Hanaguma

So... Reagan WAS actually falling apart in public, but it just was ignored? I don't get your meaning.

I don't recall Reagan trying to shake phantom hands, or being bullied by the Easter Bunny, or misbronouncing his worms, or being unable to complete a sentence, or worrying that he will "get in trouble" if he talks to reporters, or dodging the media so studiously. Other than that, I can see your point.

Again the need to compare to Trump..... is he really so important to you? But thank you for at least admitting the the current occupant of the White House is "diminished". That is a good first step.

It would help a lot if BOTH sides would be clear on what their positions were. The President's spokeswoman studiously avoided answering the question when put to her by Fox News' Peter Doocy. Same as most Democratic politicians when asked- they refuse to give direct answers. Instead, they either fall back on the tired bromide of supporting "a woman's right to choose" or deflecting the queston by instead talking about what some GOP candidate wants to do. In Arizona, the law signed by the governor would ban most abortions after 15 weeks. This is a reasonable position that would probably satisfy most Americans if polling data is to be believed.

So interesting how a topic about the current president and his very real troubles can be so readily sidetracked into yet more ranting about the Bad Orange Man. Deflection is the sincerest form of flattery. Either the Democrats fear Trump so much, or have such little faith in Biden. Not sure which is correct. Again, anyone can see the serious cognitive decline in the President. Interesting that when Democrats were concerned about John McCain's age (he was 72) it was legitimate. Yet now, somehow, it is a taboo subject and one to be avoided at all costs.

I would have no trouble with doing both simultaneously. But again both are things that the federal government should do. And neither are happening now. There are literally thousands of people coming across every day with no resistance from the government. The most basic principle of national identity is to have secure borders. Then work on stiffer employment laws. Then 'encourage' employers to hire legal residents and citizens.

The obvious first step is to control the border. Second is to rapidly return people across it. Third is for the Congress to do their job instead of grandstanding and blowing smoke. The state governors are somewhat at the mercy of the feds. I agree that they could take stronger action, wish they would to be honest. But the simple fact is that controlling the border is a federal responsibility, and they are NOT doing it. Immigration is a job for Washington to do, and they are failing. Everything stems from that initial problem. Biden has had control of both houses of Congress for 2 years and has done nothing at all on the issue. How about taking half the extra money the IRS is getting and using it to upgrade the CBP and hire more agents? Nah, never happen with this government.

The gentleman in the case here is obviously cherrypicked as a "best case scenario" for purposes of sympathy and to match up with the political agenda of the reporters. Good father just trying to support his son, that kind of thing. Hardly the typical case for illegal immigrants. Unless you consider identity theft, tax evasion, driving without a license, and so on to all be beneath worry. Plus the usual crimes of property, violence and drugs that get committed by everyone. Bottom line is that there would be ZERO crimes committed by them if illegal aliens were not permitted to stay in the country. Release them into the public to await hearings and you are allowing crime that doesn't need to happen. The crime stats are all over the place, especially because local/state jurisdictions do not keep the stats on the immigration status of people arrested/convicted. The federal government does.

uhhhh.... ok? Not sure what you are trying to get at here and how relevant it is to the problem of illegal immigration.

Hard to believe they are willing to "respect the laws" when their very first act is to BREAK the law. Not sure what election results have to do with the topic- AFAIK non citizens are not allowed to vote. I suspect you are making another snarky attempt to inject your irrational fear of the Bad Orange Man into the discussion. They are free to work their behinds off and pay their taxes in THEIR OWN countries, apply for legal admission to the US (as thousands do every year) and wait their turn. Each job an illegal migrant takes is another job that is not available to a legal resident, and another small bump downwards in wages for the most vulnerable Americans (especially BIPOC).

Personally, I would be angry at the feckless squishes in Congress who have been studiously ignoring this issue since the Reagan administration. Lots of fear and so on at Martha's Vinyard last week. They couldn't wait to get the nasty brown people off their lawns and safely far away.

Exactly. What he is doing is/should be illegal, but I don't have any anger about it. Unlike many progressive types, we on the right have the ability to separate our feelings from politics.

You misunderstand, not angry with him at all. He took advantage of a broken system and is doing what he has to do to feed his son. But the point is that the system IS broken. He shouldn't be able to swim the Rio Grande and then be rewarded with a work permit, free housing, etc. The blame is with Congress for not doing their most basic job, which is to secure the country.

American dream, with a free bus ride, free housing, etc. He is earning about $2500 a month before taxes. How will he fare in DC once he has to pay his own rent, food, and so on. And he wants to get a car- does he have a drivers licence? The fact that he left a child behind in Venezuela speaks against his being a genuine asylee. More like an economic migrant obviously.

Such an excellent example, why did he not apply for a visa from his home country? Would have saved him a long and dangerous, not to say expensive, trip. Solidly middle class guy, business owner, in no way is he an asylum seeker.

You must be joking. ORourke hasn't run so much as a lemonade stand in his entire sad life.

...and what would your "comprehensive immigration reform bill" include? You may be shocked to find that lots of right wing folks agree with you!

It is, which means there are myriad housing possibilities for the migrants. 15,000 year round residents which of course swells in the summer. The locals were very welcoming indeed, agreeing to help the Venezualans OUT....of their town. Fifty visitors should be a snap. Small towns in Texas and Arizona get hundreds every day. According to the signs everywhere on the island, they "stand with refugees and immigrants"... as long as they don't have to live together.

But of course, the liberal media is marinating in ecstatic paroxysms of righteous rage. Anyway, looks like the Vineyard people were able to send the unwanted brown folks on their way within 48 hours. Nowhere to stay on the island, you know. No facilities. It is a wonder that ANYONE manages to eke out an existence in such a foresaken place.

I am sure the families of the 700 plus murder victims and 11,000 rape victims will be comforted in that knowledge. The simple fact is that those crimes would not have occurred at all without the presence of the "undocumented". They should not have been in the country in the first place.

If you have money to invest, then invest it in something reliable from a country with a good market. Perhaps dividend paying ETFs if you want to generate income, market index based ETFs if you can just leave the money for a few years, hell even t-bills are paying more than 3.5% these days. But real estate in a country you don't live in sounds like a recipe for stress, a stroke, and poverty.

A bit of both really. For many people, the price of their passage to the US is to smuggle in the drugs. In other cases, the two cargos are mixed and sent across the border. The crime numbers are just the ones apprehended by the CBP. Doesnt include other law enforcement agencies. If you want a snapshot of one state, here is Texas... "The latest report from the state of Texas alone, for example, reports that between June 1, 2011, and Nov. 30, 2021, 356,000 criminal aliens were booked into Texas jails, of which over 243,000 were identified as being in the country illegally. Those illegal aliens were charged with more than 401,000 criminal offenses, including 742 murders, 47,737 assaults, 7,524 burglaries, over 11,000 sexual assaults and other sex crimes, and numerous kidnappings, thefts, robberies, and drug and weapons charges." https://www.heritage.org/immigration/commentary/federal-report-shows-open-borders-bring-increased-crimes-and-costs-taxpayers And before you complain that the website is biased, the numbers come from the Texas Dept of Justice.

It has gotten tougher for sure. Yet still the majority are single men- something like 75% of the total. What has changed is the country of origin. More from central America, Brazil and South America, Cuba, etc. Mexico is still the most common, but only about 37% of the total. Mexico certainly was accepting of the other 63% when they were travelling through Mexico to get to the US so it is pretty rich for them to refuse to accept them on the way back. That is why the only safe strategy is to have detainment centres for all, until their cases can be adjudicated. There is no reason to reward illegal behavior by allowing the potential immgrants access to the rest of the country.

I see virtually zero growth for 5 years, followed by a fall that is continuing. If it were such a great place, why is this happening? Like you said, ridiculous housing costs, ditto for gas, tens of thousands of homeless on the streets. The best days for Cali are over. It is declining into the future.

I guess you havent read the stats for internal migration in the US. Florida and Texas are the two most popular states for people to migrate TO. Strangely, the places that are being abandoned are.... California and New York. Wonder why.