12-13-2018, 05:53 PM
(12-13-2018, 05:05 PM)David Horn Wrote: Lots to cover here, so this will be stripes galore.
(12-13-2018, 12:34 AM)Classic-Xer Wrote: Does entering illegally or staying illegally really matter when we're talking about legality and legal status? Does term honesty really apply to people who are guilty of stuff that most Americans would most likely view as being dishonest or associate with dishonesty?
Yet you, and almost every other person, wants their food sitting in the supermarket and ready to prepare. Most of the people who make that possible are illegals planting and picking crops, working in poultry and meat packing plants and all aspects of the seafood industry. Shall we kick them all out? If so, who preps our food? Then there's the other side: citizens who operate motor vehicles in less than legal manners, who cut corners (cheat) on their taxes, and a myriad of other laws we decide to let go.
C-Xer Wrote:Dude, the politics has already been shifted to one side (you're side). If you haven't noticed, the Republican voters got rid of some opposition to Trump policies and some who were unable to work as Republicans in the house. I can't blame the Trump supporters for not showing up and supporting a Republican candidate who is opposed to using tariffs or failed to deliver on a promise to replace Obamacare with a bill that's focused on lowering healthcare costs or not supporting a party who doesn't seem to be supportive of him. Nope, I'm going to blame them or label them as deplorable or make excuses for the Republican party and so forth.
A few comments:
- The political balance in this country has never been more tilted to the right -- even during the Gilded Age.
- Obamacare may be flawed (it is), but every option the Republicans have put forth make matters dramatically worse -- and voters know that.
- No one is deplorable unless they chose to be.
C-Xer Wrote:So, if illegal immigration primarily benefits wealthy elites and wealthy corporations and proposes a threat to higher wage American workers who are more likely to vote Democratic based on what I've been told by liberals about the makeup of their political base these days. Why are blues opposed to cracking down on illegal immigrants and shoring up border security and tightening up/strengthening our rather lose immigration laws? You're a blue, do you think the money and tax dollars associated with those elites and corporations has something to with their hesitance.
No, illegal immigration has a lot of issues, but it doesn't harm the most highly skilled and educated. That would be the LEGAL immigrants brought in on H-1B visas.
C-Xer Wrote:As far as my hyper patriotism as you say, my support of the American military and American law enforcement, where would you be without them? Would you be living in America and enjoying your liberties and all the modern comforts associated with American life and the Constitutional protections that you have now and often display here?
The GOP uses the military as a political wedge to get money for military spending we don't need and even the Pentagon doesn't want. Again, law enforcement is used for political purposes more than crime-fighting ones. Crime is down but prisons, more often than not PRIVATE prisons, are bursting at the seams. None of this make any sense, unless you see it as a wedge issue to beat you opponents.
C-Xer Wrote:Back in the day, we had two types of teachers. We had teachers who were there to teach and make a living teaching and we had teachers who were there to work as teachers. The teachers who were there to teach were often recognized and often viewed in high regard and remembered as important contributors to our lives and careers. The teachers who there to work and go through the motions associated with their job weren't recognized, weren't viewed in very high regard and most were eventually forgotten. So, I understand why most teachers don't feel they get the recognition and the pay they feel they deserve and so forth. I also understand why most people view most teachers as workers instead of teachers and view them as workers who have rather cozy jobs, a few weeks off for holidays during the school year, several other days off and the entire summer off as well.
Obviously, you don't know any teachers, nor have you taught yourself. Those summer's off are used to work at their third or fourth job to pay the bills. Almost all teachers have side jobs while they teach. And their supposedly short hours are about half the time they actually put in during the school year. Find a few teachers and ask them.
I have to go with C-Xer here but for different reasons. The US has a good thing going for it with a crashing birth rate. Now we need to close the border to get 0 or negative population growth. The population's to damn high. I'd rather take a voluntary population reduction instead of mother earth smacking it down. Always remember and never forget, perpetual growth is the philosophy of a cancer cell. As far as the work done by illegal aliens, well, it the labor supply is shut off, meat packing plants etc. can improve wages and working conditions or just shut down as far as I'm concerned. With that in mind, any company that hires illegals needs a big fat fine and if the violation is too egregious , then the owners go off to jail. These companies really need to just automate their work anyway. That's the best option and they need a swift kick in the ass with a steel toed boot to get going.
Tariffs: Trump is messed up. A VAT/single payer proposal is much better, IMHO.
Teachers, etc. I have lots of kinfolk who are/were teachers. Teaching is not a cozy job. First the pay sucks. Next, you spend a lot of time drawing up lesson plans and grading papers. They also have professional days so they can keep up with what they teach. Finally, they have to put up with kids, some of which aren't that well disciplined. Finally, they have to put up with a lot of political bullshit. You know like dumb ideas of being armed bodyguards.
Crime: Tough on crime bullshit. Doing weed and other victimless crimes should not merit jailtime. We have Oklahoma Republican wahoos that spout this crap all of the time.
Military: What can I say. The defense budge needs to be 10% of what it is now. We co not need our wars of choice nor 800+ bases strewn all over the world. Europe has more people and a higher GDP that we do. Let them take care of themselves. Dissolve NATO. It's time has past.
Russia wants nothing to do with those other Eastern European countries. They're poor, hostile to Russia, and dysfunctional. I see no motive for Russia wanting to invade them.
---Value Added 