A Voluntaryist's response to the 'What if Illegals Left' meme

Have you seen this meme and the corresponding list of factoids? It purports to be a well-researched article by Tina Griego, a hack calling herself a journalist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News.  It's been circulating widely on Facebook - even among my best friends - and it's pissed me off to the point I have to say something.

There is so much misrepresentation of truth and misplaced blame in this post I hardly know where to begin.

First off, this piece only examines how a group of real living breathing people among us are allegedly harming or taking from those of us with a made up thing called citizenship that gives us belonginghood to another made up thing called a country. It does not consider one iota of benefit this group of people might bring our society, as well it shouldn't since it's oh-so obviously not meant to present any sort of balanced perspective but instead holds true to its undeniably slanted bias aimed at turning human against human for political ends. Politics. Another made up thing.

Oh, woe is me. Those damned dirty Mexicans, cloggin' up muh highways, fillin' muh prisons, an' makin' me press 1.

This piece is right about one thing; our society would look a lot different without them. See, being outside the made up law, they operate in a real world free market system. They do jobs Americans don't want to do - and you fucking know it - and they do it for waaaaay less than any prideful American would. And here's the thing - because they do, a lot of construction projects move forward and businesses thrive WHERE THEY OTHERWISE WOULD NOT. Because they do, a lot of money changes hands WHERE IT OTHERWISE WOULD NOT. Most Americans don't realize that that's WHAT THE ECONOMY IS! Money changing hands. Mexicans make money move. And more often than not, the grand portion of that money moves into the hands of...AMERICANS. Who then have more money that they otherwise wouldn't. Who then spend and invest more money than they otherwise would.

You take away 20 million "illegals", and the economy would suffer greatly. That would have a real effect on every American life. Those who are having a hard time getting by NOW...fuhget about it after that!

Oh, and let's not forget that those millions of people are also eating. And buying things. Generating a whole lot of SALES TAX. Revenue (that's money for the slower among you). And this money goes to THE STATE. A made up thing , the power of which Americans would LOVE to wield against businesses to regulate and force them to pay "a living wage". See, Americans only like to pay lip service to this concept they call freedom. They don't really understand what it means. They SAY they want a free market, but they also want state intervention in the market. To benefit them. Americans actually HATE the free market. They just don't know it.

So those millions of "illegals" are actually helping to pay for at least SOME of the burdens this post proposes they put on our society. Take those people away, take away the tax revenue (and the natural economic stimulus tied directly to it) as well.

Let us now turn our attention to all these supposed burdens placed upon us by these loathsome illegals.

1. $14-$22 billion on welfare. First off, according to whom? Secondly, the problem proposed here isn't that the illegals get welfare. The unspoken accusation is that they steal this money from the American taxpayer.

But they don't. The state does. The state takes that money from you and gives it to them. The illegals aren't the direct problem. They certainly aren't the direct thieves. The state is. Furthermore, some of those taxes ARE paid by the illegals. And MORE of those taxes are made POSSIBLE by the work of the illegals stimulating the economy to generate the tax revenue to begin with.

2. The post has no #2. What happened to #2?

3. $7.5 billion on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
Again, according to whom? And again, the unspoken accusation is that Americans are being fleeced by illegal aliens. They are not. They are being fleeced by the state who in turn ostensibly offers care to these real life people who aren't a part of the made up club of American citizens.

4. $12 billion each year on education for children here "illegally" (in that their presence violates made up things called laws) and they still cannot speak a word of Murikan, I mean, er...English!

Don't bother with the thin veil, America. The whole world sees your ethnocentricity for what it is.

And again we come back to who that money comes from. Americans. And who takes that money. Catching on yet? It's NOT illegals. It's the state. But what would we do without state education? How would we indoctrinate our children in the history written by victors (as opposed to what really happened)? How would we churn out mindless hoop jumpers and test takers for the cubicles? Jesus knows private education wouldn't do better. Oh, it does? Guess I better move on...

5. $27 billion dollars are spent each year for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies (also otherwise known as AMERICANS!!!)
Even Americans aren't American enough for you bastards anymore. It's
kind of gross. Seriously.

6. $3 Million/day ($1.2B/year) to incarcerate illegal aliens. I have a REAL quick solution for this one. STOP IMPRISONING PEOPLE! America likes to call itself "Home of the Free", while most Americans are completely clueless to the FACT that America boasts the largest prison population on the planet. And yeah, you're paying to house, clothe and feed every one of them, "illegal" or not. In a sense, they're all "illegal", aren't they? After all, they didn't follow your made up laws, so the state stole your money to pay to kidnap them and hold them hostage on your dime. Quick thought - how 'bout you just stop? Just...don't.

7. 28% percent of all federal prison inmates are illegal aliens. See my response to #6.

8. $190 billion dollars are spent each year on illegal aliens for welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
Did any of you notice this was a reboot of #1-3, except the number is just bigger? Ever stop to wonder where the numbers are coming from, or why they need to reiterate things halfway through the list?
And remember - it's not the American taxpayers who spend this money, it's the American government. It's the American government who is taking the taxpayers money and spending it thusly. It's like if a thief held you at gunpoint and then used the money he stole to buy a gold ring and then you got mad at the jeweler for taking your money. It's literally like that. How do you not see this?

Oh...right...because you've been indoctrinated to see government as a given and a "necessary evil". Whatever.

9. $200 billion dollars per year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.
I call bullshit on this. So hard. Let's go back to the fact that for the most part these people do work Americans wouldn't want to do anyway, especially for the free market wages, and how that in turn stimulates the economy (remember, that's money moving) which in turn creates more jobs and gets more people paid. Settle down, I mean American people.
Furthermore, if we're talking about "suppressed" wages because illegals will work for less than Americans and Americans believe the government should manipulate the market to benefit them in the form of a raised minimum wage, perhaps it would be prudent to note that the bump in standard of living in such cases has historically been short-lived as the market catches up and the cost of living is raised for all, essentially devaluing the currency. (Or in Murikan...er, I mean English: Raising the minimum wage makes your money worth less).

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in t he US.
Oh. My. God. How blind can you be to your own racism? The operative word above is WHIIIIIIIIIITE!!!!!! Holy selectively biased figures, Batman! You mean to tell me that the statistically poorest demographic has a much higher crime rate than the statistically most well off? YOU DON'T FUCKING SAY!

I could go on to trounce this piece of shit of a "factoid", but I won't. If this is a figure you think has any bearing WHATSOEVER on this argument...fuck you. Just fuck you. Yes, you.

11. During the year 2005, there were 8 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our southern border with as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from other terrorist countries. Over 10,000 of those were middle-eastern terrorists. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin, crack, guns, and marijuana crossed into the U.S. from the southern border.

#11. Oh, #11 is my most favoritest of all!!! *cracks fingers in preparation*
In 2005, 8-10 million of our brothers and sisters who just happen to not be in the made up club of America cross the imaginary line called a border. 8-10 million in one year alone, huh? So according to this post there are 20 million
illegals...and a full 50% came in 2005 alone? Hey, I can make up numbers, too! You should try it, it's fun. And people will repost it on Facebook! Wheeeeeeee!!!!!

And the best part...they brought nearly 20,000 people from terrorist countries with them! Now there are terrorist countries? Would those be countries who bomb innocent women and children, kidnap and torture innocent people and
hold them for years, or do atrocious things like blow up entire wedding parties? If so, then the real terrorist country goes by the initials U.S.A.

And half of these people the Mexicans invited in with them are honest-to-Allah terrorists? You don't say? Wait...how do you know that? Oh, never mind. You're a great well-meaning American. I'll just take you at your word. They snuck into
America via Mexico AND they're from the middle east? You're right. They must be terrorists.

I love that all the drugs are lumped in with #11. Maybe they should have made that a separately numbered factoid. Hell, they could have made it the mysteriously missing #2. BUT SINCE YOU BROUGHT IT UP...
Do you really want to blame the drug problem on Mexicans? Are you really gonna go ahead and say drugs cross into America because of illegal aliens? Reeeeeeally? Shit, son. You're more deluded than I thought.

Drugs come into America because THERE'S A MARKET FOR THEM! And that market is very lucrative. And the reason there's so much money to be made in drugs IS BECAUSE THEY'RE ILLEGAL! End the drug war, end the problem. Easy peasy.
Prohibition has never worked. Ever. Laws and cops have never improved the situation, they've only made it more dangerous and therefor more expensive and THAT is why so many drugs find their way across our border. Don't blame
illegal aliens. Blame your stupid laws. Which are a part of....drum roll...THE STATE!!!

12. The National Policy Institute, estimates that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion, or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.

Okay, raise your hand if you realize this factoid actually works in support of NOT deporting illegals.

13. In 2006, illegal aliens sent home $65 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin, to their families and friends.

Once again, according to whom?

And let me ask you this: Are you aware that Americans sent waaaaaaaay more than $65B to China so they could shop at Walmart because Americans don't make anything anymore? Americans sent a hell of a lot more of their own money to other countries than "illegals" (who genuinely earned what they caringly sent their families). So how's 'bout you shut the fuck up until you start a Made in America factory and actually produce a good at a competitive price that Americans will pay. Those "illegals" are human beings who earned what they made. It became THEIR money, and therefor THEIR property to do with as they choose. It's a little something called FREEDOM.

14. The dark side of illegal immigration: Nearly one million sex crimes are committed by illegal immigrants in the United States!
One million a year? Between 2005-2007? How about some context for this factoid that really doesn't mean shit. The grand majority of people in the United States are US citizens, and they commit the grand majority of sex crimes. Illegals are going to commit some rapes. Some murders. Smoke some crack. Beat some spouses. You know what they're not gonna do? Defraud investors, disguise and sell crap loans they know are bad and tank the global economy, costing way more Americans their jobs than those 20 million "illegals" put together. But you don't see a single bankster going to jail. You're too worried about Jose y Eleticia.

Total cost a whopping $538.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR !
So that's your bottom line? $540B/year? According to whom? You're just adding up imaginary figures without a lick of support.

And here's MY bottom line: Even if that figure were miraculously 100% accurate, it is not the illegal aliens to blame. In most cases, it is not the illegal aliens who are taking that money from Americans. It's the state. There's not a single numbered issue in this post that wouldn't at the very least be greatly alleviated by eliminating the state from the equation. See, you can keep your money AND let the illegals stay to do the jobs you don't want to. Just eliminate the REAL problem.

America does not have an immigration problem. It has a government problem. And you're all being played by politicians (stewards of the government) to see and argue amongst yourselves this imaginary immigration problem. A thief stole your money, America. That thief is pointing at the jeweler and telling you it was the jeweler who stole your money. And you're buying it. You're pulling out your torches and pitch forks to chase down and lynch the jeweler instead of the real criminal - the United States government.

Episode 1 - Amardeep Kaleka

Episode 1 of Bravo New World!  An interview with filmmaker Amardeep Kaleka, known in Ufology circles for the upcoming UFO documentary SIRIUS, and perhaps more widely known following the Sikh Temple shooting in which his father was murdered.  Get an update on SIRIUS and learn some of his out-of-this-world experiences during filming.  Plus, Kaleka's take on what happened the day his father was killed, and a look at his next project Nursery Crimes.

CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN

Thanks to Podbean!

Mike Pompeo: Irresponsible Liar at Best, Hateful Bigoted Racist at Face Value.

If you live in south central Kansas, you know the name Mike Pompeo.  He's a Republican running for the 4th District congressional seat Todd Tiahrt just abandoned in his thankfully-failed bid to snag Sam Brownback's spot in the U.S. Senate.  


Yesterday, Mike Pompeo's Twitter account promoted as a "good read" a linked blog post that derided Pompeo's opponent Raj Goyle - not based on his record or his politics, but based on his race, his assumed religion, and asserted communist leanings.  Of course, the blog made the same offensive and ridiculous claims about our president - but that's nothing new.  That's just part of being Republican these days.

The Tweet
Below is a screen cap from Mike Pompeo's Twitter timeline.  Someone was smart enough to grab it before the backlash started and Pompeo deleted the tweet. 

The linked blog post at that URL has also since been removed.  According to Raj Goyle's campaign manager, it contained the excerpt below.

"Just like his evil muslim communist USURPER comrad, barrack hussein obama, This goyle character is just another 'turban topper' we don't need in congress or any political office that deals with the U.S. Constitution, Christianity and the United States of America!!!" 

The assertion is that Barack Obama is a muslim.  He's not.  That's been refuted.  But then, whoever wrote what Mike Pompeo considers a "good read" probably hasn't heard.  The blogger can't even spell the president's name correctly!  Must have dropped out of school to spend the day listening to talk radio.  Now, whether Raj Goyle is a muslim or not is unknown to myself.  I can't find anything online or on Goyle's campaign site that points to a particular religion.  Quite frankly, I don't care unless he's using his religion to argue for policies restricting American freedoms.  Wait, that's a Republican thing to do.  


And while I don't care what Raj Goyle's religion is - or even if he subscribes to no religion - I have to say that I had a very dear muslim friend growing up and I loved him and his family very much.  Being muslim is not some evil thing.  Being an evangelical "Christian" spouting hateful diatribes against muslims IS an evil thing.


The blogger asserts that Barack Obama is a communist.  He's not.  He's a Democrat.  Likewise, Raj Goyle is a Democrat.  Not a communist.  Another stupid lie.  


But then the post goes from ignorant to repulsive by calling upon Raj Goyle's ethnicity as a reason to refuse him a chance at serving the people of Kansas.  Goyle is presumably of Indian heritage.  This racist blogger is lumping Indians in with Arabs, obviously.  Anyone from that part of the world is a "turban topper" - nevermind that there are many very distinct cultures in that region that have little in common aside from the fact the men wear some sort of cloth head piece.  That's like saying North Dakotans are just like Mexicans because they wear pants.  


But I don't care if Raj Goyle is an Indian.  Or an Arab.  I don't care if he's white, hispanic, or an Australian aborigine.  I. Don't. Care.  The fact that Republicans do is just another reason to vote for anyone else.  If this blog post was such a good read, as Mike Pompeo posted on Twitter, it's only because it exposes the true mindset of the Republicans in 2010.   


The Retraction
At some point, Mike Pompeo's tweet was deleted.  Nearly 24 hours after the tweet, Pompeo issued an apology on the campaign's Facebook page.  The linked blog post was removed from Newsvine, so who knows what else Pompeo thought was such a good read.   I'm guessing the blowback came harder and faster than they thought it would.  They might even have thought it would go under the radar and only Pompeo supporters would read the post.  You know, the kind of people who subscribe to the backwards bigoted views of the blogger.  But this is 2010, and you have to be a complete moron if you think progressives are so dumb they're not going to keep an eye on your noise machine.  

The Lie
I wasn't born yesterday.  I don't believe Pompeo's contention that some staffer posted the wrong link.  I'm not buying the whole "honest mistake" crap.  Don't you believe it, either!  This tweet was no accident, and the link posted was the link intended.  Pompeo's Facebook retractions claims it's easy to post the wrong link.  No it's not, and anyone who spends any amount of time with social media is smart enough to know that's bullshit.  God knows I've done my fair share of "posting", and not once have I posted the wrong link.  Furthermore, to post the wrong link, you have to HAVE the wrong link selected, copied, and pasted.  It's way more than a stretch to think some staffer did all that unintentionally.  


What this means is Mike Pompeo is LYING!  He's lying to your face.  Right to your face.  How's that taste?  And do you want someone who will stoop low enough to tweet that tweet then LIE about it representing YOU in Congress?  Really?  That's the name you're gonna put a checkmark by?  Seriously? 

Irresponsible
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that somehow it were a mistake.  That would make the tweet highly irresponsible at BEST!  Mike Pompeo is running a multimillion dollar campaign.  It is incumbent on a serious political candidate to vet any link they promote on their Twitter timeline, or on their Facebook page, or on their official campaign website.  Social media didn't start yesterday.  It's not something new.  And because Mike Pompeo is such a serious candidate, I'm justified in assuming he's serious about his campaign's social media policy.  If they don't cover making sure staffers know what they're posting BEFORE hitting the send button, that's irresponsible!  And indefensible.  So is calling it an "honest mistake".  See the section above on LYING.


The Bottom Line
The bottom line is Mike Pompeo is at best an irresponsible liar.  I think you have to take this tweet and linked blog post at face value, though.  Taken at face value, one can't help but see a hateful, bigoted racist - on top of being an irresponsible liar.  In other words, he's a 2010 Republican.  Mike Pompeo thinks he can run a dirty campaign and call it an accident. 


I Am Surprised That I'm Surprised. 
I more or less grew up in Kansas.  For more than 30 years, I've been surrounded by the small-mindedness of racism.  That I'm surprised at the depravity of this tweet is in itself surprising.


But I've got kids now.  I want them to see elected leaders who share the values I hope they'll decide are right for themselves.  I want them to see elected leaders who are actually LEADERS.  Not racists.  Not liars.


But this is Kansas.  My brand of leader might get elected when pigs fly.  The Kansans my kids see go to D.C. get there when pigs lie.

What I'm Going To Do
I'm not a Democrat.  I've been an independent voter my whole life, and I can't see that changing any time soon.  But after this redneck fiasco from Team Pompeo, I won't just be voting for his opponent Raj Goyle - I'll be campaigning for him!


There's a certain wisdom that teaches it's better to be for something than against something.  Instead of being vehemently against Pompeo, I intend to be vocally in favor of electing Raj Goyle.  Unless you'd like your kids to share Mike Pompeo's values of racism, bigotry, dishonesty and gutter politics, I'd recommend you do the same.