As long as the income disparity is so large between the US and Mexico, these kinds of measures are not going to solve the problem.

We need to increase legal immigration and help Latin America improve its economies. And some sort of guest worker approach, with an extended path to citizenship, is probably also in order. Call that "amnesty" if you want. I call it realizing the practical limitations on the situation.

Legalizing marijuana wouldn't hurt either.

(04-29-2010 09:32 PM)WMD Owl Wrote:  

(04-29-2010 08:41 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I think this travel alert is dangerous towards American citizens in Mexico. We already have a number of institutions (the University of Texas) drawing back its students from Mexico because of the perceived danger. Maybe now some drug cartel uses the alert as an excuse to harass, extort, kidnap, or even randomly kill some American tourists? Is that too far-fetched to wonder?

If the Cartels screw in any way with US Nationals, they can expect US Special Operations paying their leadership "a visit" just like Delta paid Pablo Escobar a visit in Colombia back in 1993.

It won't be Black Jack Pershing coming across the border in a massive invasion like 1916.. you will just hear about Cartel leaders dying a pretty violent death.

Go figure....cartel violence has killed thousands, terrified millions and will negatively impact Mexico's tourism industry, but what do they ***** about? us unfairly enforcing OUR immigration laws in a country they have no business in unless we allow them here.

(04-29-2010 08:41 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Maybe now some drug cartel uses the alert as an excuse to harass, extort, kidnap, or even randomly kill some American tourists? Is that too far-fetched to wonder?

They don't need that excuse - they're already doing it.

(04-29-2010 09:23 PM)WMD Owl Wrote:  Screw this two-bit "boycott" against Arizona.

I just ordered a Red "D'Backs" Baseball Jersey

Does Arizona actually produce anything anyways? I'd put a small wager on the likelihood of the Jersey being made in Mexico.

(04-29-2010 09:47 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  As long as the income disparity is so large between the US and Mexico, these kinds of measures are not going to solve the problem.

We need to increase legal immigration and help Latin America improve its economies. And some sort of guest worker approach, with an extended path to citizenship, is probably also in order. Call that "amnesty" if you want. I call it realizing the practical limitations on the situation.

Legalizing marijuana wouldn't hurt either.

While noting that it's not our responsibility to manage Mexico's economy, it will take many policy changes to help here, starting with the easy one - stopping agricultural subsidies. If we can't do that, with the many negative consequences that it has, including immigration, then we have almost no hope of managing the growth of the federal government at all, outside of taking back the purse strings.

Stepping up enforcement on it's own is just bailing water.

(04-30-2010 09:16 AM)I45owl Wrote:  Does Arizona actually produce anything anyways?

Copper.

Semiconductors.

Dial ® Soaps.

Used to be AZ's economy also included "cotton, cattle and construction"

They probably still grow some cotton, but w/ the population boom, I think agricultural water use has gone down.

They also have some citrus, but I doubt there is much that gets exported.

Oops, shouldn't leave out "brilliant scientists"

LA's mayor (along with a lot of other california politicians) wants to boycott Arizona. What he didn't realize when he made that stupid comment is that LA gets 20% of its power from some coal plant in Arizona.

Also, some douche bag politician, I think he's in Sacremento, called on Major League Baseball to move next year's all star game and the players union backed him up.