COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The Dream Act - You Pay - They Dream




Hat Tip: Hot Air

Last chance: DREAM Act vote coming tomorrow


POSTED AT 4:21 PM ON DECEMBER 17, 2010 BY ALLAHPUNDIT

The thinking all along has been that they’ll fall a few votes short, that squishy Republicans like Snowe and red-state Democrats like McCaskill and Tester won’t dare tempt fate by backing an amnesty when they’re up in 2012. Don’t take failure for granted, though: The House made the bill a bit more appealing by scaling back some of the crappier provisions, and the collapse of the pork-packed omnibus spending bill last night gives centrists some added cover to gamble on this. They’ll be in a “historic” mindset anyway tomorrow if, as expected, the DADT repeal finally goes through, and it is, after all, just a week before Christmas. Maybe they’ll walk into the chamber tomorrow thinking: This year,why not give the gift of amnesty?

Jeff Sessions is circulating a list of 10 problems with the bill, but all you really need is Kaus’s closing argument. Pure and simple: “DREAM is all amnesty, no prevention.” If it goes through, border enforcers have handed over a key bargaining chip in some later comprehensive reform deal in return for a little bit of jack and a whole lot of squat.

Many DREAM opponents also want take care of these “kids” (or former kids) by making them legal. Mark Krikorian, the anti-amnesty advocate whom I cite most, wants to take care of them. Even Roy Beck of Numbers USA seems to want to take care of them. But there is a way to do it that minimizes the unwanted long-term side effects of encouraging future illegal immigration from parents now living in other countries (who’d understandably like their kids to be made Americans, too), which would set the stage for another amnesty, which in turn would build up a constituency for the next amnesty in a cycle that doesn’t seem to have any end point.

And there is a way to do it that maximizes those long-term effects, by maximizing the number of immigrants who would be covered by DREAM, by offering no effective way to combat fraudulent applications, by creating rules so complex they’ll collapse of the own weight, by passing the bill in a wave of ethnic passion and recklessly including no additional enforcement measures. That’s the bill they’ll vote on Saturday.

You’ve heard of “comprehensive” reform? DREAM is non-comprehensive reform. It doesn’t even have the basic enforcement provisions—employer sanctions and fancy new ID cards—that were part of the earlier, failed “comprehensive” bargain, which wasn’t a very good bargain (in part because nobody was sure the enforcement schemes wouldn’t be immediately undermined by lawsuits from the same organizations who supported “comprehensive” reform). DREAM is all amnesty, no prevention. Maybe that’s because its backers care about amnesty but not prevention.

Indeed they do, and none so much as their new self-appointed Pope. If you’re looking for offices to call, see Numbers USA’s list; fencesitters are highlighted in red, although you’re probably better off targeting Democrats rather than Republicans. The Maine sisters and Dick Lugar already know the stakes in their upcoming primaries only too well, so reminding them won’t achieve much. Bob Bennett and Voinovich are retiring, so pressure on them won’t work. Better to focus on McCaskill, Tester, Baucus, Kent Conrad, Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Mark Pryor, and Kay Hagan — and, I guess, George LeMieux too, since he’s thinking of running again in Florida in 2012 and might be tempted to pander to Latino voters by switching to yes. Get cracking!

28 comments:

  1. If this passes, it is game match, because there will be an unlimited demand for social services by an unstoppable wave of illegal immigrants, extended families and relatives, future voters all, voting themselves financial benefits and getting them from cowered politicians.

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  2. There is not another country on the planet that would put up with this.

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  3. Gallup shows a poll where a sllim majority accepts the premise of amnesty. I shouldn't be surprised.

    It will mean bigger government and more federal mandates on state budgets. Hide your money.

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  4. Heading North for Their Dream

    "There were 159 inmates who apparently left through the main entrance," an official with the city's penitentiary system said. It was one of the biggest prison escapes in recent years, surpassing the 85 inmates who broke out of a prison in the northern border city of Reynosa in September.

    Between January and September, an estimated 200 prisoners have escaped from prisons in Tamaulipas, where Nuevo Laredo is located, according to the state public security officials.
    The area is the scene of a bloody struggle between two rival drug gangs, the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, according to officials.

    The border area has been the scene of rising lawlessness as drug cartels battle it out among themselves for lucrative smuggling routes into the United States, and with Mexican police and military.

    After news of the break, extra police and troops were brought in to reinforce security at the prison.

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  5. We elected Labrador -- kicked out Minnick -- I don't know what else to do.

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  6. What did Melody whisper in your ear, bob?

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  7. humble

    –adjective
    1.
    not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.
    2.
    having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.: In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble.
    3.
    low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly: of humble origin; a humble home.
    4.
    courteously respectful: In my humble opinion you are wrong.
    5.
    low in height, level, etc.; small in size: a humble member of the galaxy.
    –verb (used with object)
    6.
    to lower in condition, importance, or dignity; abase.
    7.
    to destroy the independence, power, or will of.
    8.
    to make meek: to humble one's heart.

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  8. right·eous
       
    –adjective
    1.
    characterized by uprightness or morality: a righteous observance of the law.
    2.
    morally right or justifiable: righteous indignation.
    3.
    acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous: a righteous and godly person.
    4.
    Slang . absolutely genuine or wonderful: some righteous playing by a jazz great.

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  9. "...to humble one's heart."

    I like that.



    And on the other hand I'd been thinking recently of a young boy or man and his humble aspect in approaching a girl with whom he has fallen in love.

    Brave and humble.

    There's a kind of sanctity in it, not unlike in the story of the Little Drummer Boy.

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  10. Melody whispered "what every man needs to hear."

    Surely this is not something one would forget.

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  11. Give me a break, we're going broke and these jokers are still trying to pass the "Dream Act?"

    The Dream Act is the D.C. version of "California Think". How big is California's budget deficit? $20 billion? For the year, mind you. That is their deficit. Not their debt; their deficit...

    Let's just throw everything open and let the world plunder it all.

    Insanity.

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  12. This is not immigration reform. It's a voter registration drive. It's simple maneuvering for the hearts and minds of the future electorate. Political theatre designed to highlight the differences between the loving, caring Democrats and those mean, tight-fisted Republicans.

    The Democrat party consists of two groups, the party apparatchiks and their sheeple.

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  13. Any bets on it passing? I unfortunately think it will, with some Republican votes.

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  14. And equating military service to going to college is the equivalent of working in a coal mine to going out and buying charcoal for a barbecue.

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  15. With the Senate poised to vote Saturday on legislation offering illegal immigrant students a chance to remain in the country lawfully, one of Capitol Hill's leading advocates for the DREAM Act doesn't like its chances.

    Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said Friday that, while supporters have picked up "a few Republicans" in the Senate, a GOP filibuster will likely sink the bill.

    "It would pass if we would just let democracy work," Gutierrez said, indicating the proposal will win support from a majority of senators, but not the 60 members required to defeat a filibuster.

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  16. Obama Quietly Erasing U.S. Borders

    Dem administration advancing 'North American Union' agenda

    Acting quietly, below the radar of U.S. public opinion and without congressional approval, the Obama administration is implementing a key policy objective of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP, to erase the border with Mexico and Canada.

    The administration is acting under a State Department-declared policy initiative described in a March 23 fact sheet titled "United States-Mexico Partnership: A New Border Vision."
    "Mexico and the United States have a shared interest in creating a 21st century border that promotes the security and prosperity of both countries," the State Department declared.

    "The U.S. and Mexican governments have launched a range of initiatives that challenge the traditional view of 'hold the line' and are developing a framework for a new vision of 21st century border management."

    ---

    The origin of the SPP can be traced to a trilateral summit meeting in Waco, Texas, March 23, 2005, between President George W. Bush, then-Mexican President Vicente Fox and then-Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

    At the end of the Waco summit, the three leaders simply declared that the U.S., Mexico and Canada were now in the Security and Prosperity Partnership, without the signing of any international agreement between the three countries or the ratifying of any trilateral treaty by the U.S. Senate.

    The SPP in the administration of President Bush appeared designed to replicate the steps taken in Europe over a 50-year period following the end of World War II to transform an economic agreement under the European Common Market into a full-fledged regional government, operating as the European Union, with its own currency, the euro, functioning as the sole legitimate currency in what has become known as "the eurozone."

    ---

    Two Californias

    Victor Davis Hanson's tragic account of the conditions on the ground where he and I once enjoyed life in a healthy, diverse, prosperous and productive society.

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  17. The DREAM is DEAD.

    Fails to reach Cloture.

    Buh-bye.

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  18. What did Melody whisper in your ear, bob?

    Not much for a long time, she's really pissed.

    It's mostly all my fault.

    I'm going to the emergency room cause this sweeling above my right ear isn't getting any better.

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  19. .

    Al right Bob quit beating around the bush. Give us the gory details, from the moment you left your house until the police arrived.

    This is getting better with every posted hint you leave. I may turn it into a poem or a noir short story.

    Details por favor.

    .

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  20. .

    The DREAM is DEAD.


    You sure know how to ruin one of Deuce's better streams Ruf...er...I mean Gal.

    Damn Ruf, I never thought you would succumb to the schizophrenia that runs rampant here.

    .

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  21. Secure our borders.

    Offer Mexicans worker green cards, no children will be able to be citizens. register them, tax them.

    IF your a Mexican rapist/felon, immediate arrest and life in prison, if your a real horrible person? Deportation to Gitmo.

    Gitmo? Time for change. No more cable, books, and food choices. MRI's only.

    Make it the modern Alcatraz.

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  22. Damn Ruf, I never thought you would succumb to the schizophrenia that runs rampant here.

    Aw, "Blogger's" got me all bolloxed up, and I don't feel like messing with it right now (I'm Not the most computer-literate person on this blog, you know. In fact, I probably make Bob look like a geek.) :)

    Maybe I'll try to figure it out tomorrow.

    Then again, I wouldn't bet on it. :)

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  23. What is it "every man needs to hear"?

    What did Melody whisper in your ear?

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  24. and in celebration of el Norte thereof:

    Houston police on Friday said they believe at least two of the three robbery suspects killed in a shootout with a jewelry store owner were Hondurans.

    Nelson Wilfredo Tambora-Ramiro, 21, Onilton Bolanos Castillano, 38, and a third suspect who remains unidentified died at the scene of the robbery Thursday at the Castillo Jewelry store in Houston's East End.

    Tambora-Ramiro and Castillano were carrying Honduran identification, HPD spokesman Kese Smith said. But the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has yet to confirm the names or ages of any of the dead men.

    Leticia Zamarripa, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, said a check of the Department of Homeland Security databases using the names and dates of birth provided by Houston police for the two showed no evidence of prior contact with immigration officials.

    They do not appear to have Texas driver's licenses or criminal records in Harris County.

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  25. Think, bob. Think.

    What every man needs to hear is something no man can forget.

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  26. .

    Well, at least Rufus II is better than Galloper. I thought I'd have to start referring to you as Gal, as in "That's right gal, I..."

    You could have picked a better screen name like Wolf Larsen or Blackhawk Down,

    Then it would have been,

    "I have to agree with you Wolf..."

    or

    "Mon Dieu, Blackhawk, the ...."


    Kool Stuff.

    .

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  27. Gallopering Toward Gomorrah.
    Every Socialist's Wetdream Act.

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  28. Ivory Coast Strongman Orders U.N. Out

    ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — The call escalated tensions in the nation, where President Laurent Gbagbo has defied calls to step down since he lost the elections last month. Above, a road in Abidjan was blocked on Saturday.

    Barrack Hussein Gbagbo

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