The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux) - Page 527

Ghoulish Delight · 01-29-2010, 06:59 PM

Wow. Somehow I had remained blissfully ignorant of the term "anchor baby" until today.

I'll never understand the masochistic impulse that drives me to read the comments at ocregister.com.

Alex · 01-29-2010, 07:13 PM

While I can imagine the comments being made and how awful they are, I would not necessarily be opposed to changing things so that citizenship is not granted simply for having been born in this country unless to a citizen or permanent legal resident.

I'm not super bothered by the way it is now, but it also doesn't make sense (and it is a bit of an oddity in the world) to me to continue operating in this way. There's a reason that pure "jus soli" (citizenship by where you are at birth) rather than "jus sanguini" (citizenship by blood) is pretty much a western hemisphere thing and those reasons don't really extend into the 21st century.

But it would probably take a constitutional amendment to change it (though there is a little bit of wiggle room for the Supreme Court to do it through slightly different interpretation of the 14th Amendment) so it will never happen. And it isn't such a horrible thing that I'll be bothered by that.

Ghoulish Delight · 01-29-2010, 07:20 PM

Believe me, the people making the comments I read weren't bothered that they were given citizenship by birth, they were bothered that they were brown and given citizenship by birth.

Alex · 01-29-2010, 07:33 PM

Yeah, I know. That's why this is one view that I generally don't talk about much since it really sucks that so many of the people who would agree with me do so for such thoroughly abhorrent reasons.

€uroMeinke · 02-01-2010, 08:27 PM

So the whole abandoning the moon thing find me rather disappointed in Obama.I know the program was underfunded to begin with, we'd been there before, etc. But it just makes me think there is nothing visionary about this presidency. I mean health care was a dud, nothing's changed in the Middle East, the economy still sucks. I mean if we're not going to do anything cool like go to the Moon,or to Mars, what's the point?

My boyhood Astronaut dreams die hard.

Moonliner · 02-01-2010, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

So the whole abandoning the moon thing find me rather disappointed in Obama.I know the program was underfunded to begin with, we'd been there before, etc. But it just makes me think there is nothing visionary about this presidency. I mean health care was a dud, nothing's changed in the Middle East, the economy still sucks. I mean if we're not going to do anything cool like go to the Moon,or to Mars, what's the point?

My boyhood Astronaut dreams die hard.

It may not be quite as bad as you think. The Constellation Program was a disaster we are better off without and NASA is still in the space business. In fact they are getting a budget increase with a renewed focus on what NASA was supposed to do in the first place. Research. Add in support for private spaced based ventures and we could all be sipping Mojitos in low earth orbit sooner than you think.

€uroMeinke · 02-01-2010, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonliner

It may not be quite as bad as you think. The Constellation Program was a disaster we are better off without and NASA is still in the space business. In fact they are getting a budget increase with a renewed focus on what NASA was supposed to do in the first place. Research. Add in support for private spaced based ventures and we could all be sipping Mojitos in low earth orbit sooner than you think.

I don't know - if these really was "better" then tell us what the "wow" is, what are all these extra "science funds" going to buy us? Pragmatic sure, inspiring? not a bit.

Ghoulish Delight · 02-01-2010, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

...nothing's changed in the Middle East...

Tangeting to this for a moment, my dad had an interesting thought on the subject. We have massive unemployment right now. If we were to pull most of the troops out of the Middle East, tens of thousands of which are not full time military (National Guard) who would then be entering the workforce. Not to mention the massive number of civilian jobs that exist to support a couple hundred thousand troops deployed over seas.

Not the most feel-good justification for continuing operations, but he's got a point. Could definitely have been a not-insignificant blip in whatever hope for recovery there is.

Tref · 02-05-2010, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

I mean if we're not going to do anything cool like go to the Moon,or to Mars, what's the point?

My boyhood Astronaut dreams die hard.

I have a theory the moon landing was filmed in a TV studio, on the moon!

Alex · 02-01-2010, 11:00 PM

I'm much more wowed by science than men in space so I'll take it.

01-29-2010, 06:59 PM	#1
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	Wow. Somehow I had remained blissfully ignorant of the term "anchor baby" until today. I'll never understand the masochistic impulse that drives me to read the comments at ocregister.com. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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01-29-2010, 07:13 PM	#2
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	While I can imagine the comments being made and how awful they are, I would not necessarily be opposed to changing things so that citizenship is not granted simply for having been born in this country unless to a citizen or permanent legal resident. I'm not super bothered by the way it is now, but it also doesn't make sense (and it is a bit of an oddity in the world) to me to continue operating in this way. There's a reason that pure "jus soli" (citizenship by where you are at birth) rather than "jus sanguini" (citizenship by blood) is pretty much a western hemisphere thing and those reasons don't really extend into the 21st century. But it would probably take a constitutional amendment to change it (though there is a little bit of wiggle room for the Supreme Court to do it through slightly different interpretation of the 14th Amendment) so it will never happen. And it isn't such a horrible thing that I'll be bothered by that.
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01-29-2010, 07:20 PM	#3
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	Believe me, the people making the comments I read weren't bothered that they were given citizenship by birth, they were bothered that they were brown and given citizenship by birth. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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01-29-2010, 07:33 PM	#4
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Yeah, I know. That's why this is one view that I generally don't talk about much since it really sucks that so many of the people who would agree with me do so for such thoroughly abhorrent reasons.
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02-01-2010, 08:27 PM	#5
€uroMeinke L'Hédoniste Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: A.S.C.O.T. Posts: 8,671	So the whole abandoning the moon thing find me rather disappointed in Obama.I know the program was underfunded to begin with, we'd been there before, etc. But it just makes me think there is nothing visionary about this presidency. I mean health care was a dud, nothing's changed in the Middle East, the economy still sucks. I mean if we're not going to do anything cool like go to the Moon,or to Mars, what's the point? My boyhood Astronaut dreams die hard. __________________ I would believe only in a God that knows how to Dance. Friedrich Nietzsche
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02-01-2010, 11:00 PM	#10
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	I'm much more wowed by science than men in space so I'll take it.
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