Strange Bedfellows

I asked Two-son to go upstairs and wake up his older brother, One-son.  As is his custom with these menial tasks, Two-son decided there were three ways to complete the task:  the right way, the rude way, and the evil way.  He chose evil, (we're working on it, but 'evil' seems to be his default setting).  Before all the hollering and poking of Three-son could wake him, Two-son crawled in bed next to his loving older brother.  As One-son gained consciousness, he found himself looking into the eyes of his archnemisis.  "I slept with you all night.", Two-son sweetly told the alarmed sibling.  One-son lost it; "Get out! Get out now!".  He didn't say exactly how he felt about it, but we did catch him looking online for do-it-yourself fumigants.

I kind of wonder if the Republican Party will not feel the same way after this election cycle.  In an effort to 'ride the wave', they have crawled into bed with the Tea Party movement, and unfortunately have discovered some strange bedfellows.  In amongst some good, honest people are a gaggle of loons who have spent the better part of their lives looking for some place to put a voice to their lunacy.  The democrats found this with the Code-Pinkers and Move-On.org.  In the clear light of day, reasonable democrats felt as if their party had been taken over by wild-eyed zealots (motto: nationalizing private enterprise in a neighborhood near you).

If the republicans want to add longevity to their current momentum, they will co-opt the good ideas in the tea party movement and distance themselves from dumb ones.  It would profit them to remember the saying, "Stupid is stupid, no matter the source.".  

Why Worry About Mexico; the Irish Got in Through Canada

One hundred and sixty years ago, this country was being invaded by immigrants from a place where land ownership was uncommon and most production was consumed by punitive rents and the need to feed one's own family.  It was terrible, not only were they consumed with scurvy, they were catholic.  The blue-blooded protestants ranted and raved about how this changing demographic would destroy the country their ancestors had fought so hard to build.

As the British realized they could not handle the problem, they filled ships with as many Irish as could be squeezed below decks;  not really a problem, because by the voyage's halfway point enough would have died to allow the remaining passengers plenty of elbow room.  Once they arrived in US waters, they weren't allowed to disembark until they had fulfilled a month-long quarantine.  The bright side of this was that yellow fever would generally kill any who survived the trip.  Many ships were sent north to Canada where the provincial government had a designated Irish island to prevent them from infecting the population.  A person reading the opinion pages at the time would quickly have determined that the Irish would eat American children right after they molested them.  It was not a period where accuracy was a valued asset. 

In the thirty years following, these new citizens helped build the transcontinental railroad, fought the indians, and in large numbers were conscripted for the North in the War Between the States.  This American story is important for us to remember as we consider our part in the history being made now.

In attempting to solve the current immigration mess, we must first realize that it is three separate issues:  border crossing in pursuit of work, drug trafficking and the resultant cross-border violence, and the political issues in Mexico and the US which have prevented a rational discussion.

Solutions:

1. Triple the size of the H-2a program.  We are at a competiitve disadvantage to China, India, and any other country with an abundunt and inexpensive labor pool.
2. Then build the darn fence.  If we are letting enough in legally to satisfy our labor needs, we can shut off the cross-desert fun-run.
3. Don't ask our cops to exercise judgement on someone's legal status; let them run the license at traffic stops and if it's bogus, they can do the same thing they always do when a license is bogus.
4. Explain to Mexico that border-town bordellos and tequilla sales do not an economy make.  They must get serious about economic opportunity and reform, or the Uncle Sam foreign aid gravy-train will derail.
5. Effect a one-strike-your-out policy for felons.  Mexico would serve as a great penal colony for their citizens who come north and commit crimes.
6. Tie all social services to legal status; this would ease some of the costs border counties are bearing.  This is not a human rights issue;  no other country awards a social safety net to those overstaying their visa. 

This issue is complicated, but some common-sense actions would do wonders to quell the uprise in moronisity we are currently experiencing.  Let's welcome those who wish to work and contribute to society, and patently reject any who cannot follow our rules.