Is this Land "Your" Land?

Good Afternoon,

Periodically, a movement surfaces and brings with it a wake of change. People become intoxicated with the emotion and idea of initiating change in the face of inequity. Many may jump on board a movement without necessarily understanding where, or what, they are moving towards. So it goes...

Dubya's immigration policy is under the gun of tens of thousand illegal and legal immigrants protesting and marching across the country. Many protesters are viewing this movement as the equivalent of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. However, I don't believe the recognition and disolution of sanctioned discrimination of a minority group that was forced to immigrate to the USA for slavery, is the same as the voluntary illegal immigration of a minority group for a better opportunity to succeed; but what do I know. Viva La Mexico!!!!

So what's it all about? What's all the hub-bub if we let people immigrate (legally or illegally) to work in the USA? Isn't the USA founded by immigrants? Today, we'll talk about this issue; the good, the bad, and the bullshit beliefs.

The Policy at Hand
11.1 million illegal immigrants came to the USA between 1980 and 2005; 40% of which arrived between 2000-2005. We have roughly 299 million people who live in this country, so that makes approximately 3.7% of our population illegal.

Dubya informed us that he would "support a comprehensive bill that would tighten border patrols, toughen the enforcement of laws outlawing employment of undocumented workers, and expand a temporary guest-worker program for both illegal immigrants and legal foreign workers seeking access to the U.S. labor market."

All the recent hub-bub is mainly because the House of Representatives just passed a bill that would make it a felony to work as an illegal immigrant, and would also contract the construction of a 698-mile wall along parts of the Mexican border. You know, you would think that in the 21st century, with all of our fancy electronic pacifiers and mind-numbing vices we could think of a better strategy than an old Chinese guy, Qin Shi Huangdi, who had a similar "Great" idea...

However, in all fairness, I do see that this initiative of "felonizing" illegal immigrants may be a precursor to pursuading them to join the programs (yet to be developed) that may let them work "legally", as well as how the great wall will help our Border Patrol set up kick-ass archers to stop the hoards of illegals from rushing the border! I'm so glad I vote!

The Economy is Falling!!!
Liberal Monkey = "Well, Mexican immigrants are the largest minority in the country and without them, the economy would collapse!"

Oh Dear Chicken Little (liberal?), you make such a intuitively intelligent argument, yet lack much foundation of actual reality!

"less than 5% of the nation's 148 million workers are illegal immigrants,
according to the Pew Hispanic Center. By one estimate, immigrants raise total
economic output by $21.5 billion — equivalent to less than one day of extra
output each year. 'We know that the net benefit of immigration is very small,'
says George Borjas, an economist at Harvard University who specializes in the
subject."

Liberal Monkey = (rebuttal) "Oh yea? Well, what about all the tax money collected from illegal immigrants? They obviously aren't filing income tax, so the government can't complain about all that extra cash!"

Strike two my foolish friend! There isn't all that much "extra cash" just lining the pockets of the government...

"Experts dispute the cost to government of illegal immigrants. Between 55% and 65% of illegal migrants have income and Social Security taxes withheld from their pay, says Jeffrey Passel of the Pew Hispanic Center. Those who buy or rent homes also pay property taxes. In communities that impose sales taxes, they pay those, too. The Center for Immigration Studies, which seeks tighter immigration controls, says each illegal household costs the federal government $2,700 annually. But Passel says other estimates show a small net benefit to society."

The Work & The Workers
"Historically, the contributions of the Irish, Germans, Italians, Mexicans and other groups to the American edifice are essential elements of the national belief system. Immigrants labored, often under harsh conditions, in New England paper mills, Midwestern steel plants and along the transcontinental railroads."

Not suprisingly, illegal immigrants aren't "stealing" the same jobs that you and your fellow college peers are competing. However, they are heating up the competition for lower-level jobs that your run of the mill uneducated and unskilled American usually complains about working. The number of unskilled Americans in the workforce are falling as the number of immigrants in the lower-level workforce rises. The following are the industries that immigrants are finding themselves:

21% - Service
19% - Construction
15% - Production, Installation, Repair
12% - Sales, administrative support
10% - Management, business, professional
8% - Transportation, material moving
4% - Farming

Okay, so if the immigrants aren't getting these dream jobs, but obviously better than what they had before; and if the government isn't benefiting from all of the "extra cash" from illegals not filing their income taxes; and the economy isn't getting a huge boost from immigrants; then who's benefiting?

The Rich Get Richer
"Borjas estimates that workers lose $278 billion because of immigration, while employers gain $300 billion. 'There's a huge redistribution away from workers to people who use immigrants. ... That's what people are arguing about,' says Borjas, an immigration specialist."

No shit! The businesses that employ illegal immigrants for cheap labor who won't complain about less than ideal working conditions is making a killing. Yet we are building a "Great Wall of Dubya" and making illegal immigrants felons? Is this really one of the rewards of a capitalistic society?

Questions for your mind to chew on...

First of all, should we even give a shit what 3.7% of illegal immigrants have to say about USA laws or policies?
Afterall, they technically don't have many rights in this country, as they aren't even "legal" citizens! Could they have already caught the inappreciativee sense of deservingness" mentality of the fat, lazy, self-righteous American people? Quick learners, they are....

Do you feel there is any point of making illegal immigrants "felons"?
They're here "illegally" in the first place.... Aren't we pointing the finger at the wrong "evil-doer"? Shouldn't we follow breadcrumb money trail to see who is really to profit from illegal immigrants?.... that would be the "businesses that employ the illegal immigrants" for those of you with severe ADD...

Do any of you have any border security strategies that could perhaps be more effective than the "Great Wall of Dubya?"
Granted, Dubywa is looking to "tighten border patrols, toughen the enforcement of laws outlawing employment of undocumented workers, and expand a temporary guest-worker program for both illegal immigrants and legal foreign workers seeking access to the U.S. labor market." But what do you think would be most effective, as well as WORK?

You know how we do what we do...

All right, click the "comments" link right below to read the responses of others, as well as jot down your own responses. "NO" you don't have to be a member of Blogger to put in your $0.02; Just select "Other" for your identity, type in your name, and post your comments... that's it.... simple as doing the cabbage patch!

One of my sources: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2006-04-10-immigrants-economic-impact_x.htm?csp=34

How many Hitlers does it take...

Shalom!

I would not consider myself a "history buff" in the least. However, I have been fortunate/unfortunate enough in possessing the propensity for understanding the world around me; a nagging curiosity that would have otherwise killed me if I were the proverbial "cat".

With that said, let me just pre-cursor this entry with the fact that I do not have a vast knowledge of the events between WWI and WWII, and that "Adolph Hitler was an extremist obsessed with an unrealistic idealism that lacked a very good foundation of logical reasoning to support it."

However, my focus today is mainly upon one man, his message, the cultural climate that fostered his rise and fall, and the fact that his reincarnation is not only a possibility, but a likelihood.

The Climate
In the vein of Sofia from "Golden Girls"; "Picture it.. Germany, post WWI...." The country is in shambles. WWI for lack of a better term, "whooped that trick!" The German people are poor, defeated, and without hope or inspirational leadership. People are thirsting for someone who can give them an answer to their despair and provide them with light and leadership to rebuilding the future.

The Man
Adolf Hitler always fancied himself an artist. He was a painter and dabbled as an architect, but was rejected from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. His desire for designing fashion and aestheticism would have made him a great cast member of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"; but most likely it would have been called something else, like "Crazy Eye for killing Queer Guys", or something to that extent.

Throughout his life, Adolph was raised a Catholic (where some claim, it was the Jew that turned against Jesus...yadda yadda yadda) and anti-semitic influences from Richard Wagner (a musical composer who was idolized by Hitler), Lanz von Liebenfels, Karl Lueger among others who targeted the Jewish people as scapegoats to their own economic or societal problems. Anyway, without getting too far into the psychological profile of the man, Hitler dropped out of school at 16, lost both of his parents by 21, was rejected from his dream of attending the Vienna Academy of Art, lived the life of the starving artist, and then enlisted into the military when Germany entered WWI.

First Stab at Power:
Post WWI Adolph began to instrumentally work his way into power and became Fuhrer of the Nazi Party, otherwise known as the "National Socialist German Workers Party". Developing his oratory skills and mimicking fascist strategies of Mussolini, Hitler tried to overthrow the German government in 1923; however, some of his supporters turned against him, he was left out to dry, accused of high treason and the government "whooped that trick!"

Second Time's a charm?
After Hitler served less than 1 year of his 5 year sentence, because the courts regarded him as relatively "harmless" after listening to his influential Nationalist ramblings, he worked to re-build the Nazi Party again, but this time with a little longer of a timeline. He built a top-down dictatorship and surrounded himself with "yes men", while hounding on Nationalist ideals that denounced the previously mentioned climate of Germany. After some work and finagling, Adolph finally gained power over Germany in 1933 following the impact of the Great Depression and worked to embeded Nazi party members into every aspect of government and social influence.

The Message
In a nutshell, Hitler's agenda was to re-build a greater and more Utopian Germany. He worked to sell Germans on the ideal of creating a "hygienic society" where art, family, education, and lifestyle are "pure". He believed that man has transcended natural selection by allowing "degenerates" to live. "Degenerates" included the mentally/physically handicapped, homosexuals, and you guessed it.... the Jews!!!! He utilized a huge propaganda initiative including operas, pamphlets, movies, etc. illustrating how these "degenerates" are at the root of all of German, and the world's problems. He promoted the necessity of Euthanasia and Eugenics strategies for "cleansing" Germany, because he believed that the "idiots are taking over" and that by the 1980s (50 years later) that 1 in every 4 people would be defective.

Okay, now that I feel like I've written a short essay (granted, an abridged one), I have some questions for y'all:

What do you think is the formula between cultural conditions and personal characteristics for the incarnation of a "Hitler"?
Granted, I don't have a formula for how a "Hitler" can happen, all I know is that it does, and continues to happen. Look at the Middle East, basically throughout all of Africa, Yugoslavia, etc. How does it happen?

Is ethnic cleansing and the majority of our wars just expressions of human nature that will never go away?
Our last chronicle was on evolution of belief and talked about how people need to make sense of things... given that, have we evolved at all from the times of virgin sacrifice? Isn't it silly to believe that a particular race or belief of certain people is the root of all of our problems and by sacrificing that group, our societies will be utopian?

Do you feel that Hitler was an idealist who had a few good ideas, but just one fucked up methodology of initiating change and development? Hey, I like to throw gasoline on the fire....

All right, click the "comments" link right below to read the responses of others, as well as jot down your own responses. "NO" you don't have to be a member of Blogger to put in your $0.02; Just select "Other" for your identity, type in your name, and post your comments... that's it.... simple as drinking water when you're really thirsty!

I'm going to grab another cup of SUMATRA!!!