Thursday, July 11, 2013

Social Justice Is A Conservative Idea

Hands off, progressives! Social justice is a conservative idea!  It means, "the common good".  To do what is right for the common good, skip the progressive ideas. Embrace the conservative ones.

What is Social Justice? | Online Library of Law and Liberty

Today's Heroes: Hieromartyr Cindeus the Presbyter of Pamphylia

On 11 July the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the life of Hieromartyr Cindeus the Presbyter of Pamphylia.  Cindeus paid the wood-cutter for the wood used to burn him, rather than having the man be unpaid by the soldiers who had confiscated it.

Of Interest 2013-07-11 (God and Family)

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Anti-Zionists: The Truest Islamophobes

Speaking of Anti-Zionists: "They are the true Islamophobes — afraid to criticize Islam, eager to join in its chorus of hatred."  We need to "make Muslim civility towards Jews the shibboleth of assimilation to a free and democratic culture".

Today's Heroes: The Vichy Eighty

On this day, 10 July 1940, the Vichy Eighty voted against the constitutional amendment which transformed the Third Republic into Vichy France.  569 voted for the amendment.  Twenty voluntarily abstained. Twenty-seven had fled to Algeria.  149 abstained in other ways.  One did not vote.

Of Interest 2013-07-10 (Science!)

Thursday, July 04, 2013

An Independence Day Sesquicentennial Meditation

Of Interest 2013-07-04 (Topic: Schools)

Fighting education fanatics: Column

Suffolk Schools: Pencils For Math, Not Murder

"We’ve reached a startling level of brainlessness when distinguishing pencils from pistols requires an ordinance."

Instead of School: Why Our Schools Do Not--And Cannot--Work

Natural Born -- Bureaucrats

In France people celebrate Bastille Day, which was a battle they won.  In Mexico people celebrate Cinco de Mayo, which was a battle they won at great cost.  In the U.S. people celebrate Independence Day, where we produced a document.  In Brazil people celebrate Independence Day and Republic Day, where they produced documents both times.  Hmmm.

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Of Interest 2013-07-03 (Topic: Islam)

A Fair Immigration Law

The current immigration bill passed by the Senate is not even close to fair. It will bring 30 million new legal immigrants, nearly all from Mexico. That is a third of Mexico's population. Depopulating Mexico is not fair to the Mexican people. The potato famine caused so many people to flee Ireland, and Ireland still has not recovered. Bringing 30 million mostly unskilled immigrants is not fair to poor people in this country. How will poor African-Americans, poor Hispanic-Americans, poor Native Americans, poor Asian-Americans and even poor white Americans manage to get jobs with 30 million more people completing for those jobs?

The only people who benefit from this bill are rich people.

How is this bill fair to people who followed the rules when they came here?

The only way to have a fair bill is for illegal immigrants to have significant disadvantages as they are legalized, so that we do not create perverse incentives.  Here is a somewhat brain-stormed proposal:
  • The bill will be no more than ninety pages long.
  • The bill will be debated using normal rules.
  • All non-criminal illegal immigrants will be placed on the amnestied registry as soon as they apply, or if they are caught.  We aren't going to deport people.  It's too heartless.
  • The amnestied registry will include bio-metric identification, including DNA.
  • Any employer who knowingly employs an illegal immigrant will be fined.  Use of E-Verify will be a positive defense against such fines.  Once an illegal immigrant has been amnestied, no further fines will apply.
  • The minimum wage for amnestied immigrants shall be twenty-five percent higher than it is for other immigrants and American citizens.  This will encourage businesses to hire other immigrants and American citizens.
  • Any children of illegal immigrants or amnestied immigrants shall not be citizens of the United States even if they are born here.  The children will automatically be amnestied immigrants.
  • Amnestied immigrants will not have a path to citizenship while they continue to live in the U.S.  In order to obtain a green card they must legally migrate to a third country (not their country of origin) and hold a job there for five years if they were born in another country, or two years if they were born in the U.S   After that they can apply for a green card here, and if they get one, apply for citizenship in the normal manner.  This gives the amnestied immigrant a proper appreciation of what legal immigrants have gone through.
  • Amnestied immigrants may not vote in any U.S. elections.
  • Amnestied immigrants may not receive benefits paid by tax money, including tax subsidies, such as the earned income credit. Minor amnestied immigrants may receive primary and secondary education, and may attend state schools while paying in state tuition, provided the state agrees.
  • U.S. citizens may sue public officials for damages if the public officials are not enforcing these rules.  This means public officials must actually try to catch people breaking the law.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Let's all ask the President to resign!

Contact the President at : http://www.whitehouse.gov/cont​act/
Contact the Vice President at : http://www.whitehouse.gov/cont​act-vp/
Contact the Speaker at: http://www.speaker.gov/Contact​/

Apparently the Senate Majority Leader only wants to hear from Nevada.
Here is what I wrote to President Obama and copied the Vice President and the Speaker:

Dear Mr. President,

Please tender your resignation at once. You should have accepted the deal the House and Senate leadership produced yesterday. This is the last straw. There is no way that the Vice President can do worse than you are doing. It's true that you have to deal with the collapse of a 150 year old domestic political method going back to Bismarck. It's hard for the captain to deal with a sinking ship that he thought could never sink. Yet you will not work, unlike the Vice President. You are always and only talk, talk, talk. The Vice President likes to talk, but he is at least talk, talk, work, sometimes, talk, work, talk and every so often work, talk, talk. You alternate between petulant whining and angry, irresponsible demagoguery. When the Vice President whines you can't tell because he is smiling and upbeat, and his irresponsible demagoguery is of the happy warrior type. He frequently speaks responsibly. You only speak responsibly when you are trying to simulate a responsible adult. Real responsible adults don’t constantly whine. Real responsible adults don’t constantly engage in angry, irresponsible demagoguery. And real adults do the work.

This is especially distressing because you claim to understand the Constitution. The Executive Branch is supposed to produce concrete plans rapidly. This is it's virtue. You almost never produce concrete plans, with your surge in Afghanistan being the notable exception. That one practically had to be beaten out of you. Right now the House produces concrete plans faster than the Executive Branch. Even the Senate, which is supposed to be the deliberative branch, seems to be working faster than you are.

Clearly you were built for the Senate, where deliberate, deliberate, deliberate works fine. Please beat the Peter Principle and resign.

Yours,
Thomas L. DeGisi