I think that the actions of this site serves notice and says more about the character of the sites owner and administrators than I ever could in an essay. Fine, I have no pressing need to help fuel the success of a hypocritical web log via my participation to it.

The only alternatives to this would be a state-sponsored economy (national socialism or communism — two sides of the same coin). This is, sadly, what our society seems to be slipping to. It also has the counter effect of fomenting the same exploitation and elitism that you detest.

The other would be a return to the agrarian system, wherein each family, or extended family, grew or made all (or almost all) that they needed. In the words of Andrew Nelson Lytle, “A family farm is not a place to grow wealthy, it is a place to grow corn.”

Still, your assertions are not without merit. But the crass pursuit of profit (that is, at the expense of all else, no matter who one has to hurt or exploit) is foremost a spiritual problem, along with so many of the ills of our society that we often think are impenetrable.

The reality is that everything in life has a tradeoff, including economic systems and constructs. Our system is fueled by the concept of profit, which the creation of often has an offsetting effect, most of which is kept hidden or conserved to the future. There was a time when this nation did not or could not hide the effect of its profit maximization methodology. In other words, the effect was real time, such as what manifested during slavery and “seesaw” economics in which one group profited from the oppressing of other groups. Now globalization has made the oppressed hidden and the moral implication of our profit seeking is steadily eroding the morality of the nation, which will have a tremendous negative toll on the future.

“The massive immigration that is occurring now is not the productive immigration of the past – new immigrants cost us money (as economists have demonstrated) – with low eduction levels, large families, they consume government services beyond the taxes they pay. This is just a fact of life.”

Companies which require manual labor certaintly dont think that way, new immigrants have low education levels, they have large families, but they do not consume more governmental services beyond the amount of taxes plus the amount of profit those employing them obtain.

I’m not saying we don’t have a problem, but the majority of the immigrants are Christians already, and as a Catholic, I know the Catholic church (along with countless Protestant churches) is doing their part already with Latin Americans and Haitians and Eastern Europeans on “welcoming “them” with the Good News of Jesus Christ.” A dear friend and priest we know who works with migrant workers told us stories about holding mass in a double-wide trailer and having to educate the migrants that they are not allowed to just get up during mass (or after, for that matter) and urinate against the walls. He told us stories of walking through the camps at night and being able to literally feel the evil amongst the people, with their impoverished and violent lives, and just how much work on assimilation they really need. The stories of poverty of both pocketbook and spirit are truly mind-boggling. The people are fearful of the government, but they flock to this priest for help; the children confuse him with Jesus. As always, IMHO, the churches do the dirty work amongst the “unwashed.” We, the people, fund much of it, but our holy people of all Christian faiths are in thick of things.

To flip the argument around, it amazes me that our system has been able to continue to support the huge numbers of illegal and legal immigrants. It seems, however, that this is not a new problem, we just happen to be the ones on the “inside” this time instead of on the boats coming to shore. I respect GW for trying to work on this problem; God knows few Presidents have touched such a live wire or opened it for debate. Probably this is because he is from Texas, which bears such a huge burden. However, being from Florida, I can tell you we have huge influxes of legal immigrants (Haitians, Cubans, South Americans, Eastern Europeans – one year my cousin, a teacher, had a big group of Polish immigrant children in her class in South Florida and was at a total loss to handle it), and this can be as much a cross to bear as the illegals.

This isn’t the sort of problem we can just wish away, and it’s also not something we can legislate away – we simply do not have the funds to close the borders and evict everyone not allowed here. We can’t halt the bureaucratic train that has so many illegals getting their matriculation cards and drivers’ licenses, which has given an open door to every Arab terrorist who changes their name to Lopez in Mexico. It’s happening, it has happened, and it will take time and money to change it.

The difference, as I see it, is that the stakes are so very much higher now after 9-11. THAT, in my opinion, is the issue, not the social programs the immigrants receive or the drain on our economy (I still think the numbers are debatable, so much is off the books). I’m all for stepping up security and pushing money into that angle. I just pray every night that GW and those entrusted with our country’s well-being know what in the heck they’re doing.

The massive immigration that is occurring now is not the productive immigration of the past – new immigrants cost us money (as economists have demonstrated) – with low eduction levels, large families, they consume government services beyond the taxes they pay. This is just a fact of life.

This is a small problem compared to lack of assimilation – and I believe this is the point Buchanan is making.

La Shawn is smart enough to appreciate some of Buchanan’s wisdom, often hidden beneath his rants against free trade and his “digs” at “neocons” and Jews.

I am damn near to the point of not allowing them medical attention, or access to welfare if they are illegal with the exception of their children.

I think as harsh as the penal system is on the black men in America in terms of disparate sentences on similar crimes, they should at least be as harsh on people who don’t even legally belong in this nation.

I am not opposed to certain kinds of guest visa’s to get the situation under control though.