tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19671848.post1107842041493746049..comments2023-11-03T08:23:55.100-04:00Comments on Global Review: Bachmann the PhariseeMacro Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01735930711259574574noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19671848.post-70905218296931963142011-11-02T14:54:39.597-04:002011-11-02T14:54:39.597-04:00Roman citizenship was very different than legal re...Roman citizenship was very different than legal residence. And the later emperors often welcomed barbarian immigrants. Sometimes they regretted it later, but they did welcome and settle them in underpopulated areas.<br /><br />And you're right about my approach: we have to open more legitimate avenues to immigration or there is going to be illegal immigration. You can't flog your way out of this problem.Macro Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01735930711259574574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19671848.post-38932758177878230742011-11-02T14:09:20.162-04:002011-11-02T14:09:20.162-04:00I think you're conflating two questions--that ...I think you're conflating two questions--that of what we want our legal immigration rules to be and whether we in fact want to wink and nod at illegal immigration.<br /><br />While you may be right about the 19th century (and I suspect that European admixture wasn't as liberal as the Americas were, since Europe had a glut of unskilled laborers they wanted to offload), that isn't the truth during the classical era. The Romans had a class of person called the dediticii, which included the barbarians. You didn't get the blessings of citizenship without giving something important to Rome--either your body as a soldier, or your wealth, or your land. In fact, until very recently, it was accepted that the influx of barbarians into the Roman empire caused its downfall. Although my intellectual superiors cavil at this, I still believe it to be in large part true, since Rome had the same problem utilizing unskilled labor that we have here today.<br /><br />Also, although the Deuteronomy passage certainly argues for treating the alien in our midst with compassion, it doesn't suggest throwing the doors open to him.Carol Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17235225263627779324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19671848.post-41483933083385275752011-11-02T10:26:27.758-04:002011-11-02T10:26:27.758-04:00The best solution to crime is to liberalize legal ...The best solution to crime is to liberalize legal immigration. Then we can track of most of the foreigners living here, and deport them if they commit felonies. They'll have an incentive to keep clean noses and work hard.<br /><br />By contrast, now we try to defy the laws of supply and demand, so we keep out people who place a high value on tranquility, family, and honesty.<br /><br />If we liberalized immigration today, and continued to penalize employers who hire illegals (i.e. to avoid paying taxes), then the illegals would quickly become unemployed, and go home. We've already seen a decrease in illegal immigrants during the Great Recession.Macro Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01735930711259574574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19671848.post-31696128997814435362011-11-02T10:23:07.116-04:002011-11-02T10:23:07.116-04:00Yes, and legal immigration would allow a greater m...Yes, and legal immigration would allow a greater mix of immigrants. That would preserve our national identity as a melting pot: if your co-workers are from India, Laos, Tibet, Siberia, Yemen, Chad, Angola, Brazil, and Santa Lucia, you've gotta learn English!<br /><br />Also, you're simply wrong about the idea that countries have "always" had immigration restrictions. That wasn't the case until the 19th century. Before that, population was (accurately) viewed as a strength, and immigration was encouraged - throughout the ancient world, the middle ages, etc. Notions of national purity are a fiction of modern times, and fed the great evils of our time.Macro Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01735930711259574574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19671848.post-54385421952120203922011-11-02T09:56:56.057-04:002011-11-02T09:56:56.057-04:00My great-uncle was turned back at the border for ...My great-uncle was turned back at the border for having bad papers in the Twenties, so we're no stranger to the problems of immigration. No nation has ever had open borders, including us. Every nation titers immigration as a method of maintaining national identity, preventing dissolution of common values, and (yes) economic self-determination.<br /><br />In addition, there's the issue that the porous southern border creates a massive crime problem in the US. Something like 27% of criminals in Federal prisons are foreign nationals, and in Texas border county prisons, something like 34%. None of them are there for immigration violations; they're there because they committed other crimes.<br /><br />If we want to argue that Central Americans should have precedence over others, I'm fine with that. But there are people all over the world wanting to come here, and we have to have an orderly process of choosing among them.Carol Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17235225263627779324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19671848.post-3786388594606475172011-11-02T08:21:57.078-04:002011-11-02T08:21:57.078-04:00Why enforce the border? Why not allow legal immigr...Why enforce the border? Why not allow legal immigration to large numbers of immigrants? That's how my family arrived here from various countries. Illegal immigration is about supply and demand, not crime. By keeping the honest poor out, we've selected those who are willing to break at least one law. Sowing the wind, indeed.Macro Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01735930711259574574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19671848.post-60947395583862414052011-11-02T08:04:56.741-04:002011-11-02T08:04:56.741-04:00None of that would be a problem if we enforced the...None of that would be a problem if we enforced the borders in the first place. Tiny Albion, NY is a community that doesn’t see murder for years on end, but is located in apple country in Orleans County. It had its second murder by an illegal alien this year.<br /><br />We’ve used illegal aliens as slave laborers for two generations, separating them from their wives and children. Meaning that the current generation of illegal migrant workers was raised without fathers. We’ve sown the wind, and now we reap the whirlwind.Carol Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17235225263627779324noreply@blogger.com