patrick.net

I do have to say that when I had rentals I never had a section 8 inquiry from someone who did not sound Spanish. I hope you guys appreciate the fact that I never did, nor will I ever rent to a section 8.

God that graphic is funny.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposition_187

Wow... what a complicated backstory:

Governor Pete Wilson was a prominent supporter. Opponents included State Senator Art Torres, who referred to Prop. 187 as "the last gasp of white America in California." The proposition came before voters on the November 8, 1994 general election, where it received 59% of the vote. It became law the next day. While its prominent advocates were political conservatives, some liberals (such as Los Angeles-based radio talk-show host Tom Leykis) also favored it, on the grounds that making life more difficult for illegal immigrants might result in fewer of them entering the state, creating labor shortages which could drive up wages for the lowest-paid workers. Meanwhile, some prominent conservatives, like businessman and failed GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron Unz, opposed the initiative.

There is one section of the 15 by Lake Hodges that would bring the whole N Co of San Diego to a hault if it were compromised. There are NO surface streets to get around this bottleneck. I'm just reading that 4/29 stuff, never thought it was deliberate, but I have thought that a deliberate attack on this particular stretch would do to San Diego what that fire did to SF.

The best compromise is a combination of guest worker program, elimination of minimum wage, and strong immigration enforcement.

The first two items will make the last one politically acceptable.

We should put a sombrero and a black mustache on that alien, heh heh heh.

http://www.429truth.com/

:lol:

The most foolish thing you can do in a society where the law means nothing is to follow the law.

HARM, Now ain't that the truth. Unfortunately, we're more or less in that situation when it comes to both the housing/credit bubble (not partaking in the free sketchy money) and illegal immigration.

Peter, all of those good suggestions are for naught if immigration policy doesn't start with a leak proof border. I can't figure out what political forces are at work but something as obvious as this somehow doesn't get general support, and it wouldn't even cost that much. It really pisses me off.

I worked in England for a summer and the visa form asked me to indicate my race. The choices were:

white
black
asian
irish

I kid you not. I felt like an Arab arriving at JFK.

Patrick

Betty is a piece of crap.

these are supposedly "very very dear" friends of hers, yet her letter if full of venom for these friends. And she seems to be debating ratting them out on some sort of loan fraud. Do you know betty that before the patriot act, you didn't need a social to buy a house? and maybe they had a cousin or friend buy the house, in which case there is no identity theft. YOU didn't see the loan docs, so you really don't know anything... But we can see how you think, and I feel sorry that these friends have someone as pathetic as you for a friend.

Their home buying is non of your business. In fact, I speak fluent spanish and portuguese, and my wife is from venezuela. I can assure you if you anybody asked me how i got my social or how i afford my homes, I would tell them/you mind your own damn business.

HARM,
I am no fan of corn-based ethanol (which arguably consumes more energy than it “produces”, so is actually more of an energy sink, not a viable energy source).
I will argue that it is net energy positive (although not by much). It is important also to note, that ethanol production is mainly a means of converting coal and natural gas to a readily transportable liquid fuel that can be used in todays vehicles. In another words, even if it is energy negative, there is still a case to be made for it (although it will have nasty CO2 emissions). I tend to favor UC Berkeley's meta-study which is a spreadsheet model that synthesizes the data from 6 independent ethanol studies. I am very curious how this will effect the corn-based food industrial complex which produces many of todays processed foods and animal feed. I know some farmers are already are starting to complain about higher feed prices. Hmmm.... grass for grazing -- how old school -- is starting to look better and better.

Hey Skibum, was watching some YouTube yesterday, and saw what we were talking about. Literally dozens of rich foreigners going to China for organ transplants knowing full well they are harvested from executions. I can twist this to the current topic because it is funny how we object to foreigners coming here and taking social services, but somehow it is ok because we have money to go overseas where the death penalty is literally being enforced by supply and demand of organs. I am getting more and more careful who I look down my nose at.

Peter, all of those good suggestions are for naught if immigration policy doesn’t start with a leak proof border.

I somewhat agree. This is why the border needs to be militarized. I still think interior enforcement is a good deterrent though, although it also leads to privacy issues.

I can’t figure out what political forces are at work but something as obvious as this somehow doesn’t get general support, and it wouldn’t even cost that much. It really pisses me off.

Politically, there is no way enforcement can be carried out without some kind of compromise for businesses and illegals. The guest worker program is necessarily. Employers can still have access to labor and illegals can be legalized as non-immigrants for now.

I'm all for guest workers as you know, I'm talking more about the wimps trying to win a voting block by backing off of border enforecment. Amnesty is my new litmus test for candidates.

Malcolm, look at it this way. Is it ethical to waste organs from executed prisoners if they could be used to save people?

The choices were:

white
black
asian
irish

So in Britain, "Irish" is considered "other than white". Wow.

Peter, I've concluded the same thing, however, China is the kind of place that will up the death penalty if there is enough demand for organs. This makes it an unethical practice.

So in Britain, “Irish” is considered “other than white”. Wow.

Perhaps there is a choice for A and D, and All of the above.

Patrick, you're cracking me up.

I can't believe it, they made me feel like a nigger, how dare they?

Peter, I’ve concluded the same thing, however, China is the kind of place that will up the death penalty if there is enough demand for organs.

If they merely speed up execution for existing convictions, it is all fine. But if they convict more people that would not have been sentenced to death, we are in a moral gray zone (80% gray).

I went to England for a year in high school, and yes, the same polock jokes are told about the Irish, but I had no idea that they literally distinguish on forms.

Peter, it's getting that bad.

Politically, there is no way enforcement can be carried out without some kind of compromise for businesses and illegals. The guest worker program is necessarily. Employers can still have access to labor and illegals can be legalized as non-immigrants for now.

I agree there's no practical way to deport 10-15 million people to their countries of origin. 30-some years of deliberate non-enforcement has definitely had an impact. Even so, any "compromise" measure that wants my support has to start with two things:
1) Real border security starting now --period.
2) Violations against people/employers who hire illegals must be enforced going forward. We basically don't fine or prosecute anyone for doing this now, which means zero disincentive for them to keep doing it.

Malcolm,

That doesn't surprise me about those who go to China knowing they'll be getting the kidney/heart/whatever from a prisoner. Humans will go to desperate measures when their lives are at stake. It's a sick form of supply and demand, enabled by the Chinese government.

Where I disagree with Peter P is that the ethical question is beyond "wast(ing) organs from executed prisoners." This places a moral hazard on the government to execute more and more prisoners for money.

To get back to the immigration issue, that's my beef with all this talk about reform - most proposed solutions present a severe moral hazard. Come here illegally because we'll let you stay in the end. Same with the credit cards, car insurance for illegals. Wrong.

Hey Harm, what about employers who 'check the paperwork' with a wink knowing it is false, but because they fill out the I9 form they are never prosecuted.

Skibum, literally doctors are setting appointments around the Chinese national day, because as part of the ceremony many prisoners, some guilty of drug usage, are executed.

Patrick, if it helps any, Ireland is going through a boom, and English people are going over there, taking menial work in areas like construction.

1) Real border security starting now –period.
2) Violations against people/employers who hire illegals must be enforced going forward. We basically don’t fine or prosecute anyone for doing this now, which means zero disincentive for them to keep doing it.

HARM, I agree.

I do not know how anyone can oppose border militarization with a straight face.

Peter, the problem is they don't. They don't oppose it when the camera is on them, but somehow a few months later when it is no longer a hot issue no tanks ever show up. Remember that stupid Bush proposal for the National Guard to go, and then Mexico said they were going to call us names or something, now I don't ever hear anything about the National Guard on the border. My favorite quote from some AOL message board was, "so let me get this straight, we are sending 5,000 troops to NOT patrol the border?"

Hey Harm, what about employers who ‘check the paperwork’ with a wink knowing it is false, but because they fill out the I9 form they are never prosecuted.

Yup. Perhaps some form of tough-to-counterfeit national ID card is in order.

Bush actually said, the National Guard is going down there but will not be enforcing the border. WTF?

They don’t oppose it when the camera is on them, but somehow a few months later when it is no longer a hot issue no tanks ever show up.

We do not even need tanks. Just a three-layer, 20-feet fence with UAVs and humvees will go a long way. The scale is much smaller than the Great Wall of China.

How about this... illegals may be legalized if they build the fence for free.

Hey Harm, how about actually putting a photo on the social security card? I like simplicity.

And they all get free health services at any emergency room.

One thing though. True emergencies should not be denied care regardless.

I'd even consider putting land mines along the border but some people might think I'm a little extreme.

I’d even consider putting land mines along the border but some people might think I’m a little extreme.

Only if the mine field is protected by 20-feet fences. We do not want accidents. I am a humanitarian and I believe tragedies should be avoided if at all possible.

Every time a land mine goes off we could check the organ donor waiting list though. Wow, I just came up with like three solutions to different problems in one go.

I'd pay for the warning sign to be written in Spanish.

Every time a land mine goes off we could check the organ donor waiting list though.

What is left might not be what you want...