Society's Problems

[Aduro Amnis]

They weren't, but ask Chile and Venezula pre-Chavez.

 

[gop_ryan]

Well we fixed our mistake in Chile. Chavez is a leftist.

 

[Aduro Amnis]

Chavez is a leftist.

As am I

 

[gop_ryan]

Yes most tree hunging liberals are leftists/

 

[Aduro Amnis]

Yes most tree hunging liberals are leftists/

Being a 'tree hugging liberal' does not make you a leftist, loving and caring does.

 

[Bizzlebin Imperatoris]

Being a 'tree hugging liberal' does not make you a leftist, loving and caring does.

I took a political test thing and I was about one-third of the way to the left on the x axis and slightly above 0 on the y axis. What does that make me?

 

[Aduro Amnis]

I took a political test thing and I was about one-third of the way to the left on the x axis and slightly above 0 on the y axis. What does that make me?

Slightly loving and caring

 

[Bizzlebin Imperatoris]

Slightly loving and caring

I was in the middle of a somewhat isoscles triangle, Stalin and Hitler being above me, and Ghandi below me. Is that good?

 

[Aduro Amnis]

I was in the middle of a somewhat isoscles triangle, Stalin and Hitler being above me, and Ghandi below me. Is that good?

If you a Dictoral Pseudo-Marxist, Mustache-Wearing Nationalist, Peace-Loving Socialist.

 

[Bizzlebin Imperatoris]

If you a Dictoral Pseudo-Marxist, Mustache-Wearing Nationalist, Peace-Loving Socialist.

Well, I tend to favor theocratic meritocracies.

 

[Philosoft]

Well, I tend to favor theocratic meritocracies.

Is that where the people God likes best get to rule?

 

[Bizzlebin Imperatoris]

Is that where the people God likes best get to rule?

It's hard to say who God likes best; he loves us all.

 

[Russebby]

WORLD
Islamic jihadism (NOTE: TERRORISM IS A MEANS TO AN END, NOTHING ELSE)
Over-reliance on petroleum
Role of United Nations to settle disputes worldwide
Role of United States within United Nations

UNITED STATES
Lack of understanding of root causes of terrorism
Immigration from Mexico
Neo-conservative arrogance and liberal impotence
Rising number of people living in poverty

ARIZONA
Immigration from Mexico
Unwillingness to support increase in property tax
Most underfunded schools in the nation and the test results to match
Drought not taken seriously

Let me know if you want me to elaborate on any of this.

 

[Jennifer615]

Immigration from Mexico

Isn't that a bit racist?!

 

[Aduro Amnis]

Isn't that a bit racist?!

No, not at all.
Illegal immigration is a HUGE problem in America.

 

[ACougar]

There are 3 million illegal imagrants comming across our borders ever year. They just walk across the desert, dozens dying on the trip each year also. Our border patrol is totally ineffective, at the present time in Arizona they are lucky to detain 10% of the illegal imigrants comming through the state.

What the government should be doing is issuing 3 million work visas (if the jobs were not there they wouldn't be comming in the first place) to Mexicans without criminal records and protecting our borders so that terrorists and other types of criminals can't just wander across.

Isn't that a bit racist?!

 

[gop_ryan]

Immigrants come from everywhere. More come from Mexico because it is not as long of a trip.

 

[sanaa]

WORLD

1. israel/palestine
2. pollution
3. fundamentalist islam,conservative christianity, cults
4. kashmir , chechnya
5. poverty, illiteracy, divide between rich and poor nations on utilistation of resources.

INDIA.
1. illiteracy
2. poverty/unemployment
3. kashmir
4. christian missionaries resortin to low and shameful means to convert. destroyin native culture/heritage. robbin people of their roots . spreadin false propaganda ( exceptions to this )
5. outdated laws

 

[Mimi]

World wide
- HIV/AIDS
- War
- polution
- hate crimes

The Netherlands
- Right winged Government
- polution
- healthcare
- education

 

[Russebby]

Immigrants come from everywhere. More come from Mexico because it is not as long of a trip.

Apparently my remark about immigration to the US from Mexico has raised some eyebrows. One considered it racist, another simply dismissed Mexico as one of many nations.

Allow me to not only clarify, but to offer possible solutions.

FIVE REASONS WHY IMMIGRATION FROM MEXICO IS A PROBLEM

1--Because literally millions cross the border every year, a decent chunk of which is done illegally. Thousands go undocumented.

2--These undocumented aliens overburden an already unstable welfare system. By gaining access to health care and assistance while never achieving citizenship, they overtax the system and make it harder for citizens to get the help they need and deserve.

3--While I do not buy the argument that illegal Mexicans take jobs from Americans, I do believe that by using them as cheap labor, American businesses lowball the American work force, driving down wages and thusly driving down taxes and prices. This artifically drops labor costs and the savings can be passed on to the consumer. It becomes a vicious circle--the illegals come for the job, the businesses employ the cheap labor. This might sound fine, but it validates the illegal crossings. At some point Americans will have to consider which is more important--the definition of being an American citizen, or a few cents off of your produce.

4--There is no true single plan for Mexicans to gain American citizenship. It is not as simple as taking a test and swearing on a Bible. Far too much of the process is reliant on judicial review, on getting a judge to hear your plea for citizenship.

5--At least six of the 19 hijackers from 9/11 came to the US from Mexico. And considering how pourous the border remains, I don't think I am paranoid to think more Al Qaeda members have come to America since then from Mexico. When Bush and Neo-cons talk about taking the War on Terror to the Middle East, they are neglecting our soft underbelly, our back door.

Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with Mexicans at all. I live in Arizona, formerly the land of Mexico, and there has always been a large Hispanic community here in Phoenix. I have no problem with acknowledging the necessity to know enough Spanish to get you by, and I wish more Arizonans did so out of respect. I will never bag on somebody trying to better his lot in life, and if he is willing to brave the brutal heat of southern Arizona in August for the sake of picking produce or washing dishes for minimum wage, he has my utmost respect as a human being. That is why I give to charities that put water out for them--I recall Matthew 25 on that one.

But if I had a say on this, I have a few remedies.

FIVE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

1. Streamline the naturalization process. Make the checking process as strict as you like, but have that process more or less set in stone. Judicial review should only be considered for special cases.

2--Enforce the laws already on the books. In Arizona Proposition 200 is on the ballot, written to stop illegal immigration. Sen. John McCain does not endorse the proposition because he thinks it is a federal matter, not a state one; fine, McCain, since you work in Washington, what on the federal level have you done to take care of this? Prop 200 may be more symbolic than actual legislation, but if passed, it will tell our elected leaders once and for all to do something about this, or else the people will take matters into their own hands.

3--One-and-done policy for all businesses hiring illegals. I worked in kitchen here in Phoenix for years, and all that really ever happens is the Maricopa County health board, during inspections, check the business files, and if there are at least as many I-9 forms as employees, all is well, without having to check the actual forms. If stiffer suspensions (not monetary fines, that means nothing to a business unless it overwhelms them) or a death penalty is enforced, businesses will be less likely to employ people that even smell of illegality, and immigration may taper off.

4--Place sanctions on the Mexican government in some fashion. I am not as cold as many Arizonans who believe Vicente Fox is merely pocketing whatever aid we give his country, or that the burden on his government is less if literally millions leave every year. But I do think Fox is just as culpable for creating the problem as the US government is for allowing it to happen.

5--Treat border like a militarized zone. As much as it pains me to think of southern Arizona as a warfront, I do realize there needs to be much more of a show of force on the border. I don't know if we need to build a wall from San Diego to El Paso, not unlike the wall Israel is building to protect itself from the Arab world, but certainly a few guard towers, better roads for military vehicles, and a better integrated system for spotting and capturing illegals is in order.

As I said, I have the utmost respect for any person who comes to America to better himself. But this is a situation created on a policy level. Amnesty pacts dating as far back as the Reagan era have created the present problem. What has Bush done? On one hand he claims to have put a thousand new guards along the border. On the other hand the totalization pact he signed with Mexico has recently become law, which means even illegals can get American Social Security benefits, even if they worked here for just a few months!

All this is why I think immigration from Mexico is an issue that needs to be dealt with, and it floors me how both Bush and Kerry seem completely in the dark on this.

Wednesday night is the third Presidential debate, and it is here in Tempe, on the ASU campus. Kerry so far in his debates has been able to integrate local issues into his debates, so it will be interesting to see if he brings up immigration himself. Bush was formerly the governor of a border state, so he has personal experience on the subject. I do hope the moderator brings the question up.