[MD] an attempt at sharing good idea

[Andy Skelton]

John wrote:
> Wrong.  I'm an advocate of completely open source governance.  Symbolically
> we'd start by making linux the lingua franca of all governmental computing
> and tell Redmond to kiss our red, white and blue ass.

I can already tell you're writing not a solution but a dream world
with no possible ramp from here to there. I like GNU, dislike software
patents, etc., but if this is how you "start" solving the immigration
problem...

> I don't blanche and quake at national databases.
> It sounds to me like you been hanging around too many fundamentalists, Andy.
>  I ain't proposin' no "mark of the beast" card.

Is this how you try to convince me? By aligning me with people we
agree are idiots? You'd better say that with a smiley. Otherwise you
concede the moral high-ground so easily it's almost enough to write
you off. And I really liked how quickly you caught that I had failed
to mention the human rights issue.

> The penalties for hiring undocumented
> workers would be draconian - definitionally equivalent to subborning
> terrorism.  All workers have to carry and present their cards, and anyone
> with internet access could view an online data base aligning pictures and
> cards.  Thumbprints are also good verification that prevent forgeries.

Okay, now I can definitely write you off. I have to carry a card
merely to offer my services in exchange for payment? Talk about
squashing basic human rights.

You also lose me on the terrorism angle. You've succumbed to the
emotional appeal of fear. You lose every time you play the terrorism
card. Read Schneier and you'll know how I feel about terror.

>> Nationalistic citizens who value their citizenship perhaps too much
>> the way they value their sports team may feel that foreigners do not
>> deserve to live in the promised land.
>
> Ok, first, Promised land?

To the "nationalistic citizens" of whose values I was speaking, yes.

> I did mention that regulating the worker included extra taxes deducted from
> their paycheck, to cover the social services provided.

The constitutional amendment to allow that would never see a vote.

> People who value their skin color may feel threatened by the
>> increasing population of people having a different skin color.
>
> I don't know what to say to this.  Tough shit?

I'm listing values. That's a very widely held value. You can't just
dismiss it; in a democratic republic even the most gauche points of
view count.

> You sound pretty negative on allowing MORE immigration, I get that.  I'm not
> necessarily arguing for that.  I'm arguing for more control on immigration
> and visitation.

I'll just repeat myself:
"More people should be allowed to enter the U.S. to work. I don't know
how; but that's the part of the solution that I am sure of."

John, I can see that we disagree on the value of the war on drugs, the
war on terror, and a lot of things the government is doing. Seeing the
way you bring your position on these issues to bear on the immigration
issue, I now know we're too far down the rope to untie any knots.

Andy