James R. Rummel – Page 44

Quick to Accuse

March 29, 2006 by James R. Rummel

In an update to my previous post about illegal immigration, I saw a debate televised on CNN that was about this subject. One position was taken by veteran newsman Lou Dobbs, while the other was represented by immigrant advocate Maria Elena Salinas. Keeping in mind that it has been some hours since I’ve seen the program, I’d like to share my impressions.

Dobbs was very clear about his stance. He said that he favored restricting immigration due to a wide variety of concerns. Foremost amongst these was concern for the immigrants themselves, since they are prone to exploitation by employers if they aren’t supposed to be in this country.

And Salinas’ rebuttal? She immediately attacked Dobbs and accused him of being a racist! The basis for her charge was that Dobbs only mentioned the 11 million illegals from Mexico while ignoring the estimated 200,000 illegal immigrants who are here from European countries.

They’re Kidding, Right?

March 29, 2006 by James R. Rummel

Conditions are bad for the Republican Party. They certainly have been stricken with victory disease, that curious mixture of hubris and arrogance that afflicts those who prove that they are better at the game then their opponents. Any reasonable observer would come to the conclusion that the GOP is going to lose control of Congress after the election this year.

Any reasonable observer who doesn’t consider that the Republicans are running against Democrats, that is. No matter how bad they govern, at least no one can accuse the Republicans of being barking mad. I’m not so sure about their opponents.

A Profound Sense of Unease

March 28, 2006 by James R. Rummel

Jonathan has a thoughtful post about the problems that should be discussed in the immigration debate. It is worth your time to read the whole thing. However, I’d like to discuss the 2nd paragraph.

“You also have to add likely enforcement costs into the equation. These include grand abuses of civil liberties, national ID cards (which will be completely ineffective for their ostensible purpose), rampant criminal extortion of employers, etc. How does anyone propose to track down all of those illegals — house-to-house searches?”

Any discussion of enforcement must, by necessity, take in to account the application of force. This is an issue that everyone seems to be ignoring, willfully or otherwise. The reason why is probably because our border guards are already outgunned and certain to lose if there is a confrontation.

The Cleansing Flames

March 25, 2006 by James R. Rummel

Just about any event will cause the price of gasoline to rise here in the United States. Hurricanes, terrorism, the occasional election scandal. It all causes the price at the pumps to jump for a time.

Rioting is becoming a national sport in France, as is arson. So how come the rioters can still afford to buy gas? Wouldn’t the laws of supply and demand dictate that the price would skyrocket considering how much has been used to create such pretty yet smoky light?

And what about the cost of automobiles in France? It could be that the price actually dropped due to volume. The auto companies have to produce more cars in order to replace the ones destroyed by the “protesters”, and the number of people who can afford to buy a new car must be dropping, so did the cost go down?

Just wondering.

It is Better Than Working for a LIving

March 17, 2006 by James R. Rummel

The French government recently passed a law which allows employers to fire their employees if they choose to do so.

Yes, I know. I, too, was shocked when I first heard about it. But then I discovered that the law only applied to workers who were 26 years old or younger, and only if they had been on the job for less than 2 years. Employers can give workers the boot without stating a reason as long as those conditions exist.

Young people aren’t taking this lying down, though. Hundreds of thousands of them have taken to the streets in protest, causing major disruption and even some property damage. So far we haven’t seen as much arson like we did last year in French cities, but it’s possible that it could happen. That would be somewhat ironic since I figure that the favorite target of the protesters (cars) are owned by people who need them to get to work.