There are plenty of websites out there that feature "barely legal" young women who are 18 and over. They usually have them dressed in schoolgirl outfits or acting like a "girly high school girl." Would that be considered illegal because it "simulates" an underage girl?
As for cartoons, how the hell does a court determine whether or not the drawn picture is of an underage girl, or a "barely legal" 18 year old? And why is this such a big deal? I thought the whole point in stopping child porn is because it exploits and abuses the children. Who is abused when an artist draws pictures? For there to be a crime, there has to be a victim. Where's the victim?
IPCop is a GPLed firewall solution targeted at Small Office/Home Office network
Seeing that the average SOHO user is not a computer geek, why would they be the target audience? I ask this because I can go to any online store and buy a $25 hardware firewall that has DHCP, SPI, DynDNS, etc. all built in and ready to go as soon as I plug it in. For IPCop, I would need another PC besides my business PC and make sure I didn't set it up incorrectly and accidentally expose any holes. Then if something goes wrong or breaks, I need to fix a PC vs. toss out the old hardware firewall and buy a new one.
Is there an advantage for the SOHO person to use IPCop vs. a small hardware firewall for their SOHO? It seems like IPCop would be an application that you embed in a small, cheap hardware firewall to sell to SOHO people.
Actually, very little. I also block all foreign domains. I have my friends, family, and business contacts in the "safe-sender" list so their mail is allowed. And when I subscribe to a new message board, I allow that entire domain. Usually the very 1st E-mail from the message board is flagged as spam, but by adding the domain, all subsequent E-mails are okay.
Also, I sort my junk E-mail folder by To and only look at the few that are to my name/E-mail. A lot of times spam goes to fake E-mails. Say your name is "John Smith" and your E-mail is johnsmith@yahoo.com. The spam would go to jonsmth@yahoo.com, johnsmh@yahoo.com, jhnsmth@yahoo.com, etc., etc. Since I know that I don't misspell my name when I sign up on a website, I just skip those as well.
All in all, it takes me less than 1 minute on a daily basis to quickly scan my Junk E-mail folder for false-positives and add the E-mail and/or domain to the "safe-senders" list.
I have had no problems at all using Outlook 2003 with Junk E-mail settings set to high. I have not seen 1 image-spam. However, when I fire up Thunderbird, the image-spam always shows up. I wonder what settings/algorithm MS is using because it works. My corporate E-mail server also blocks all spam. I have not received 1 spam of any type in my office E-mail account.
So is the problem really an increase in spam or incompetent admins who don't know how to setup their filters to block them? Yes, the size & volume of E-mails may have increased, but if you can filter them they will be deleted before they take up space.
I'd rather play a delayed game that WORKS
on
Delays, Delays, Delays
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
How many times do we buy a game the day it is released only to find out it really wasn't ready for production and was rushed out to meet sales? How many times does a Patch 1.0 come out with in the next month or two to fix it? And more importantly, how many times have you spent hours playing a game only to have it lock up and/or not be able to finish a mission because of a bug which then screwed up your other missions (i.e. ES4:O)?
For games, and more generally for software, I almost always put a self-imposed "delay" waiting for the first Patch to come out. It makes my gaming experience more enjoyable. I know because the times I've bought day 0 games, I've spent more time on the support forums reading how others have worked around their problems than actually playing the game.
If the value of the US Dollar was constant, then you would have a valid complaint. However, economists estimate the inflation rate to be upwards of 8% year. Just look at the money supply and the now-defunct M3. As hundreds of billions of US Dollars are created, the value of each dollar goes down. Your complaint can also be seen in all other areas a well: food, energy, medical, housing, etc. It's not the "greedy game/food/oil/medical/home-builder corporations," but rather our government officials burning the dollar. I expect the cost of everything to go up in terms of US Dollars while the purchasing power declines.
No, Linux does not stand to win on the desktop market. No matter what criticism there is of windows, it is still the easiest to use with the most support (i.e. web sites, user base, etc.). Click on auto-update and, voila, your PC is updated. Install nearly any kind of software and, voila, it works.
With Linux, you need to do an "RPM" and then check dependencies, etc. That is way, way, way too much for the average user. Think of your car. Most people only know how to stick the key in the ignition and turn it over. Even stick-shift is being phased out. Imagine treating your car like Linux where you have to open the hood or trunk and do something (even minor). And the average desktop PC is used for multimedia with the latest SoundBlaster hardware. There are no comparable drivers & software for Linux as there is for Windows.
The only desktop competition for Windows is the Mac. Unfortunately, you have to buy Apple hardware and the cards for the PC are not compatible with the Mac. If the Mac OS was as versatile as the Windows OS (ie. run on "standard" x86 hardware and be compatible with all PC cards), then that would be a big challenge to Windows.
Before switching to WinXP from Win2K, I seriously gave Linux a try. I didn't like the concept of having to register my OS with Microsoft. But after seeing how much less I could with Linux (multimedia, SoundBlaster card) and how much more time it took to maintain Linux (i.e. kernel depencies when installing MySQL, Apache, MythTV, etc., etc.) compared to just clicking on "Install.exe" for Windows, I gave up and bought WinXP.
Where Linux excelled is in the server area because it's cheap (almost free) and is basic - which is why a server-PC would not be satisfactory for a multimedia-PC user.
It's a baseball term. There are 3 outs in an inning. Let's say there are 2 men on base and 1 batter. Well, the batter then hits a long pop fly ball that's caught, but since the other 2 guys are leading off, they have to tag up first before stealing the bases. If the team can tag the bases before the runners can get back to them, you'll have a "triple-play" off of one pitch. Don't you cricket folks have something like that?
WTF is up with tinkering with our food supply? Since we've added all of this non-natural crap to our food supply, obesity rates have surged. High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Trans-Fats, MSG, "natural" & artificial flavorings, Olestra, etc. have just fattened us up and made us unhealthy. I recommend everyone read Fast Food Nation for insights into the foods that most of us eat. I hardly ever consume the processed products found in a common supermarket, but instead shop at Farmers' Market and Whole Foods.
Food manufacturing is a multi-billion dollar industry. The goal is not to create healthy, albeit more expensive foods. The goal is profit. Create a new "food" and price it accordingly so as to maximize profits. If it causes obesity, so what? Let the health care systems pick up the bill. Why not focus on how to more efficiently grow organic, free-range, and all-natural foods? Simple - there's more $$$ in mass-producing artificial crap.
I, for one, have really stopped going out to restaurants, other than for dates with the ladies. (Since this is/. that pretty much means I've altogether stopped going out to restaurants.) But when I do, I try to order what I think is the most natural, least-processed foods on the menu. It's usually blacked / steamed fish with steamed vegetables. I stay away from all fried foods.
I haven't really bothered with Vista because Windows 2003 has been serving me so well.
I'm looking forward to Vista for all the HD multimedia stuff. That's the reason I upgraded from 2000 to XP. Windows 2003 seems to me to be a server / developer deskop.
I agree with you. Sadly, you got marked down as a troll.
Look at what the ancients called "Athletics": the Olympics - physical strength and endurance. The athletes bodies' were strong, conditioned, and healthy. You can't be an athlete and be unhealthy. Fat, sedentary, heart disease, etc. are not qualities of an athlete. Look at a basketball, hockey, soccer, or football player (other than the linemen). You know those are athletes and their bodies are conditioned. Compare that to these "athletes" who mash controllers, keyboards, and mice.
Sure, the video-game players are good at what they do. I'm not knocking them. But stop calling yourselves "athletes." That's like calling your average Joe a "computer programmer" because he knows how to set his VCR. Wouldn't you, a programmer (C/C++, Java,.NET, PHP, etc.) be a bit offended if your neighborhood TV/VCR repairman kept advertising himself as a "computer programmer?"
Waiting for SP2 will take around 2 years after Vista is released. Assuming an early '07 launch, SP1 should be out by the end of '07. By then, both Microsoft and other hardware vendors should have their bugs & drivers worked out. For XP, I waited until SP1a and it worked fine.
It's funny, though, that neither you nor I nor a lot of other/.'ers would even touch a brand new release of Windows. I just see it as moving from 500,000 beta-testers to 50,000,000 beta-testers.
WRT illegal aliens, the complexity that too many people seem to be obvlivious to, is the fact that IF we were able to eliminate the illegal aliens, AND IF American citizens were willing to do the crop-picking and other low wage jobs they are currently doing, YOUR cost of living is going to go way up as products that are the result of these activities are going to get more expensive. Illegals are popular to farm management and other industries because they are willing to work for less than the minimum wage.
I'm sure that slave-owners said the same thing. "Our cost of living is going to go up if we don't have slaves to toil in the fields." However, humam ingenuity came though and machines now do the work (and much more of it) that slaves once did. It was necessity that made progress possible. If slavery was still around today, I'm not sure if we would have all of the farm machines. After all, why go through the trouble to invent something (i.e. R&D costs money) if you can exploit (slaves) what you currently have?
No. Look at all of the "In Soviet Russia" jokes that come up everytime we see an article about our rights being trampled on. All I'm saying is that our government policy of spying, monitoring, etc. is becoming more and more similar to the Soviet Union's, however, we don't have any of the (few) benefits that the USSR had such as safe & secure streets. At least in the USSR there were no gang problems. They would simply be eliminated.
We don't need borders, boundaries, fences and all sorts of other artificial impediments to people simply living, working, and travelling as they see fit.
That is the single most important reason why the Libertarian party is a joke and a failure. Our Constitution was drafted for the mutual protection of all 13 colonies. That defense includes defending our borders. There is no such thing as utopia - each political party forgets that and forges ahead their own nonsense toward a "model society."
If you believe that, then why do you lock your doors at night? Why do you lock your car? Why do you lock your PC? Why do you expect people to respect your property rights (i.e. keep off)? With fully open orders, anyone can cause massive destruction. How many times have you read news articles about kids, teens, and adults committing crimes "because we could." They were bored, upset, looking for thrills, etc. It doesn't matter if we get rid of all government programs (which is a good idea). Some groups of people just want to harm us. We believe in XXX, they believe in YYY.
Not only are open borders are bad idea, it is also unconstitutional. So much for your utopian Libertarian Party saying you support the Constitution when you completely disregard the part about protecting the US. Now, if the LP finally got some common sense and supported secured borders, it would attract a lot more peeople, including myself.
You know, I would love for that to happen. Unfortunately, our criminal justice system is corrupt beyond belief. I think we both can agree that if you have committed a crime: murder, rape, etc. you deserve punishment. I prefer the death penalty. However, all these criminals get is a slap on the wrist or very little actual prison time and they are back on the street. Our justice system has failed. Therefore, I favor a dragnet sweep for gang members. Shit, look at what our government has doing to us regular citizens: dragnet on E-mails, all Intenet activity, banking records, etc., etc. As long as we live in this kind of atmosphere, might as well make the best of it and actually round up real criminals. We've already had most, if not all, of our constitutional rights stripped away. Might we as well get something positive out of it. In the former Soviet Union, they had the kind of monitoring we do (less the technology), but they also did not have gangs controlling neighborhoods, cities, etc. In some ways, being a citizen of the US today is more dangerous than being a citizen of the USSR.
If disagreeing with laws I don't support is ANTI-AMERICAN than label me that if you need to. Questioning laws and the government on issues you don't agree on is the MOST AMERICAN thing anyone can do. Blindly supporting every decision your government makes does not make you a patriot - it makes you a nationalist. There is a HUGE difference (but probably not to you). True patriots have the courage to try and change what is wrong, not just go on supporting it.
Oh, now you're a "patriot" for welcoming illegals into our country? You're a "patriot" for wanting change the "wrong law" blocking illegals from entering our country? It isn't the law you are disagreeing with, it's the Constitution. Our Constitution was drafted so the various colonies could be united as 1 in mutual defense. Part of that defense is defense of our borders. Questioning whether or not we would be defending our borders is questioning the very documents that is the foundation of our society. Let's go there. Does our Constitution and Bill of Rights need replacement? No. What needs replacement (actually removal) are all of the hundreds of thousands of laws, rules, and regulations since then.
I can say "you are either with us or are our enemy" without being a nationalist. In fact, I'm a classical liberal. Society needs strong-willed people who can draw the line and say "enough is enough." That line is drawn where our Constitution and Bill of Rights is infringed. "Let's discuss letting illegals into our society" lies outside of that line. If you can't distinguish between reality (i.e. living in a functional society) and fantasy (i.e. everyone should be allowed into the US), then you are anti-American. I stand up and defend my country. Sadly it is being attacked on all fronts from illegals, Republicans, Democrats, modern liberals, neo-conservatives, and utopian Libertarians.
A few posts above, you posted the words "Live and let live."
Sure, so long as one chooses to live by your rules. How enlightened of you.
What the hell are you talking about? Anarchy? What "live by my rules" are you talking about? We have our Constituion and Bill of Rights. Sections of the Constitution is about defending the US. Part of defending the US is protecting our borders. For the rest "live and let live". We all (should) have our inalienable rights and freedoms. But they end where they infringe on others' freedoms. That's the basic concept of libertarianism. Maybe you misunderstood me because you commented on exactly what I was saying: "The very ideas of liberty and freedom are founded upon making as few rules as possible - only the ones necessary to produce social cohesion sufficient to prevent society from falling apart."
I never claimed he was. I asked you if you "honestly" would rather have one than the other. If you would rather uphold a law than use your brain, I can't help you. If you would rather defend Paris Hilton than Jose the busboy, I pity you.
And just who are you to decide if a US citizen is not "worthy" to be in the US vs. an illegal? So what if Paris Hilton is useless? You sound like a Communist. "If you don't contribute to society, we'll get rid of you." Her family and her has the freedom to do as they wish so long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. Hell, I bet most of us here wish we had her kind of money so we could also do nothing. That's why people play the lottery.
Jose the illegal could apply for a visa to enter the US. Those illegals send a lot of the money that they make out of the US and back to their home countries. That's bad for our economy, especially the local economy. Instead of John & Jane Doe hiring high school kids to mow their lawns, deliver newspapers, etc. they are hiring illegals. That leaves our US children without the basic job skills and experienced required for career jobs. Our children should be learning responsibility, budgeting (i.e. Billy makes $5/hour - does he still want to buy those $150 sneakers or will the $75 work fine?), and maturity. Most importantly, our society collapses with illegals. Instead of having pride for being a US citizen, we have this undercurrent of anger. Just look what happened over the summer when the illegals marched in the streets waving the Mexican flag and flying the Mexican flag over an upside-down American flag.
So if you want to resort to name-calling, fine. You're an ANTI-AMERICAN. You are either with us or you are our enemy. You can't both support the citizens of the US and at the same time welcome illegals. Pick a side.
Wow, I wish the world I lived in was as black and white as the one you live in. So you would honestly rather have a non-working, scumbag, non-productive member of society who is LEGAL living here than a working, productive member of society who was here ILLEGALLY? If that is the case maybe you should value common sense and thinking above following every letter of the law.
Yes.
Your illegal is not "honest." He committed a crime by illegaly entering the US and has not promptly reported himself to the INS.
As for the "non-working, scumbag, non-productive member of society" citizen, so what? The "non-working" part is a problem of our welfare system. That, BTW, is one of the many reasons illegals flock here in numbers - they want handouts. Cut out the government handouts. The "scumbag" part is already covered by our laws. Commit a crime, go to jail. The "non-productive member of society" part is fine. Live & let live. Paris Hilton is a "non-productive member" but so what? Don't bother me and I won't bother you.
We really do seem like more of a democracy now than a republic, since the Constitution is just a worthless piece of paper according to our own president.
You just described a dictatorship, not a democracy. Our "democracy in action" is when policians pander to the ignorant masses to vote for them and their pet law/project, regardless if it is constitutional or not. As long as 50.1% favor XXX, then it is law regardless if it violates the inalienable rights of the other 49.9% of the people.
We arrest all gang members. Those who are illegals and are not wanted in the US for any other crimes get deported back to their own countries. Those who are US citizens are given harsh punishements. The death penalty is used liberally without all of these annoying court appeals. Very quick, very effective. Justice is served.
I think you are late for you Minuteman Patrol...
If you are defending illegals being in the US, then you are "harboring and abetting criminals" and are a criminal yourself. No other nation on earth has porous borders like the US. We have laws for lawful entry into the US. Those who do not follow them are criminals. Why is that such as difficult concept?
If someone breaks and enters your house, they have committed a crime and are trespassing. Entering into the US without the US's approval is the same thing.
You can't blame ALL crime on illegal minorities...
No. But I can blame ALL illegals as criminals - men, women, and children. The very first crime they committed was "trespassing and entering" illegally into the US.
Slashdot Mirror
I mean, come on, don't you all mast... um, ohhh, procrastinate. Er, nevermind.
There are plenty of websites out there that feature "barely legal" young women who are 18 and over. They usually have them dressed in schoolgirl outfits or acting like a "girly high school girl." Would that be considered illegal because it "simulates" an underage girl?
As for cartoons, how the hell does a court determine whether or not the drawn picture is of an underage girl, or a "barely legal" 18 year old? And why is this such a big deal? I thought the whole point in stopping child porn is because it exploits and abuses the children. Who is abused when an artist draws pictures? For there to be a crime, there has to be a victim. Where's the victim?
Is there an advantage for the SOHO person to use IPCop vs. a small hardware firewall for their SOHO? It seems like IPCop would be an application that you embed in a small, cheap hardware firewall to sell to SOHO people.
Actually, very little. I also block all foreign domains. I have my friends, family, and business contacts in the "safe-sender" list so their mail is allowed. And when I subscribe to a new message board, I allow that entire domain. Usually the very 1st E-mail from the message board is flagged as spam, but by adding the domain, all subsequent E-mails are okay.
Also, I sort my junk E-mail folder by To and only look at the few that are to my name/E-mail. A lot of times spam goes to fake E-mails. Say your name is "John Smith" and your E-mail is johnsmith@yahoo.com. The spam would go to jonsmth@yahoo.com, johnsmh@yahoo.com, jhnsmth@yahoo.com, etc., etc. Since I know that I don't misspell my name when I sign up on a website, I just skip those as well.
All in all, it takes me less than 1 minute on a daily basis to quickly scan my Junk E-mail folder for false-positives and add the E-mail and/or domain to the "safe-senders" list.
I have had no problems at all using Outlook 2003 with Junk E-mail settings set to high. I have not seen 1 image-spam. However, when I fire up Thunderbird, the image-spam always shows up. I wonder what settings/algorithm MS is using because it works. My corporate E-mail server also blocks all spam. I have not received 1 spam of any type in my office E-mail account.
So is the problem really an increase in spam or incompetent admins who don't know how to setup their filters to block them? Yes, the size & volume of E-mails may have increased, but if you can filter them they will be deleted before they take up space.
How many times do we buy a game the day it is released only to find out it really wasn't ready for production and was rushed out to meet sales? How many times does a Patch 1.0 come out with in the next month or two to fix it? And more importantly, how many times have you spent hours playing a game only to have it lock up and/or not be able to finish a mission because of a bug which then screwed up your other missions (i.e. ES4:O)?
For games, and more generally for software, I almost always put a self-imposed "delay" waiting for the first Patch to come out. It makes my gaming experience more enjoyable. I know because the times I've bought day 0 games, I've spent more time on the support forums reading how others have worked around their problems than actually playing the game.
If the value of the US Dollar was constant, then you would have a valid complaint. However, economists estimate the inflation rate to be upwards of 8% year. Just look at the money supply and the now-defunct M3. As hundreds of billions of US Dollars are created, the value of each dollar goes down. Your complaint can also be seen in all other areas a well: food, energy, medical, housing, etc. It's not the "greedy game/food/oil/medical/home-builder corporations," but rather our government officials burning the dollar. I expect the cost of everything to go up in terms of US Dollars while the purchasing power declines.
No, Linux does not stand to win on the desktop market. No matter what criticism there is of windows, it is still the easiest to use with the most support (i.e. web sites, user base, etc.). Click on auto-update and, voila, your PC is updated. Install nearly any kind of software and, voila, it works.
With Linux, you need to do an "RPM" and then check dependencies, etc. That is way, way, way too much for the average user. Think of your car. Most people only know how to stick the key in the ignition and turn it over. Even stick-shift is being phased out. Imagine treating your car like Linux where you have to open the hood or trunk and do something (even minor). And the average desktop PC is used for multimedia with the latest SoundBlaster hardware. There are no comparable drivers & software for Linux as there is for Windows.
The only desktop competition for Windows is the Mac. Unfortunately, you have to buy Apple hardware and the cards for the PC are not compatible with the Mac. If the Mac OS was as versatile as the Windows OS (ie. run on "standard" x86 hardware and be compatible with all PC cards), then that would be a big challenge to Windows.
Before switching to WinXP from Win2K, I seriously gave Linux a try. I didn't like the concept of having to register my OS with Microsoft. But after seeing how much less I could with Linux (multimedia, SoundBlaster card) and how much more time it took to maintain Linux (i.e. kernel depencies when installing MySQL, Apache, MythTV, etc., etc.) compared to just clicking on "Install.exe" for Windows, I gave up and bought WinXP.
Where Linux excelled is in the server area because it's cheap (almost free) and is basic - which is why a server-PC would not be satisfactory for a multimedia-PC user.
It's a baseball term. There are 3 outs in an inning. Let's say there are 2 men on base and 1 batter. Well, the batter then hits a long pop fly ball that's caught, but since the other 2 guys are leading off, they have to tag up first before stealing the bases. If the team can tag the bases before the runners can get back to them, you'll have a "triple-play" off of one pitch. Don't you cricket folks have something like that?
WTF is up with tinkering with our food supply? Since we've added all of this non-natural crap to our food supply, obesity rates have surged. High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Trans-Fats, MSG, "natural" & artificial flavorings, Olestra, etc. have just fattened us up and made us unhealthy. I recommend everyone read Fast Food Nation for insights into the foods that most of us eat. I hardly ever consume the processed products found in a common supermarket, but instead shop at Farmers' Market and Whole Foods.
/. that pretty much means I've altogether stopped going out to restaurants.) But when I do, I try to order what I think is the most natural, least-processed foods on the menu. It's usually blacked / steamed fish with steamed vegetables. I stay away from all fried foods.
Food manufacturing is a multi-billion dollar industry. The goal is not to create healthy, albeit more expensive foods. The goal is profit. Create a new "food" and price it accordingly so as to maximize profits. If it causes obesity, so what? Let the health care systems pick up the bill. Why not focus on how to more efficiently grow organic, free-range, and all-natural foods? Simple - there's more $$$ in mass-producing artificial crap.
I, for one, have really stopped going out to restaurants, other than for dates with the ladies. (Since this is
I agree with you. Sadly, you got marked down as a troll.
.NET, PHP, etc.) be a bit offended if your neighborhood TV/VCR repairman kept advertising himself as a "computer programmer?"
Look at what the ancients called "Athletics": the Olympics - physical strength and endurance. The athletes bodies' were strong, conditioned, and healthy. You can't be an athlete and be unhealthy. Fat, sedentary, heart disease, etc. are not qualities of an athlete. Look at a basketball, hockey, soccer, or football player (other than the linemen). You know those are athletes and their bodies are conditioned. Compare that to these "athletes" who mash controllers, keyboards, and mice.
Sure, the video-game players are good at what they do. I'm not knocking them. But stop calling yourselves "athletes." That's like calling your average Joe a "computer programmer" because he knows how to set his VCR. Wouldn't you, a programmer (C/C++, Java,
Waiting for SP2 will take around 2 years after Vista is released. Assuming an early '07 launch, SP1 should be out by the end of '07. By then, both Microsoft and other hardware vendors should have their bugs & drivers worked out. For XP, I waited until SP1a and it worked fine.
/.'ers would even touch a brand new release of Windows. I just see it as moving from 500,000 beta-testers to 50,000,000 beta-testers.
It's funny, though, that neither you nor I nor a lot of other
No. Look at all of the "In Soviet Russia" jokes that come up everytime we see an article about our rights being trampled on. All I'm saying is that our government policy of spying, monitoring, etc. is becoming more and more similar to the Soviet Union's, however, we don't have any of the (few) benefits that the USSR had such as safe & secure streets. At least in the USSR there were no gang problems. They would simply be eliminated.
If you believe that, then why do you lock your doors at night? Why do you lock your car? Why do you lock your PC? Why do you expect people to respect your property rights (i.e. keep off)? With fully open orders, anyone can cause massive destruction. How many times have you read news articles about kids, teens, and adults committing crimes "because we could." They were bored, upset, looking for thrills, etc. It doesn't matter if we get rid of all government programs (which is a good idea). Some groups of people just want to harm us. We believe in XXX, they believe in YYY.
Not only are open borders are bad idea, it is also unconstitutional. So much for your utopian Libertarian Party saying you support the Constitution when you completely disregard the part about protecting the US. Now, if the LP finally got some common sense and supported secured borders, it would attract a lot more peeople, including myself.
You know, I would love for that to happen. Unfortunately, our criminal justice system is corrupt beyond belief. I think we both can agree that if you have committed a crime: murder, rape, etc. you deserve punishment. I prefer the death penalty. However, all these criminals get is a slap on the wrist or very little actual prison time and they are back on the street. Our justice system has failed. Therefore, I favor a dragnet sweep for gang members. Shit, look at what our government has doing to us regular citizens: dragnet on E-mails, all Intenet activity, banking records, etc., etc. As long as we live in this kind of atmosphere, might as well make the best of it and actually round up real criminals. We've already had most, if not all, of our constitutional rights stripped away. Might we as well get something positive out of it. In the former Soviet Union, they had the kind of monitoring we do (less the technology), but they also did not have gangs controlling neighborhoods, cities, etc. In some ways, being a citizen of the US today is more dangerous than being a citizen of the USSR.
I can say "you are either with us or are our enemy" without being a nationalist. In fact, I'm a classical liberal. Society needs strong-willed people who can draw the line and say "enough is enough." That line is drawn where our Constitution and Bill of Rights is infringed. "Let's discuss letting illegals into our society" lies outside of that line. If you can't distinguish between reality (i.e. living in a functional society) and fantasy (i.e. everyone should be allowed into the US), then you are anti-American. I stand up and defend my country. Sadly it is being attacked on all fronts from illegals, Republicans, Democrats, modern liberals, neo-conservatives, and utopian Libertarians.
Jose the illegal could apply for a visa to enter the US. Those illegals send a lot of the money that they make out of the US and back to their home countries. That's bad for our economy, especially the local economy. Instead of John & Jane Doe hiring high school kids to mow their lawns, deliver newspapers, etc. they are hiring illegals. That leaves our US children without the basic job skills and experienced required for career jobs. Our children should be learning responsibility, budgeting (i.e. Billy makes $5/hour - does he still want to buy those $150 sneakers or will the $75 work fine?), and maturity. Most importantly, our society collapses with illegals. Instead of having pride for being a US citizen, we have this undercurrent of anger. Just look what happened over the summer when the illegals marched in the streets waving the Mexican flag and flying the Mexican flag over an upside-down American flag.
So if you want to resort to name-calling, fine. You're an ANTI-AMERICAN. You are either with us or you are our enemy. You can't both support the citizens of the US and at the same time welcome illegals. Pick a side.
Your illegal is not "honest." He committed a crime by illegaly entering the US and has not promptly reported himself to the INS.
As for the "non-working, scumbag, non-productive member of society" citizen, so what? The "non-working" part is a problem of our welfare system. That, BTW, is one of the many reasons illegals flock here in numbers - they want handouts. Cut out the government handouts. The "scumbag" part is already covered by our laws. Commit a crime, go to jail. The "non-productive member of society" part is fine. Live & let live. Paris Hilton is a "non-productive member" but so what? Don't bother me and I won't bother you.
If you are defending illegals being in the US, then you are "harboring and abetting criminals" and are a criminal yourself. No other nation on earth has porous borders like the US. We have laws for lawful entry into the US. Those who do not follow them are criminals. Why is that such as difficult concept?
If someone breaks and enters your house, they have committed a crime and are trespassing. Entering into the US without the US's approval is the same thing.