I am one of those Canadians who moved to the US. In 1967 to Buffalo, New York with my parents & siblings. At age 14. We were "legal" resident aliens and ALL became US citizens ASAP. I have been a profligate user of American benefits ever since, starting with public transportation to high school and college scholarships to 3 (!) New York State Universities and Colleges. Along the way I have belonged to public employee unions my entire career. Those scholarships gave me an excellent education. I was a public employee for two school districts and a NYS agency for more than 40 years combined. Thanks to those unions my family always had decent healthcare benefits and I was able to afford to send my two kids to public colleges too. And I've always paid taxes at a middle income range. Now, I collect Social Security and use "regular" Medicare. And I VOTE. What a loser, eh?
You said it all. thanks! I worked for over 30 years and now retired and living on my earned Social Security. It really bothers me when politicians crow that it's running out of money and it's because they keep "borrowing" from it.
There are migration routes that wildlife species traverse between the borders of the nations but once again, life and the balance of life supporting habitats doesn't even enter their conversation.
Why would any human consider wildlife habitat as even remotely important, not to mention tribal nations which exist on both sides of the border with Mexico. A wall would prevent them from engaging with relatives on the other side, and would also prohibit visits to sacred areas.
Interesting! Nikki must not remember that our illustrious former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker once proposed a wall on the Canadian border and was laughed out of the room. It was one of the nails in the coffin for his presidential campaign.
My wife and I moved from New England to Minnesota fifty years ago and love living here. In the winter, we enjoy using snowshoes, and one of our favorite places for them is a small lake on the Gunflint Trail between Canada and the US. Half the time, we are in Canada, and half the time we are in the US, and no one cares!
The morons will never stop as long as people fall for the scare tactics. Rational thought flies out the window when fear sets in. Not only are corporations not interested in closing our borders (as Jenny pointed out), but the free exchange of goods and services is one of the bedrocks of capitalism, which Repubs pretend to believe in. Interrupt trade routes to keep out Canadian - and other - terrorists? Huh? Just let them try. Their funding will dry up fast. But why wait for that? Vote them out of office NOW! Maureen, be sure to get your adult kids to vote in every election!
Walls do not work. They never have and they never will. I see nothing wrong with imigration but but it should be legal and for that to work we need to fix our system.
Robert Reich recently said: "Immigration has been good for America. As the median age of Americans continues to rise, we’ll need more young people from around the world."
I would like to replicate my reply to him and his readership about one of the main reasons migration needs to be controlled for environmental and not business/political reasons.
Yes, immigration has been good for the US if you neglect the inequity of the process. If you're educated and wanted by industry and willing to accept a slightly lower salary, sign up to be one of the 85,000 allowed to immigrate annually through the H1-B program. If you are strong and healthy with little education and willing to do hard labor for peanuts, we readily welcome you to work our agricultural fields.
Then there is the issue of native carrying capacity or sustainability of our US population. Considering water availability, fertile soils, etc. it has been estimated that we started to exceed a sustainable population of around 210 million in the 1970s. Currently we are at 342 million and growing annually at 1.8 million per year of which 940,000 are immigrants.
THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE AND SHOULD BE THE MAIN REASON TO LIMIT IMMIGRATION NUMBERS.
Can I eat jalapenos but not become a Texan? I like hot peppers. I have no desire to be corrupted by the crazy Texan politicos we read about.
It will take just one good sized tornado to put an end to any border wall these nutters will build. What a waste of money! We could use the money to make an investment in the migrants instead!
As it is geographically proximate, it might be worth reflecting on the sad state of the Colorado River as relates to southern-border immigration. The river is so over-exploited because of human population growth that--as I understand it--it is sometimes barely a trickle. I know that most immigrants, legal and otherwise, are desperately trying to improve their economic situation and escape misery; I wish them prosperity and peace. When I was a kid the population of the U.S. was 180 million, now it is (as noted below) over 340 million. The U.S. land mass cannot absorb continued mass immigration indefinitely. Additional millions more won't help the environment and is unsustainable.
The GOP is nothing more than the Fear Mongering Arm of our government. They would be happy to wall off the entire United States from the rest of the world so that they could live peacefully in their world of fairies and unicorns completely ignorant of the fact that the US is as dependent on the world as the world is dependent upon us.
I am one of those Canadians who moved to the US. In 1967 to Buffalo, New York with my parents & siblings. At age 14. We were "legal" resident aliens and ALL became US citizens ASAP. I have been a profligate user of American benefits ever since, starting with public transportation to high school and college scholarships to 3 (!) New York State Universities and Colleges. Along the way I have belonged to public employee unions my entire career. Those scholarships gave me an excellent education. I was a public employee for two school districts and a NYS agency for more than 40 years combined. Thanks to those unions my family always had decent healthcare benefits and I was able to afford to send my two kids to public colleges too. And I've always paid taxes at a middle income range. Now, I collect Social Security and use "regular" Medicare. And I VOTE. What a loser, eh?
You said it all. thanks! I worked for over 30 years and now retired and living on my earned Social Security. It really bothers me when politicians crow that it's running out of money and it's because they keep "borrowing" from it.
Yea!!! I am glad you are here!
There are migration routes that wildlife species traverse between the borders of the nations but once again, life and the balance of life supporting habitats doesn't even enter their conversation.
Why would any human consider wildlife habitat as even remotely important, not to mention tribal nations which exist on both sides of the border with Mexico. A wall would prevent them from engaging with relatives on the other side, and would also prohibit visits to sacred areas.
The nonsense never ends! How do these morons look in the mirror and not be embarrassed by their reflection?
Exactly!!! But why oh why do we have to look at their reflections. Ban them instead of books!
1) Only the Republican governor on the southern border can't seem to manage. The three Democrats seem to be doing fine.
2) The Gaza situation has clearly demonstrated the futility of these silly - and expensive - walls.
3) This is the country that pilloried the Soviet Union for decades about the Iron Curtain?
4) "Invasion" is a loaded word used for political purposes.
5) The republicans are trying to distract the electorate from their bungling.
6) We have hundreds of U.S., Asian, and European companies operating in Mexico. Naive people think you can just "shut down the border."
I don't believe the big corporations want to keep out immigrants..........they need them to work for despicable wages.
Who are the corporations along the US Border?
Interesting! Nikki must not remember that our illustrious former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker once proposed a wall on the Canadian border and was laughed out of the room. It was one of the nails in the coffin for his presidential campaign.
My wife and I moved from New England to Minnesota fifty years ago and love living here. In the winter, we enjoy using snowshoes, and one of our favorite places for them is a small lake on the Gunflint Trail between Canada and the US. Half the time, we are in Canada, and half the time we are in the US, and no one cares!
Lloyd A. Wells. M.D.
The morons will never stop as long as people fall for the scare tactics. Rational thought flies out the window when fear sets in. Not only are corporations not interested in closing our borders (as Jenny pointed out), but the free exchange of goods and services is one of the bedrocks of capitalism, which Repubs pretend to believe in. Interrupt trade routes to keep out Canadian - and other - terrorists? Huh? Just let them try. Their funding will dry up fast. But why wait for that? Vote them out of office NOW! Maureen, be sure to get your adult kids to vote in every election!
Walls can prevent escape as well as intrusion. Could they have that in mind as well?
Walls do not work. They never have and they never will. I see nothing wrong with imigration but but it should be legal and for that to work we need to fix our system.
Robert Reich recently said: "Immigration has been good for America. As the median age of Americans continues to rise, we’ll need more young people from around the world."
I would like to replicate my reply to him and his readership about one of the main reasons migration needs to be controlled for environmental and not business/political reasons.
Yes, immigration has been good for the US if you neglect the inequity of the process. If you're educated and wanted by industry and willing to accept a slightly lower salary, sign up to be one of the 85,000 allowed to immigrate annually through the H1-B program. If you are strong and healthy with little education and willing to do hard labor for peanuts, we readily welcome you to work our agricultural fields.
Then there is the issue of native carrying capacity or sustainability of our US population. Considering water availability, fertile soils, etc. it has been estimated that we started to exceed a sustainable population of around 210 million in the 1970s. Currently we are at 342 million and growing annually at 1.8 million per year of which 940,000 are immigrants.
THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE AND SHOULD BE THE MAIN REASON TO LIMIT IMMIGRATION NUMBERS.
Can I eat jalapenos but not become a Texan? I like hot peppers. I have no desire to be corrupted by the crazy Texan politicos we read about.
It will take just one good sized tornado to put an end to any border wall these nutters will build. What a waste of money! We could use the money to make an investment in the migrants instead!
As it is geographically proximate, it might be worth reflecting on the sad state of the Colorado River as relates to southern-border immigration. The river is so over-exploited because of human population growth that--as I understand it--it is sometimes barely a trickle. I know that most immigrants, legal and otherwise, are desperately trying to improve their economic situation and escape misery; I wish them prosperity and peace. When I was a kid the population of the U.S. was 180 million, now it is (as noted below) over 340 million. The U.S. land mass cannot absorb continued mass immigration indefinitely. Additional millions more won't help the environment and is unsustainable.
The GOP is nothing more than the Fear Mongering Arm of our government. They would be happy to wall off the entire United States from the rest of the world so that they could live peacefully in their world of fairies and unicorns completely ignorant of the fact that the US is as dependent on the world as the world is dependent upon us.
Fear is a factor the Republicans know how to exploit....explaining the rise of the "orange turd".
Love that commentary! I'm still laughing!