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Not really. Legal immigrants who came through Ellis Island had no "heritage passed down from our (their) fathers." This whole Gold Card thingy might end up accommodating a few hundred thousand people, paying $5 million each into our treasury. These are to be engineers, scientists, business owners, etc...folks who could bring something of value to our nation. Let 'em in!
I agree Ellis Island was a huge mistake. America is for "us and our posterity." Not whoever can pony up the cash.
Ellis Island was not a mistake.
At the end of World War II, the US was competing with other nations, most specifically the UK and the Soviet Union, trying to round up and bring in German scientists. I know of two such scientists who were granted US citizenship, given a house, and an allowance and went to work with the US government and private enterprises developing our military technology. There were other former Germans, Nazis, who were brought to the US and granted citizenship because of their scientific knowledge. I think I read the total was something like 30 such Germans. The enormous amount of technological know-how the US garnered from this was (has been) tremendously helpful to the US, to Americans.
As for Trump's Gold Card idea. There are questions needing answered about exactly who will qualify, but I trust Trump and his team to make the right choices.
So you are in favor of open borders? Ellis Island is where we tried to figure out who was coming into our country, determine if they were bringing diseases with them, and what their intentions were once they got here.Originally Posted by Blue Dawg
The dangers are even more real today with the US being such a welfare state. Folks come here to take advantage of our system at the expense of taxpayers, so there is more of an entitlement attitude than a yearning to breathe free.
As long as these gold card folks are properly vetted, I think it's a great idea. If people that can pay this much to become Americans (and swear an oath to America and disavow all other citizenships) come here with their capital and make our economy stronger, maybe we can let in even more qualified immigrants to take the new jobs these folks are likely to create.
Close it up and close it tight.
We have all the "elite human capital" we need right here. It needs to be developed and nurtured again, and that won't happen under an elite that doesn't share the same heritage and in fact will always have loyalties to the old country. We see this with guys like Vivek who put on a cowboy hat and pretend to be one of us, when really he is seething with resentment at the actual Americans who built this country.
I think after our internal problems are solved (which make no mistake, they will be one way or the other so I hope we have the option of the more peaceful route) we could reopen slightly, of course with heavy restrictions. I'm not unreasonable.
Full disclosure: both sides of my family came through Ellis Island, or another place of entry. Mobile, Alabama was another such screening location admitting immigrants. I think my dad's side of the family who came from Ireland entered through Mobile. My mom's side of the family came through Ellis Island from Sicily.
I have always maintained I favor immigration...LEGAL immigration. We are a nation of immigrants. It would be hypocritical of me to disdain "legal" immigration. And, as most of you know, I am VERY opposed to illegal immigration. Heck, I advocate putting motion-detector machineguns on our borders.
The more I read on Trump's Gold Card plan, the more I like it. Yes, the Trump administration needs to clarify a few things, such as the criteria to be applied in the screening process. The sooner they do this the better.
So, Blue Dawg, which Native American tribe do you belong to? Surely your family were not immigrants! If so, you and all of them need to go back to your own country of origin. Well..bye bye!
WTF!
Is this some part of "The Art of the Deal"? Reports are President Z wanted to meet with Trump after the mess in the Oval Office. Today, there are reports President Z still wants to meet with Trump and sign a deal. So, did Trump just "play" President Z knowing he would come crawling back, hat it hand?
As for Trump...wow! As a businessman I was shocked by his reaction to silly talk. Who the f**k cares about what is said!? when $500 billion of critical REMs are hanging in the balance, get the deal!
And there is this...Trump is stupid if he thinks this economic deal will provide security for Ukraine. How? Putin doesn't give a chit about such deals. What does Trump think will happen? American companies send in employees to Donbas and Putin goes, "okay, that's it, I'm pulling my 400,000 troops out of Ukraine, the war is over." LOL!
I think Trump needs to name a "Foreign Policy Czar" and stick to domestic politics and policies. He is clueless about the real world.
President Z is now in London for a meeting with European leaders. Maybe EU/NATO will now step up and fund/support Ukraine without any US participation. If that happens, well, I hope it's enough for Ukraine to win the war. And of course, Europe will get all of Ukraine's minerals.
Yeah right. Europe can't take a crap without our help. Been that way for over 100 years and even more so now.
Z knew what the "all phases plan" was going into the meeting, but he chose to inject (via questions) his demand for support from the US (boots on the ground) knowing full well that was a deal breaker. When called on it, he then told us what a threat we were under here in the US. That was the straw (insult) that broke the camel's back.
The boots would have been on the ground, but only to protect America's interest which in turn would have protected Ukraine. Putin knew this and only wants the war to end before the majority of his Russian seed is taken out in a war he and Biden started.
Deal could have been signed days ago. Zelenskyy wanted to fly to DC with big meeting in Oval Office with cameras. Rubio and others were not in favor of it. Rubio gave very good interview to CNN. He continues to impress me. Zelenskyy even said the truth in his tirade that he doesn’t want peace.
Had he just signed the deal US would have interests in Ukraine that we would have protected and defended. Z showed his butt yesterday. Even Lindsay Graham is appalled. JD Vance said it best. The war is a meat grinder and Russia has way more “meat” to put through it than Ukraine does.
After all of the coaching and briefings leading up to yesterday Zelenskyy didn’t learn anything.
Honestly if Z had put on a suit (like he was warned to do many times), sucked up to Trump, heaped America with praise and thanks for helping them to drag out the war for so long, he might have walked away with something. It wouldn't have been a win, obviously, because that's impossible. But it would have been more than nothing, which is what his arrogance got him.
I'm honestly amazed that anyone in his position would walk in there and try to strong-arm the most powerful person in the world on live TV. I used to think that Z was just a conman and not completely detached from reality like Ukraine's online fans but now I think he might have been drinking the same koolaid.
When you've got the biggest warhawks in the world, Graham and Eyepatch McCain, saying you are too bloodthirsty and need to take the deal...
It was obvious that Zelenskyy's "security guarantees" involved American boots on the ground in Ukraine. He wants to play tough guy with a military that he has not paid for backing him up.
Maybe the rest of Europe will send their troops up there and do the obligatory body bag counts to show how well they are doing (such tactics are the reason Vietnam continues to be a non-communist nation today and why Afghanistan stayed out of the hands of the Taliban).
I remember the time before the war actually started, when Russia was massing troops on Ukraine's eastern border and Ukraine did NOTHING to counter that move. I remember the interviews with Ukrainians on the street (and maybe even Zelenskyy, I don't remember) where they were laughing it off and predicting there would be no invasion. I remember Biden giving the green light by saying a minor incursion would be acceptable.
If Ukraine wants to continue to exist, they are going to have to make a deal with the devil (Putin). And Doge needs to look at where the billions of dollars went when it was appropriated to support the Ukrainian war effort.
China would love to have the US involved in an expensive, defensive battle inside Ukraine.
Putin is playing baseball (hardball) and Trump is playing softball. Trump is so clueless about Putin and his intentions he might as well be talking about a deal for Mars.
Putin gave an interview on Russian National TV yesterday where he clearly spelled out his demands. They sounded NOTHING like what Trump claims Putin wants. Nothing. Look...when a lunatic dictator tells you, in his own effing words! exactly what he plans, you had better take him at those words. But for some reason Trump thinks he knows better. Putin spoke about the meeting in Saudi Arabia. Putin says Ukraine was barely discussed. Wow! And, given what he said yesterday, absolutely nothing has changed for Putin. He stills wants, and plans to take, ALL OF EASTERN EUROPE, which includes Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic States. The others, like Romania and Hungary, Putin says, have already come to their senses and are "friends" of Russia.
Putin mentioned the mineral deal with the US to appease Trump. Putin said, yes, Russia has REM's and is willing to make a deal with the US that benefits both countries. Putin also said Europe is a joke. They are afraid of Russia, are powerless without the US leading them. When asked by the reporter if he would negotiate separate deals with any European nation, Putin replied, yes, it was Europe that foolishly severed the ties with Russia [when he invaded Ukraine] and he would welcome diplomatic and economic agreements again.
Now, some might say Putin is just blowing smoke with this interview, that he doesn't really believe what he is saying. I disagree. Putin has a proven track record of saying exactly what he believes, and he acts on what he says he will do. He is playing Trump like a fiddle, as Trump is his only hope of avoiding complete defeat. If we had a president who would take the moral high ground and act to crush Putin's efforts in eastern Europe, not only would Ukraine be saved and see peace, so would all of Europe, and Putin would be removed from power by the people of Russia.
Trump is the Neville Chamberlain of the modern world. He is doing it with Putin, he is doing it with Xi. They are both playing him like the fool he is.
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