re: "Hope, Change, and 99% View 685 20110728"

Dr. Jerry Pournelle at Chaos Manor ("The Original Blog and Daybook.") examined issues of assimilation vs. diversity and of budget crises.

Money quote(s):

"Sowing the wind.

We don’t do breaking news, but it isn’t so much news as settling “when”: there has been another plot by a Muslim soldier to kill his comrades in protest against being “forced” to participate in the unjust wars in the Middle East.

U.S. officials told ABC News an AWOL serviceman, identified by the FBI as a Private First Class Naser Jason Abdo, was arrested Wednesday after making a purchase at Guns Galore in Killeen, Texas, the same ammunition store where Maj. Nidal Hasan purchased the weapons he allegedly used to gun down 13 people and wound 32 others on Nov. 5, 2009.

As to why it isn’t news:

Abdo told ABC News in 2010 he was Muslim and should not have to participate in what he called an "unjust war" in the Middle East.

"Any Muslim who knows his religion or maybe takes into account what his religion says can find out very clearly why he should not participate in the U.S. military," Abdo said then.

Welcome to the joys of diversity and entitlement. America was not built as a society of entitlement and diversity. There was a founding culture. It was a culture of tolerance, but tolerance is not the same as the celebration of “diversity.” Immigrants were always encouraged to assimilate. They were not forced to do so, but the public system tolerated diversity; it didn’t force it. There were crèches in the public square at Christmas. Later we added the menorah. Almost all public ceremonies were opened by an invocation by a Protestant minister. Over time we added a Catholic priest (and of course some communities always had included Catholics, although most had not). Later we added a rabbi. All of this was to show some deference to the American culture. We would tolerate diversity as a monument to our liberty but we did not set the public hangman the task of destroying the crèche in the public square. We did not use the courts as an engine of destruction of our culture.

Then we began to sow the wind. All cultures are equal. There is no American culture as such.

We have coupled diversity with egality and added entitlements. We have sown the wind.

And we reap the whirlwind. Nidal Hasan and Naser Abdo are not the last of the pale riders."

Dr. Pournelle, as the original blogger, has been around long enough to see certain long-lead-time trends take shape over the period of decades. That perspective is important to those of us who've come after.

"National unity is not a given. Patriotism is not free. For an example relevant to today’s story: imagine an Amish soldier who insists on his right to be part of the Army, but that the Courts prevent the Army from using motorized vehicles anywhere near him since the sight of them offends him; now imagine a court granting that, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholding that decision.

We can endure regional diversity. The abortion issue is an example. There is no national consensus. Shall we send armed agents to enforce whatever happens to be the opinion of a majority at the time? Shall the Army insist that Mother Superior perform abortions in St. Joseph’s, or jail abortionists who perform them? Left to the states the issue is endurable.

The goal is a society that holds together, not one of some ideal perfection."

This was written last July. Now we have nearly the exact absurdity, insisting that Mother Superior and St. Joseph's pay for abortions, becoming a matter of federal law.

"It is important to understand that no Congress has the power to bind a future Congress. If this Congress cannot get us out of the automatic increases in entitlements, another can. It may require replacing every single Senator, Member of Congress, the President and Vice President, and every senior civil servant in Washington, but it is possible simply not to fund “non-discretionary entitlements” . The Constitution is very clear: tax and revenue bills have to originate in the House, and “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.”" (Bold typeface added for emphasis. - CAA.)

Words and phrases such as entitlements, discretionary vs. non-discretionary funding, and the like, obscure the truth Dr. Pournelle reminds us of: that no Congress can bind a future one.

7/28

re: "Houston Muslim Girl Being Forced to Return to Mali for Forced Marriage and Clitorectomy"

Pamela at Atlas Shrugs ("the news you will not hear from the mainstream media, providing original reportage, covering little-reported events of great import, and giving an unblinkingly honest examination of global affairs") relates coverage of an asylum case.

Quote(s):

"The ABC affiliate in Houston aired this story last night, about a woman from Mali being pressured by her family to return home for an arranged marriage and clitorectomy. She may have to return home eventually when her student visa expires. Fortunately, she does have lawyers working pro bono to help her attain asylum, but it's clearly not a sure thing."

&

"She needs apostate asylum. If the US sends her home, she's as good as dead."

ABC - Illegal Immigration: Can Online Database Help?

ABC.Com

Illegal Immigration: Can Online Database Help?

E-Verify, System for Screening Illegal Workers, Gets White House Boost

By NED POTTER


May 7, 2009

There is a stereotype of illegal immigrants, stealing across the border into the United States, hoping for jobs -- and getting hired by unscrupulous employers looking for cheap labor.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"(T)he Obama administration is reportedly asking for $112 million in its new budget -- a 12 percent increase -- for E-Verify, a massive computer database that employers can use to make sure the people they hire have the legal right to take the job."

&

"E-Verify, currently run by the Department of Homeland Security, is used by about 120,000 employers around the country. The system is voluntary, and there is no charge for companies to log on and check out job applicants.

If a worker tries to get a job, an employer can go online, enter the person's name, Social Security number and other data, and find out whether the applicant is in the U.S. legally. The government says 2 million checks were run in 2006, the last year for which complete numbers are available, and preliminary answers come back in 3 to 5 seconds."

ABC - After Post-9/11 Lull Students Study Abroad En Masse. U.S. Colleges Reporting Record Increase in Foreign Students.

From my archive of press clippings:

ABC

After Post-9/11 Lull Students Study Abroad En Masse. U.S. Colleges Reporting Record Increase in Foreign Students.

By HOWARD LAFRANCHI

Nov. 23, 2008

After being scared off in the post-9/11 years by tightened visa restrictions and America's soured image, foreign students are flocking back to the United States in record numbers.

Read the whole article here.

ABC - Corruption Halts Vietnam Adoptions by Americans. U.S. Concerns of Baby Buying in Vietnam Leave Many Americans Hoping to Adopt in Limbo.

From my archive of press clippings:

ABC News

Corruption Halts Vietnam Adoptions by Americans. U.S. Concerns of Baby Buying in Vietnam Leave Many Americans Hoping to Adopt in Limbo.

By KAREN RUSSO

HANOI, Vietnam May 15, 2008— Limbo looks like this: a tidy one-room apartment decorated with baby toys and just enough space for a crib and a twin bed.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"In the wake of allegations of corruption and baby-selling, Vietnam recently terminated its adoption agreement with the United States.

The last applications must be filed by July 1 and the program will be ended on Sept. 1."

"So far this fiscal year, more than 400 American families have opened adoption cases there.

Evidence suggests that some babies believed to be available for adoptions were actually bought or stolen, according to the U.S. State Department.

In addition, some Americans have allegedly been asked to make enormous "contributions" to orphanages or individuals to complete their adoption procedures."

&

"In the world of international adoptions, the question of abandonment is perhaps the most significant question.

For U.S. State Department officials, the question of abandonment, or in some cases relinquishment, determines if or when they grant the child a visa to go to the United States.

In some cases, they have found that mothers were coerced into relinquishing their children and concluded there was no abandonment.

"Over a period of several months, in the course of doing our normal verification operations on visa applications for adoptions, we've uncovered an awful lot of fraud," said Michael Michalak, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam. "We have worked with the government of Vietnam to fix this system, but it seems that the government of Vietnam does not have enough enforcement capability or enough legal authority to make the system work."

The State Department released a memorandum last month citing corruption in the adoption system, after which Vietnam announced that it would stop accepting adoption applications from American families.

In 2003, the U.S. suspended all adoptions from Vietnam over concerns about corruption, but a new agreement was reached between the two countries in 2006.

Since that agreement took effect, more than 1,200 Vietnamese children were adopted by Americans.

There are 43 U.S. adoption agencies operating in Vietnam, all competing for the same babies."

ABC - U.S. Adoptions Fueled by Guatemalan Kidnappings. Demand for Guatemalan Children Is So High, Baby Snatching Is Rampant.

From my archive of press clippings:

ABC News

U.S. Adoptions Fueled by Guatemalan Kidnappings. Demand for Guatemalan Children Is So High, Baby Snatching Is Rampant.

By HAROLDO MARTINEZ and RUSSELL GOLDMAN GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala

May 13, 2008 — Two years ago, Raquel Par boarded a bus in her hometown of Tecpan, Guatemala, with her baby daughter for the 90-minute ride to the country's capital.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Children are big business in Guatemala, where international adoption is estimated to be a $100 million industry, making orphans the country's second-most lucrative export after bananas.

With tens of thousands of dollars to be made on the sale of each child, and with little government regulation, a fertile black market has developed to sell children all over the world, especially the United States.

Children are routinely kidnapped and parents regularly coerced to sell their children, say government officials and human rights activists.

One in every 100 Guatemalan children is adopted by an American family, the highest per capita adoption rate in the world, and 95 percent of all Guatemalan children who are adopted go to the U.S.

The U.S. State Department says approximately 29,400 Guatemalan children have been adopted by Americans since 1990, and local sources peg the average cost at $30,000 per child."

"American families adopted 4,728 Guatemalan children last year, according to the State Department, second only to the number of orphans coming from China."

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"(T)he U.S. only recently ratified the Hague Adoption Convention, despite being a longtime signatory. As a result, Americans will only be permitted to adopt through agencies accredited by a national organization and registered with the State Department. Prior to the U.S. implementing the treaty early this year, there was no national organization which vetted or tracked the agencies, which find Guatemalan orphans for American families."