain circles and segments of society but that, and the academicians that grow that theory yearly, does not make it correct.

    One only has to look as far as Northern Europe and Scandinavia to see what happens when boarders are/become extremely porous. Open boarders in a country with a strong social safety net, aggressive regulation and a free-wheeling tort system are a recipe for disaster. If at least two of those items are not changed we will become/remain a magnet for those that are content to "just get by". THAT is not what this country was founded on, what grew this country and what drives this country.

    As much as I'd love to visit my motherland- The Netherlands- I do not wish to live there due to the stifling of ingenuity and progress that is foisted upon a society the closer it gets to socialistic economy. Remember, I'm a disabled 41 year old guy who has not been able to work for the last decade due to a work injury. I'd love for my wife to only have to work 33 hours per week and get a mandatory eight weeks of "holiday" but there is now way I'd trade that for the consistent 2x% unemployment, the glass ceilings in improving one's career and lot in life, the social unrest, and/or the high tax rates. As much as I do better in cooler weather, and love the people, those are the same reasons I did not move to Canaduh despite the various opportunities I've had to do so in the past, to a lesser degree obviously.

    Getting back to the story in this article: is that FAIR group listed as a hate group by our Federal Government? The SLPC is not as well respected outside of the far left-wing circles as those in it believe they are; believing everything they put out will get one in just as much trouble as believing everything a Chamber of Commerce puts out. One needs to do some fact-checking to understand where each is coming from and what is not being reported/said by each in order to put the right caveats after their statements.

    Dustin, Pete, Randy(?) care to expound upon this exclusivity that the JT has with Ryan? I know nothing of it but, could it simply be that Ryan has agreed not to submit the same opinion commentary he submits to the JT to other media outlets? If THAT is the case I don't have a problem with it and wouldn't have a problem with Kohl, Fiengold, Pelosi, Ried, or any other politician doing the same. Since the RP threw it out here I believe they have the responsibility in an ethical, social, and fiduciary way, to explain it- not doing so is the definition of "seeing what sticks". Yes, this is a blog but you must admit that it is as much of a personal blog as, say, The Drudge Report is. Don't get too excited, I am not comparing you to them....

    I'll try to stay on top of this thread but am to have a BUSY week so grant me some time-freedom if anyone sees fit to reply to me. Thanks!

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  54. I can't speak for the JT, but it's certainly not strange - indeed, it's typical - for a member of Congress to offer up a regular column for a local daily or weekly newspaper, and for them to print it.

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  55. Dear 11:54 P.M., Why shouldn't people be content to "just get by"? Our economic system gives nothing but pressure and pain to anyone who wasn't born in the privileged class. I'd trade our filthy flail-and-fail free enterprise system for what they've got in the Netherlands in a heartbeat. Wealth caps and a cradle-to-grave social safety net beat scrambling for pennies to enrich the oligarchy any day. As for innovation and creativity, they're vastly over-rated. Although they may entertain the elite, all they do is cause trouble for rank-and-file people. Because of this noxious nonsense, ordinary workers have to re-invent themselves several times during their pathetic lives. A society which provides its people with the basics while reining in the plutocrats is infinitely fairer and more sustainable than corporate capitalism.

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  56. My Irish Dad always said that if I treated other people decently, had enough to "just get by" and managed to stay out of jail I'd be doing fine. It's time we took the Puritans' work ethic and the New England Transcendentalists' tripe to history's dump and built an equitable socio-economic system in our country.

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  57. As long as we have citizens going without the necessities, we shouldn't tolerate billion dollar fortunes and the transmission of mega-wealth via inheritance. Also, as long as we have homelessness in this sad land, NASA and other richie-poos' playpens should be shut down. With all the misery here on earth, we should be helping our fellow man. Believe me, we don't need to visit the moon. The planets, the stars and outer space will do very well without us.

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  58. Mercy toward mankind--not the stinking dollar sign--should prevail.

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  59. Dear PR=PR, The system they've got in The Netherlands sounds like heaven or Utopia to me. Also, I'm sure that most of the wage slaves and salary serfs in this country would prefer it to capitalism. Alas, the oligarchs know this and that's why they block funding for social programs. Deep in their greedy entrepreneurial guts they know that if the average American ever got a taste of the sane and secure lifestyle enjoyed by Western Europeans, the elite wouldn't have any more workaholic drudges to exploit. Once the American toilers learned that they could have work weeks capped at 33 to 38 hours, they'd never go back to being the plutocrats' super-slaves. When Americans work to live instead of living to work, everyone except the treasure tyrants will be better off. God speed the day!

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  60. Dad always told me that there were only two types of liberty worth having--freedom from poverty and freedom from oppression by the privileged class. I'd advise PR=PR to move to The Netherlands, a nation where both of these freedoms prevail. If he really feels sorry for his hardworking wife, he'd relocate and get her the social safety net which every Hollander enjoys.

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  61. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  62. Well it took an hour, but hopefully Randy had a chance to see it.

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  63. Meanwhile, in this sorry land of zero opportunities for anyone who isn't a member of the oligarchy, we should be rounding up and deporting all the illegal aliens. What's more, we ought to turn in every crass crud who hires illegals and boycott any business known to employ them. In view of the abuse which they endure here, the kindest thing a citizen can do for illegals is a phone call to the INS. If it weren't for the lies about non-existent opportunities, most of these wage slaves wouldn't have come here. Returning them to their homelands in a humane way would be an act of mercy.

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  64. However, the solvent criminals who lure illegals here should be punished severely. For starters, the fines should exceed a grand for each violation. Also, the exploitative employers of illegals should receive serious time in prison. I know this sounds Draconian, but--maybe--the loot lords who knowingly and intentionally hire illegals should lose their businesses as well as other assets.

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  65. While we're at it, immigration (except for humanitarian or family-reunification purposes) should be banned for at least a decade. Although the wealthy free traders will howl, we may have to impose a ban on outsourcing and punish existing outsourcers with extra taxes from which non-outsourcing companies would be exempt.

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  66. If the truth were told, we don't need immigrants and haven't had a legitimate reason for their presence since the end of our frontier era in the late eighteen-hundreds. Our native-born workers would have been much better off if they hadn't been made to compete with scads of European and Pacific Rim wage slaves tricked into coming here by the union-busting elite.

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  67. As a life-long victim of America's oligarchs, I can tell immigrants--legal or illegal--that there's NOTHING here for them except chimp chores for chump change plus the hatred of the native-born workforce.

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  68. To anyone familiar with this sorry country, the American dream is a cross between a mirage and a nightmare. My sincere advice to anyone thinking of moving here is DON'T DO IT!

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  69. According to my Irish-American Dad, the biggest mistake his forebears ever made was coming to America. Since the Republic of Eire has low-cost healthcare, free higher education and social programs which make ours look like sick jokes, Dad was right.

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  70. Unless a person is loaded with lucre, America has zilch for him. If we could spread the word about the dreary existence endured by our Yankee wage slaves and salary serfs, maybe the immigrants would stay home and improve their own countries.

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  71. Unless a person is loaded with lucre, America has zilch for him. If we could spread the word about the dreary existence endured by our Yankee wage slaves and salary serfs, maybe the immigrants would stay home and improve their own countries.

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  72. Dear PR=PR, What built this sorry country and what drives it can be summed up in one word: GREED. The fact that this place was founded by British twits who exploited slaves and indentured servants doesn't mean that we have to emulate a pack of avaricious fiends in human form. (Research the so-called Founding Fathers and you'll lose all respect for them fast.)

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  73. If you don't like it here in the U.S. - get the hell out. And 12:17 - with that attitude I can understand why you'll never achieve the American dream Let me tell you from personal experience, it's great you loser!

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  74. America--love it and REFORM IT! The so-called American dream has been a curse not only to our people but the world.

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  75. Dear 2:54 P.M., Who the heck are you to call anyone a "loser"? Did it ever cross your mind that some people don't want to compete in your got-loot game? Believe it or not, some of us aren't greedy.

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  76. Greed and fear are the foundation stones of our filthy system. The avaricious money-mutts who profit from capitalism and force American workers to compete with illegal aliens should be stripped of their American citizenship, divested of their fortunes and deported to the Third World hell pits from which they've recruited their foreign-born wage slaves. If richie-poos knew that exploiting illegals could cost them their Yankee citizenship, their loot and their cushy homes, they'd shape up fast.

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  77. Seriously,the threat of incarceration plus huge fines should rein in the exploiters of illegal aliens. Since most of those private sector privateers are rich or upper-middle class, the mere thought of being behind bars with less-advantaged people should spook them. Then there's the fact that the correctional officers who'd have authority over the imprisoned predators tend to be working class or lower-middle class folks--a fact that should terrify the snooty twits. Combine prison time with substantial financial penalties and the creeps will clean up their act a.s.a.p.

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  78. Of course, if I had my druthers, immigration would have been halted before 1900. Then the Black people and poor Caucasians wouldn't have been forced to compete against literally millions of impoverished, desperate Europeans and Orientals who were tricked into coming here by labor exploiters who filled their simple minds with fables about non-existent opportunities. Frankly, for the well-being of our newly-emancipated Black citizens and our low-income Caucasians, immigration ought to have been strictly curtailed right after the Civil War in 1865.

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  79. Historically speaking, immigration and porous borders produce excessively-diverse societies which are well-nigh impossible to govern. Our polarization and governmental gridlock are no accidents.

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  80. Assuming that I could wave a magic wand, our government would be encouraging foreign-born residents illegal or otherwise to return home. Furthermore, we'd be telling the rest of the world that there's nothing here but misery for any would-be immigrant who isn't already loaded with loot.

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  81. That's the dirty little sick-rat secret of American capitalism: to make money, a person has to have a stash of cash at the beginning or his effort will get him nothing but penury, poverty and pain.

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  82. If we can convince ambitious but poor Third and Second World people that America has nothing for them but misery, they'll stay home and improve their own countries. God speed the day!

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  83. This would be a win-win solution. The Second and Third World workaholics would build better societies in their homelands instead of coming here as sub-minimum wage scab labor detrimental to our American working class,

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  84. But first of all we need strict enforcement of our present immigration laws plus the swift enactment of statutes severely punishing anyone who knowingly employs or harbors an illegal alien.

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  85. Amen! Anyone who knowingly employs or shelters illegal aliens should go to prison.

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  86. Maybe we should cut off foreign aid to countries which dump their surplus population on our soil.

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  87. Amen! In view of America's poverty problem and our soaring national debt, we should scrap foreign aid and concentrate on helping our own citizens.

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  88. Charity should begin at home. Until we wipe out poverty in our land, we ought to concentrate on helping poor American citizens only.

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  89. An advantage of restricting our philanthropy to the U.S.A. and our citizens is oversight. If we work with our own people on our soil under our laws, we'll be able to make sure that funds are used properly. Also, we'll have fewer intercultural issues to deal with here. Assuming we donate cash to a school for girls, we won't have to worry that misogynistic twits will try to shoot the teachers as so frequently happens in certain hell pits overseas.

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  90. In any event, all illegal aliens should be sent home. Perhaps the bills for their repatriation should be sent the cruds who knowingly employ and exploit them.

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