Jesus, this country is fucked up.

Doesn't Texas have internet remote controlled hunting as well. Now all they have to do is........................................

yeeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

One of the largest recurring costs for a CCTV surveillance system is the people to watch all the cameras. This provides a way for the public to feel involved and may save money.

I a bit perplexed on why a toll-free phone number is being used for reporting. That will drive a requirement for a bank of phone operators (cost), not to mention the costs of the toll-free phone calls.

The video is being delivered via a web portal. Why not include a simple spot report (something a bit simpler than a standard SALUTE report) form on the portal? They could get really snazzy and do user accounts. If a camera feed is suddenly getting 20 reports against it, then a trained state operator knows to take a look. Over time, as users develop a track record of accurate or inaccurate identifications, their reports could be assigned greater or lesser weight in the process.

Heck, you could even award t-shirt (maybe ball caps would be better) for 10, 100, 250, etc accurate identifications.

Yeah, the last item was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but making better use of the portal would save money, cut timelines, and provide immediate feedback.

While I'm not sure that this is a particularly good idea to help control immigration, I am sick of everyone slamming our government for trying to control it. And since the focus seems to be on Mexico, that is what I'm addressing now, although I think that stricter immigration control from all countries should be put into effect. What are we supposed to do? Stand on the border and offer them cool glasses of lemonade as they come across? Don't worry about paying taxes, my friend. Enjoy the quality of life in America that everyone else pays for! Come on over, don't worry about any of the paperwork, then take to the streets and demand the full rights of a U.S. citizen. Complain publicly about how our government is run, although you can't vote, since you aren't even a citizen of our country! Demand things from our country, but go ahead and keep your allegiance to your own. Please. I'm not saying that we should shut down our borders or anything like that. Unless you are Native American, everyone here is descended from immigrants. Hell, my grandmother is German. But go through the proper channels, become citizens. There are reasons that we have immigration laws. We would not allow MILLIONS of people to enter without our knowledge and consent from other countries, why should we allow Mexicans to do so? This country would absolutely SHIT itself if thousands, millions of people from other countries stormed the borders. It would be considered an invasion. Yet when our neighbors to the south do it, we want to be all PC and nice about it. No, I don't think Mexico is staging a takeover of the U.S., but why should we say its OK for one nation and not for others? Wow, kinda went off there for a minute but I am really sick of everyone painting people who want to control immigration as a bunch of racist rednecks. Obviously, the people coming here are from 3rd world countries, and tend to be what are considered as minorities. It's because their country sucks and they want a better life (in a nutshell). We aren't exactly getting inundated with refugees from the U.K. So it's logical that the people who are going to be effected by immigration the most are going to be minorities, so it ends up looking like we just dont want them because they aren't white Republicans. My problems come from the people who come here, expecting the rights to resources that they don't pay for, demanding things from a government that they can't even vote for. I'm off my little soapbox now, anxiously awaiting to be told (in wry, sarcastic, intelligently worded commentary) that I am, in fact, a racist redneck.

edited for grammar

[Edited on Jun 05, 2006 by DancehallDreamer]

I agree on many of your points, however I would add that I think that the vast majority of immigrants who come here illegally do so not because they are freeloading bums, but because our process for immigrating legally is broken and far too difficult. Most of them would LOVE to be American citizens, but it's extremely difficult if you're unskilled and uneducated. However, our economy requires a vast supply of unskilled immigrant workers. So...?

I'm not usually so snarky, but I must applaud your appeal; but why stop there? I suggest that we here in Colorado invoke similar methods for keeping out the Texans for whom we harbor strong contempt for many of the same reasons your anoint the Mexicans. You live in an unglamorous local and seek refuge from the heat and population by migrating to my lovely state every summer and overrunning our ski slopes every winter.

I'm beginning to like that the idea of webcams and web controlled weaponry! Hell, I think you may have won a convert to your protectionist position!

Yes, the two are exactly comparable, and I am glad to see that we agree on this subject. Thank God that the ski industry and tourism is actually an economic detriment to your state, and not the second largest source of income for it!

I certainly agree that our immigration system is horribly broken (along with the rest of our government) but it doesn't seem to be too difficult for the immigrants that are coming in legally. We already have enough lazy and stupid people in this country, why should we be letting more in? As for the need for a vast supply of unskilled labor, if the flow of illegal immigrants were to be cut off, something else would take its place.

Amen sister! Take all the Texas and California money out of Colorado and watch their economy crumble. For all the supposed Colorado animosity towards Texans and Californians, they have always been more than willing to take my money every time I have been there.

Now...if either of you can provide me with factual data on how much the current immigrants (illegal) cost the country - or your specific state, then we can have a meaningful discussion in proper context. I've accomplished my objective, drawn you into framing the discussion on grounds that are largely something other than emotion. The next move is yours. As much as Colorado loathes your presence, the state seems to love your cash. A similar framework exists with the immigrants who spend something like $200 - 450 billion each year they are here.

You've 'accomplished your objective'? You didn't do that on purpose. Who are you trying to kid? You made yourself look stupid and are now trying to lure me into a statistical debate by pretending that all along you meant for me to talk numbers with you. We could throw up numbers all day long and half of tomorrow and each of us would have some type of rebuttal for it. And yes, a lot of what I feel is simply emotional. I hate the fact that there are citzens of the U.S. sucking government funding down the drain, and I hate it more that people who aren't even legal are doing it as well. Living in a border state, we pick up a lot of the slack, especially in healthcare costs, imprisoning illegal aliens, and education for natural born children of illegal immigrants, without the government even refunding a quarter of what our hospitals and jails spend every year. Everyone says that we need the cheap labor of the immigrants. So, its ok to basically use them for slave labor in the states. Does that not offend anyone else? That the major argument in keeping the borders open is so that we can continue to pay them next to nothing for picking fruit? Does that not smack of something a bit cold natured?

I'm a capitalist honey, look at my profile and look at my posts; you will find that I am progressive, outspoken, and factual, and I don't "kid" (sic) - whatever that might mean.

You don't have a clue who is or is not "sucking government funding down the drain." If you had any fucking inkling you would look to the trillion dollars your boy spent in his march toward Mission Accomplished (sic) and if your arguments weren't intellectually bankrupt you might apply some analysis into where that money might better be spent. The expenses you speculate this country incurs to provide modest healthcare and services are insignificant in light of the waste you probably support as monotonous ritual.

And the argument around slave labor is crap. These people are free to come and they are free to go. In simple economic terms, they fill an unmet market need. Grow up, get used to it, because the strain on your way of life, your income, your lifestyle, is not creeping across some invisible border you want to put between you and the greater Houston area. Those forces are coming from a global market where boundaries are becoming increasingly meaningless and you can continue to either amplify your protectionist behavior and further rationalize your position, or adapt.

And in the future, try to refrain from deflecting the argument from fact-finding by suggesting that agreement is unattainable; it’s intellectually dishonest and analogous to suggesting that you are otherwise unwilling to face facts and prefer to emote in some idiosyncratic rant.


[Edited on Jun 05, 2006 by Adroitbeing]

"Base this is border Patrolman Rickman here... Can someone trace the user of Remote Automatic Rifle #556239...... Once you find him , can you please explain to this idiot the difference between An Immigrant smugglers vehicle and a Standard Issue Border Patrol Vehicle.... this moron has shot up my ride for the past five nights and im getting SICK OF IT!!!.... hehe