Open Borders vs. Social Justice?

From Stephen Macedo, in Carol M. Swain, ed., Debating Immigration, "The Moral Dilemma of U.S. Immigration Policy: Open Borders Versus Social Justice?"



And from Ann Coulter, Adios, America: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole.

Man-Hunting in the Hindu Kush (VIDEO)

Following up from my report over the weekend, "The Drone Papers (VIDEO)."

Remember, so-called progressive Democrats are supposed to be antiwar, but we're seeing the most aggressive clandestine military build-up around the world ever, using special operations and unmanned aerial drones, to wage unlimited war, with virtually no checks and balances on executive power. And like I said earlier, I'm no shrinking violent on the War on Terror. I'm just gobsmacked at the left's epic hypocrisy.

In any case, at the Intercept, "MANHUNTING IN THE HINDU KUSH: CIVILIAN CASUALTIES AND STRATEGIC FAILURES IN AMERICA’S LONGEST WAR."

Ryan Devereaux, the report's author, is interviewed at communist Amy Goodman's Democracy Now:

Jeff Sessions and Dave Brat: Memo to the GOP

At Roll Call, "Memo to GOP: Curb Immigration or Quit":

America is about to break every known immigration record. And yet you are unlikely to hear a word about it.

The Census Bureau projects that the foreign-born share of the U.S. population will soon eclipse the highest levels ever documented, and will continue surging to new record highs each year to come.

Yet activists and politicians who support unprecedented levels of immigration are never asked to explain how they believe such a policy will affect social stability, community cohesion or political assimilation.

They can simply cry out, “We must pass immigration reform!” without ever explaining what they believe “immigration reform” means.

Immigration reform should mean improvements to immigration policy to benefit Americans. But in Washington, immigration reform has devolved into a euphemism for legislation that opens America’s borders, floods her labor markets and gives corporations the legal right to import new foreign workers to replace their existing employees at lower pay.

Consider the giant special interests clamoring for the passage of the Senate’s 2013 “gang of eight” immigration bill: tech oligarchs represented by Mark Zuckerberg’s FWD.us, open borders groups such as La Raza and the globalist class embodied by the billionaire-run Partnership for a New American Economy.

For these and countless other interest groups who helped write the bill, it delivered spectacularly: the tech giants would receive double the number of low-wage H-1B workers to substitute for Americans. La Raza would receive the further opening of America’s borders (while Democratic politicians gain more political power). And the billionaire lobby would receive the largest supply of visas for new low-skilled immigrants in our history, transferring wealth and bargaining power from workers to their employers.

What would be the effect on schools? On hospitals? On police departments? On labor conditions? On poverty? What would the effect be on millions of past immigrants forced to compete for scarce jobs and meager wages against these new arrivals?
Few seemed to ask, or care.

This is not immigration reform. This is the dissolution of the nation state, of the principle that a government exists to serve its own people...

Keep reading (via Lonely Conservative).

Jeb Bush Continues to Lose Ground in Latest WSJ/NBC News Poll

Trump and Carson still lead the pack.

At WSJ, "Donald Trump and Ben Carson Gain Strength in Poll of Republicans":

Donald Trump and Ben Carson continue to broaden their appeal among Republican primary voters and have widened their lead over former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and many other more-experienced candidates, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds.

Mr. Bush, once considered the GOP’s likely nominee, is also lagging behind his onetime protege, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is emerging as the leading contender to rally the party’s establishment wing against the rise of insurgent outsiders such as Messrs. Trump and Carson.

The new poll, conducted Oct. 15-18, underscores the durability—even the gathering strength—of anti-Washington candidates who had long been viewed as likely to be flash-in-the-pan political phenomena.

The poll also tested opinion on another aspect of the Republican Party’s internal struggles, the question of who will succeed Rep. John Boehner (R., Ohio) as House speaker. GOP primary voters in the survey said it was more important to find a successor who would stand up for principles rather than seek compromise, even if that meant less work would get done, by a 56% to 40% split.

Nearly two-thirds of Republicans said they would be “comfortable and positive” if Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) became speaker. Mr. Ryan so far has refused to take the job, but many Republicans see him as one of the few figures who could appeal both to establishment and insurgent wings of the party.

In the presidential competition, candidates with little political experience continue to rule. Mr. Trump, the reality-television celebrity and businessman, was the first choice of GOP primary voters, with 25% support, up from 21% in a late September Journal/NBC News poll.

Mr. Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, placed second in the new survey, with 22% support, a slight rise over last month despite controversy over statements he made that an observant Muslim shouldn’t be U.S. president.

Behind them was Mr. Rubio, who rose to 13% in the poll from 11% last month. He was the only other GOP candidate to draw double-digit support.

Mr. Bush, who led the field as recently as June, when he was first choice of 22% of GOP primary voters, drew 8% in the latest poll. That put him in the same league as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the antiestablishment conservative who entered the race as a long shot, and Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard executive who gained traction after the first two GOP debates, but hasn’t reached the top tier. Mr. Cruz had 9% support, and Mrs. Fiorina 7%.

Mr. Bush is losing among poll respondents such as Nicholas Montagnoli, a construction worker in California who prefers Messrs. Trump and Carson, and views their lack of political experience as an asset, not a liability.

“The circle [of people] that runs around staying in politics, they become so involved that they are not doing what they came to office to do anymore,” said Mr. Montagnoli, who said he couldn’t support Mr. Bush. “I think fresh people and nonpolitical people would do a lot better.”

More.

Eritrean Asylum Seeker 'Lynched' in Israel (VIDEO)

This is just a horrible, stomach-curdling story.

At the Los Angeles Times, "'One crime breeds another': Bus station shooting sparks a 'shocking lynching' in Israel."

And at the Times of Israel, "Soul-searching in Israel after mob beats Eritrean misidentified as terrorist":

The recent wave of terror attacks has led to fear and panic but the events in Beersheba Sunday night brought things to a whole new level.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The death of an Eritrean migrant who was shot and beaten by a mob that mistakenly believed he was a Palestinian attacker set off a round of soul-searching Monday amid the jittery atmosphere sweeping Israel in a wave of unrest.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the vigilantism. Some critics accused Israel’s leaders of fostering the charged climate, while others called for the swift prosecution of the crazed mob.

“It is a disgrace to Israeli society, and those that carried out this lynching need to be found and brought to justice,” said Yaakov Amidror, Netanyahu’s former national security adviser.

“Even if it was the terrorist himself, by the way, after he was shot, after he was neutralized and lying on the floor, you need to be an animal to torment him,” he told Israel Radio.

Eight Israelis have been killed in the past month in the attacks, mostly stabbings, on city streets. At least 42 Palestinians have been killed — including 20 identified as attackers; the rest died in clashes with Israeli forces.

Amid the seemingly random attacks, Israelis have stocked up on mace and pepper spray, and some public officials are openly carrying personal weapons and encouraging the public to do the same. Security has been increased, and especially in Jerusalem.

The violence has led to fear and sometimes outright panic...

Plus, more video at Reuters, "Eritrean mistaken for gunman killed in Israeli bus station attack."

Sweden Strains to Handle Massive Influx Muslim Migrants (VIDEO)

The video's at PBS News Hour, "Migrant-magnet Sweden strains to shelter unexpected influx." (Transcript.)

And see this devastating report at the Gatestone Institute, "Sweden Close to Collapse."

Why Washington's Middle East Pullback Makes Sense

From Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson, at Foreign Affairs, "The End of Pax Americana":

The Obama administration has clearly pulled back from the United States’ recent interventionism in the Middle East, notwithstanding the rise of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and the U.S.-led air war against it. Critics pin the change on the administration’s aversion to U.S. activism in the region, its unwillingness to engage in major combat operations, or President Barack Obama’s alleged ideological preference for diminished global engagement. But the reality is that Washington’s post-9/11 interventions in the region—especially the one in Iraq—were anomalous and shaped false perceptions of a “new normal” of American intervention, both at home and in the region. The administration’s unwillingness to use ground forces in Iraq or Syria constitutes not so much a withdrawal as a correction—an attempt to restore the stability that had endured for several decades thanks to American restraint, not American aggressiveness.

It’s possible to argue that pulling back is less a choice than a necessity. Some realist observers claim that in a time of economic uncertainty and cuts to the U.S. military budget, an expansive U.S. policy in the region has simply become too costly. According to that view, the United States, like the United Kingdom before it, is the victim of its own “imperial overstretch.” Others argue that U.S. policy initiatives, especially the recent negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, have distanced Washington from its traditional Middle Eastern allies; in other words, the United States isn’t pulling back so much as pushing away.

In actuality, however, the main driver of the U.S. pullback is not what’s happening in Washington but what’s happening in the region. Political and economic developments in the Middle East have reduced the opportunities for effective American intervention to a vanishing point, and policymakers in Washington have been recognizing that and acting accordingly. Given this, the moderate U.S. pullback should be not reversed but rather continued, at least in the absence of a significant threat to core U.S. interests.

BACK TO NORMAL

Between World War II and the 9/11 attacks, the United States was the quin­tessential status quo power in the Middle East, undertaking military intervention in the region only in exceptional circumstances. Direct U.S. military involvement was nonexistent, minimal, or indirect in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the 1956 Suez crisis, the Six-Day War in 1967, the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. The 1982–84 U.S. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon was a notorious failure and gave rise to the “overwhelming force” doctrine, which precluded subsequent U.S. interventions until Saddam Hussein’s extraordinarily reckless invasion of Kuwait forced Washington’s hand in 1990.

Washington didn’t need a forward-leaning policy because U.S. interests largely coincided with those of its strategic allies and partners in the region and could be served through economic and diplomatic relations combined with a modest military presence. The United States and the Gulf Arab states shared a paramount need to maintain stable oil supplies and prices and, more broadly, political stability. Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the United States, Israel, and the Gulf Arab states have had the mutual objective of containing Iran. Beginning with the Camp David accords in 1978, American, Egyptian, and Israeli interests converged, and their trilateral relationship was reinforced by substantial U.S. aid to Egypt and Israel alike. And even after 9/11, the United States, Israel, and the Gulf Arab states had shared priorities in their fights against terrorism.

Over the past decade, however, several factors largely unrelated to Washington’s own policy agenda have weakened the bases for these alliances and partnerships...

Keep reading.

Germany Shows Signs of Strain from Mass of Refugees

At Der Spiegel, "'We're Under Water': Germany Shows Signs of Strain from Mass of Refugees":

The unceasing influx of refugees is creating tremendous uncertainty in Germany. Many towns and cities are calling for help and the government appears to be rudderless. Pressure is mounting for Chancellor Angela Merkel to act.

The road to the reception camp in Hesepe has become something of a refugees' avenue. Small groups of young men wander along the sidewalk. A family from Syria schleps a clutch of shopping bags towards the gate. A Sudanese man snakes along the road on his bicycle. Most people don't speak a word of German, just a little fragmentary English, but when they see locals, they offer a friendly wave and call out, "Hello!"

The main road "is like a pedestrian shopping zone," says one resident, "except without the stores." Red-brick houses with pretty gardens line both sides of the street, and Kathrin and Ralf Meyer are standing outside theirs. "It's gotten a bit too much for us," says the 31-year-old mother of three. "Too much noise, too many refugees, too much garbage."
Now the Meyers are planning to move out in November. They're sick of seeing asylum-seekers sit on their garden wall or rummage through their garbage cans for anything they can use. Though "you do feel sorry for them," says Ralf, who's handed out some clothes that his children have grown out of. "But there are just too many of them here now."

Hesepe, a village of 2,500 that comprises one district of the small town of Bramsche in the state of Lower Saxony, is now hosting some 4,000 asylum-seekers, making it a symbol of Germany's refugee crisis. Locals are still showing a great willingness to help, but the sheer number of refugees is testing them. The German states have reported some 409,000 new arrivals between Sept. 5 and Oct. 15 -- more than ever before in a comparable time period -- though it remains unclear how many of those include people who have been registered twice...

Astonishing, really.

As Pat Condell said recently, Germany's committing suicide to assuage its guilt from the Holocaust. It's not good.

Former English Defence League Leader Tommy Robinson Speaks at Massive PEGIDA Rally in Dresden (VIDEO)

At Blazing Cat Fur, "Tommy Robinson Speaks to 40,000 Strong Crowd at the Pegida Anti-Muslim Invader Rally in Germany."

And watch, via Ruptly:



PREVIOUSLY: "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West."

Mayor Eric Garcetti Flees 'Chaotic' Town Hall Meeting After Being Swarmed by Angry #BlackLivesMatter Protesters

I swear these people are animals. Even far-left Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti was frightened for his life.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Garcetti abruptly leaves South L.A. forum because of Black Lives Matter protesters."

Via Twitter.

Can Any Republican Defeat Ancient Socialist Crone Hillary Clinton?

From Kurt Schlichter, at Town Hall, "It’s pretty clear that Hillary is going to be the nominee of the Party of Elderly Socialist White People..."

Tory Voter in Tearful Question Time 'Now Supports Jeremy Corbyn' (VIDEO)

At the Independent UK, "Michelle Dorrell: Tory voter in tearful Question Time attack on government 'now supports Jeremy Corbyn'."

And watch, via BBC News:

U.S. and Japan Display Naval Forces in Show of Strength Off Tokyo Bay (VIDEO)

At USA Today, "U.S., Japanese naval forces stage show of strength."

And watch, via RT:



And, flashback from April, "U.S. and Japan Tighten Alliance in Face of Surging Threat from China."

NFL Network Airs Nude Bengals Players During Locker Room Interview

Heh, you'd think someone would have thought of this before going live, lol.

At the Hollywood Reporter.

Larry David's Bernie Sanders Impression (VIDEO)

At WSJ, "Watch Larry David’s Bernie Sanders Impression on ‘SNL’":

“Saturday Night Live” might have belonged to Tracy Morgan this week, but Larry David, the crotchety comedic mastermind from “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” nearly stole the show.

And watch, via CNN:

Television Networks Project Liberal Party Victory in Canada's National Elections

The Wall Street Journal's got an analysis, "Canada Networks Project Liberal Party Victory in National Elections":

OTTAWA—Canadian broadcast networks projected a victory for the centrist Liberal Party in national elections late Monday night.

Results from Atlantic Canada and early returns in vote-rich Ontario and Quebec gave an advantage to the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party campaigned on a track record of economic leadership, which he said put him in a better position to lead Canada out of its economic downturn.

But voters showed a strong desire for change, according to polls. Those same polls said before Monday’s vote that the favorite to win Monday’s election was relative newcomer Mr. Trudeau, 43 years old, who was tagged as “not ready to run” by the Harper campaign.

In the leadup to Monday’s election, voters expressed unease about their prospects, as Canada’s economy contracted in the first half of the year. While indicators point to a return to growth in the third quarter, Canada’s economy has still suffered the most of any advanced economy from the drop in prices for crude oil and other commodities.

That decline made it harder for Mr. Harper to run on the strength of his economic leadership. The country’s central bank has cut rates twice this year, and the Canadian dollar has weakened 20% versus the U.S. dollar since the start of the commodity-price rout.

Mr. Trudeau appealed to the 70%of voters who told pollsters they wanted a change. The son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Mr. Trudeau is a former high-school teacher who has never held a cabinet post or executive job.

He ran on a pledge to reduce income inequality and support the middle class, including by increasing tax rates for the top 1% of earners, and a plan to stimulate the economy with an infrastructure-spending plan of 60 billion Canadian dollars ($46 billion) over the 10 years, financed in part by deficits.

That plan contrasts with the approach of Mr. Harper, who sought to keep taxes low and promised to balance the budget.

Mr. Trudeau also signaled he aims to rebuild relations with Washington, which he and others have said are at a low ebb due to tensions over a slew of issues including the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline, which was championed by Mr. Harper. The Liberal Party says it supports the Keystone XL pipeline project and that it would create jobs and help Canada’s energy patch...

Andrew Coyne Resigns as Opinion Editor at National Post After Newspaper Rejects Election Column

Just saw this right now, at the Toronto Star, "Andrew Coyne leaves editor role over National Post’s election endorsement."

And on Twitter:

So anyway… I have resigned as editor of Editorials and Comment for the National Post, effective immediately. I will remain a columnist.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

2. Postmedia executives and I had a professional disagreement. Their view was that the publication of a column by the editorial page editor…

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

3. … dissenting from the Post’s endorsement of the Conservatives would have confused readers and embarrassed the paper.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

4. My view was that that was what I was paid to do as a columnist: give my honest opinion on issues of public interest.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

5. I don’t see public disagreement as confusing. I see it as honest. Readers, in my view, are adults & understand that adults can disagree.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

7. To be clear, the owners and managers of a newspaper have a perfect right to set the paper’s editorial line as they wish.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

8. Likewise they have a perfect right to decide who and what they wish to publish in their pages.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

9. Nobody has a God-given right to be published and the country will get along very well without me telling them how to vote.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

10. My concerns were and are merely a) that there should be no suggestion that I was personally endorsing or voting for the Conservatives.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

11. And b) that I could not do my job as a columnist if I was obliged to stay silent where these conflicted with those of management.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

12. While Postmedia’s intervention was unprecedented in my experience, I could not allow the precedent to stand.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

13. So to protect my reputation and to preserve my editorial freedom as a columnist, I felt it necessary to resign the editorial position.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

14. I think that’s all I need to say on the subject. If anyone’s still interested, I will be voting for the NDP candidate in my riding.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

15. The short-form reasoning: the Conservatives don’t deserve to be re-elected, and the Liberals don’t deserve a majority.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

*6. The confusion, if any, would have been to have left the impression that the paper’s views were mine, or that my views were the paper’s.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) October 19, 2015

Liberal Party's Justin Trudeau Will Be Canada's Next Prime Minister

At Toronto's Globe and Mail, "Trudeau Liberals to form new government..."

And at the CBC, ".@PeterMansbridge announces CBC projection that Justin Trudeau will be Canada's next PM..."

PREVIOUSLY: "Canada's Liberal Party Jumps Out to Early Lead as Polls Close in Atlantic Canada."

Canada's Liberal Party Jumps Out to Early Lead as Polls Close in Atlantic Canada

Hope and change up North, at Toronto's National Post, "Canadian election 2015: Liberals in early lead after landslide in Atlantic Canada."

Also at the live blog, "Canadian election 2015: Live news, photos and analysis."

Eurotunnel Forced to Suspend Services After Muslim 'Migrants' Storm Terminals and Platforms in France

At Atlas Shrugs, "Eurotunnel SUSPENDS Trains After Muslim Migrants STORM Tunnel."

Also at Telegraph UK, "Eurotunnel stops trains after hundreds of migrants storm terminal in France."

Well, you wouldn't want to be too critical of the Muslims trying to get into Britain, lest you come off as "racist."