Sigmund, Carl and Alfred

From epolitix.com:

Over a quarter of a million immigrants from eastern Europe could arrive in the UK unless restrictions are put in place, a new report has claimed.Up to 300,000 Romanians and Bulgarians could come to the UK seeking work once their countries join the EU, campaign group Migrationwatch said.

It warned that Britain must not be among a handful of EU states to "go it alone" and allow unrestricted access for immigrant workers.

"It will also be essential to close off the benefit system, as for the earlier round, to prevent benefit tourism," the report stated.

Sir Andrew Green, Migrationwatch chairman, said it was "essential" that the government did not fully open the labour market until the intentions of other major EU states were clear.

"When the last batch of countries joined the EU two years ago, the government estimated that net migration to the UK would be between five and 13,000," he said.

"Yet in the period May 2004 to December 2005 there were no less than 345,000 applicants to the worker registration scheme which applies to workers from the new member states."

He added that even allowing for a significant proportion returning home, the net migration will be many times the government estimate.

The Conservatives backed the call for tougher restrictions.

Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "Last time the government opened up our borders on the ludicrous presumption that there would be less than 13,000 extra people migrating to into the UK per year.

"They were wrong by a factor of 15 and it is quite clear that to repeat this policy would have a very large and completely uncontrolled impact on further immigration into the UK."

Davis said it would be "vitally important for good community relations", as well as for public services and housing, that Britain retains ""proper control of our immigration policy".

The Anchoress on immigration:

The President of the United States is not merely President of the Base, but of the whole country. When a president is elected, his job is not then to “do the bidding of the base” or face their wrath. I daresay you would be horrified to see a Democrat president listening only to “the base.” I respectfully suggest that when a president is elected, it does not translate into “the base gets to decide policy for the nation.” I further suggest that a president who has managed to give you 70% or so of what you, “the base” wanted has earned both his say and a calm, rational, NOT-hysterical perusal of what he is proposing before the lynching party goes off half-cocked.

Maxed Out Mama on immigration:

I think we should take off the gloves and admit that unlimited cheap immigration is suppressing wages for huge numbers of people, including recent legal immigrants. Furthermore, it's an absolute undercutting of unions everywhere, because no way are illegals going to join a union and strike. It's class warfare.

It's fuelling a level of anger that's unimaginable to those who talk only to people who are insulated from the world of factory workers, house cleaners, roofers and WalMart workers. These people are subsidizing, in the form of lower wages and therefore lower costs, the lifestyles of people who have much more and make much more than they. In many areas of the country, most construction workers are making around $10 an hour. They make less in real dollars than they did in the 1970's, and they know it, and they are hurting.

Dr Sanity on immigration:

Did I mention that my Grandmother at age 15 stowed away on a boat to America and entered New York without a penny to her name, ultimately starting her own sewing business, before she met my Grandfather?

My immigrant Grandparents always understood what this country was fundamentally about.

In short, while I was lucky enough to be born an American, I am proudly descended from some incredible people who chose to be American. And I salute them and thank them from the bottom of my heart. In fact, I believe the real strength of this country comes from people who consciously and deliberately choose the liberty that America offers–whether they are born between the shining seas of this wonderful land or they make their way here by other means.

Beth on immigration:

I like what I’m reading–I don’t have a problem with any of it. No amnesty, crackdown on employers, beefing up border security with manpower AND technology, and a temporary worker program. And a statement addressing respect for American culture and our language.

Sounds good to me. I’m sure there will be some who aren’t happy no matter what he says, though.

Mamacita quotes a particularly moving passage:

In the novel "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn," the illiterate grandmother lifted her new granddaughter and said, simply, "This child has been born of parents who can read and write. This, to me, is a great miracle." The cycle of education had started, you see.

There are no quick fixes for the serious immigration problems we now face. Immigration reform and assimilating 10-12 million illegal aliens already here, is a decades long project- all because of the neglect of the last few decades, by every administration and party. We can, as a nation, fix the problem, if we can come together, define the problem and work out a solution, together. The solution will not originate in Congress, but rather, in coffee shops and with discussions across kitchen tables. Woe unto the congressman that thinks otherwise. He too, may soon be looking for work.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

Shrinkwrapped has written a superb post, Conservative Fatigue Syndrome, that provides a certain tactile quality to the ethereal mood that has begin to pervade the right side of the blogosphere. The post highlights SW's fine research, analysis and writing skills.

Shrinkwrapped begins by providing a good overview of the 'mood' that has begun to circulate in much of the blogosphere. He quotes various big name bloggers and their varied discussions of Conservative Fatigue Syndrome(CFS) and the reasons they believe the phenomena has taken hold.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dr Sanity has written another signature piece- really. While the content of The Narcissitic Dialectic: We Just Can't Kill The Beast is nothing short of riveting. Her insights provide a cool, reasoned and measured look into the mindset of the left, the right and most variations thereof. That said, the post excels because of Dr Sanity's presentation. It is clear, concise and well written. She takes her readers through measured and logical progressions. The 'psychiatry' she presents becomes readily understandable and meaningful to her readers. Towards the end of her post, she notes that,

All over the world, on a daily basis we see the horrible results of narcissism gone wrong. Individuals and groups; religions and nations act out their narcissistic rage at various insults–real and imagined– and people suffer and die for the purpose of the grandiosity of the tyrant, or the glory of the religion…

It has been said that the 20th century was the “century of the narcissist”, but the 21st is well on its way to outdoing the horrors of the past, as a seemingly never-ending epidemic of malignant narcissistic rage and idealism–both caused by a defect in narcissism and both in turn combining to crush the human spirit–all for the purpose of serving the self-aggrandizing vision of the few.

Clearly, Dr Sanity touches a nerve. Narcissism is more than a 'condition.' Narcissism comes at a cost to the individual and society. Narcissism is more like a virus or cancer than it is like sunburn. Left unchecked, narcissism affects everyone. Read the rest of this entry »