I thought the whole point of the Good Samaritan was that he did what was right despite not being expected to.
1 Like
Yeah, I never understood the rationale for such laws. The physicians and nurses I know would’ve felt ethically if not morally obligated to help.
5 Likes
This seems to be one of those very carefully worded releases. I like how they refer to how illegal migration “from Mexico” has been flat, which is a literal truth. If they had said illegal migration across the Mexican border, or “through Mexico”, it would be very different. If you go by the numbers released by US Customs and Border Protection, most illegal migrants come from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. And their numbers are not “flat”.
And mixing statistics for legal and illegal immigrants is deceptive. They are completely different issues. And the part of the infographic about migration being only a political issue seems suspect, unless you define politics very broadly. Obviously, it is an economic issue, as there are more than a few industries that rely absolutely on both illegal and legal immigrants for labor. And it seems to be a security issue in the border states.
“There is no evidence that there’s ever been a terrorist cell or any terrorist that’s ever tried to cross into the United States from
Mexico.” I guess you have to talk about how you define terrorist. I guess here we are going with the definition being “someone who successfully carried out a terrorist attack” , which is probably true. The Border patrol is, however, arresting Pakistanis and Afghans who are attempting to cross the US/Mexico Border. Some have had terrorist ties.
http://www.abc15.com/news/state/border-patrol-detains-6-middle-eastern-men-along-arizona-border
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2016/jan/05/stringers-threat-san-diego-southern-border/#
The Honduras connection is sort of interesting. If “El Heraldo” is to believed, Honduran officials have arrested 12,608 foreigners there, traveling to the US from the Middle East and elsewhere.
It could well be that the men who fly from the Middle East to Europe, and then to Honduras, using multiple fake identities and passports, in order to buy a false Honduran identity and make an illegal border crossing in the US, are doing it because they really want a seasonal job picking fruit or working in a meatpacking plant in the US.
But it really bugs me when people mix legal and illegal immigration. I guess the goal is to paint those opposed to illegal immigration as being opposed to all immigration, and put them in the same moral corner as Trump and his sort.
2 Likes
My wife is a Physician, and she has had to “render aid” to people many times over the years. Some of them have been really good saves. The best part of the good Samaritan laws is that they provide some legal protection to those rendering aid.
10 Likes
My daughter just had an MRI. $2800 was in Column 2. $500 in Column 3 - because I have “insurance”. That Column 2 minus Column 3 savings is really the ONLY benefit insurance brings many people who never hit their deductible or max out-of-pocket.
For those without insurance … you CAN and SHOULD negotiate with providers who are attempting to bill you for Column 2.
2 Likes
No, the point of the story was that the Good Samaritan went out of his way to help someone, despite being a Samaritan.
6 Likes
Which causes costs to rise for health care over all. It’s incredibly inefficient and doesn’t lead to good health outcomes, while solid preventative care actually does lead to better health outcomes and lower costs for everyone. Better preventative care might have saved both my dad and step dad, but the cost of ensuring such care for the working poor is far too high.
8 Likes
The nativist rhetoric is exactly like the anti-Asian rhetoric from a hundred years ago. I don’t think the last few waves of Asian immigrants understand how badly the earlier waves were persecuted. In addition to the rhetoric, there were race riots, ethnic cleansing in which entire neighborhoods were burned, lynchings, and in a few cases, wholesale slaughter of workers’ camps. (The WWII incarceration of Japanese-Americans was just the culmination.)
The “rehabilitation” to model minority status began in the 1930s, when the Chinese became the victims of Japanese Imperialism, and U.S. politicians had to convince the American people to give a shit after decades of anti-Asian propaganda. Then came the Cold War, the Domino Theory, and fighting communism in East and Southeast Asia.
Americans didn’t overcome their anti-Asian racism because they suddenly became enlightened, they overcame it because it was politically expedient to do so. I believe it still lurks under the surface. It’s harbored in the hearts of many Americans–and there are way too many Americans that shrug their shoulders and are willing to overlook it when nativism rears its ugly head.
5 Likes
This is also a good argument for single payer insurance. I’m a conservative (or used to think so until the nut bags usurped the label), and this is definitely one of the policy areas where the liberals are right.
6 Likes
According to Oxford, English Dictionary, when used as a noun, “illegal” is defined as a person present in a country without official authorization. The same defines an “illegal alien” as a foreigner, especially one who is not a naturalized citizen of the country where they are living.
Banning words or phrases will not lead to actual justice in the world. It is a stalinesque tactic, even if done with good intentions.
Any lawyer citing the OED to substantiate their case would be laughed out of the courtroom by everyone including the bailiff.
Legal code always includes provisions defining its terminology. That’s why lawyers cite the law when arguing a case and not a dictionary.
The law is explicit not just for clarity’s sake but also to preserve the principle of justice. An alien on U.S. soil without documents is just that—undocumented. Calling them ‘illegal’ renders judgement before consideration of any other factor, including the not uncommon case of lost papers.
13 Likes
That seems like a good point, and pretty well explained. If I am ever in court, and need to address the issue, I will remember it.
3 Likes
It also puts the burden on the health care system to choose to absorb costs of policy without public support, and then the GOP turns around and says the further privatization is what will cut costs - by encouraging more layers of management and more “support” companies buying debt and bullying people who cannot pay.
The concept of insurance itself is an artificial bloat on the system because there is no method to reasonably pay without it.
5 Likes
That’s what I mean.
I think the three people who came by were a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan.
So, two people that should have helped, but didn’t, and then one person who shouldn’t have, but did.
The point being that the Samaritan wasn’t compelled to help, but did anyway.
Making a law that says, “You medical professionals standing by are compelled to help if you see someone injured” does not seem to correspond to that story. “You people who are not compelled to help are protected if you do so anyway” sounds like a much better correspondence to that story. And most Good Samaritan laws are the latter, but I don’t understand why laws that fit the former description are called “Good Samaritan laws.”
4 Likes
I never get drunk because by replacing the beers I drank with new ones my consumption has been zero for years.
1 Like
And yet you evidently still suffer from short term symptoms of inebriation and long term symptoms of alcohol poisoning. That’s tragic.
2 Likes
Its also a political issue being that 1/4 of the illegal alien population didn’t come here illegally, but were people discarded by work/study visa programs which are badly written and harmful parts of our immigration code. People who were paying taxes and working legally here but unable to continue doing so. People who are illegal aliens only because our employment visa system is dysfunctional. Allegedly designed to protect “American Jobs” but in reality create widespread abuse by employers.
5 Likes
Anyone who equates an illegal alien with a criminal doesn’t understand the laws in question. Criminals have far more due process rights. Illegal aliens violated administrative law and immigration courts are not part of the judiciary, but in fact are an executive branch area of jurisdiction
6 Likes
I was disputing the assertion that it was only a political issue. And I have no doubt that American companies abuse the Visa system. They abuse any system where they can find a weakness. I do not know as much as I would like to about the visa system, so I can’t speak in detail about that. If your data is correct, 75% of illegal aliens did come here illegally. I don’t want to trivialize their experiences in their home countries, but someone who crosses the border illegally is making their first act in the US one of showing contempt for our laws.
There is a fundamental philosophical difference between the views of open border activists and the rest of us. My solution to the issue would be to secure the borders, but to create a guest worker program, to allow those seasonal workers to come in and do their jobs. I do not think that letting everyone in the world that would prefer an American standard of living is a good idea. There are levels of immigration that can be sustainable, not just financially, but in the sense that those people can be assimilated as far as knowledge of, and respect for constitutional protections, education to the point of employability, and instilling basic American values and work ethic. That does not mean a loss of cultural identity. I guess I can point to the Vietnamese immigrants on the Texas gulf coast as an example of success in that way.
I guess the controversial part of my belief is that some cultures are harder to assimilate than others, and that assimilation is, in itself, a positive thing. I do believe that essentially any person can be a productive American.
Give me a break!
In most situations, it is their ONLY violation of US laws. Frankly I find the argument is best suited for people who support laws they know little about. “The Law is the Law” is not really a good argement to make in a democratic nation. One should know and appreciate the merits of a given law. As the right to criticize such things is a given here.
The punishment for illegal border crossing is far more draconian than the offense. It lacks the sane proportionality one should have in laws. IMO illegal entry (without any subsequent felonies) should be punished as a stiff fine. You pay, you stay. This way instead of penalizing people who are clearly staying out of trouble otherwise and contributing to our economy, you limit the illegal alien population to actual criminals. A manageable and justifiably demonized population. Plus it provides a means to end the exploitation of such people by companies. Plus payment of a fine is obeying a law and receiving a penalty for improper actions.
Strict immigration penalties, “catch and deport” strategies, have zero effect on illegal immigration flows other than to create greater profit motive for human traffickers and companies which employ such people. We have had 50 years to see its effects.
Guest Worker programs do not work. They are a miserable failure in Europe. The reason being, is the automatic assumption that the workers are willing to go back to their country of origin after spending significant time here. It is exactly that kind of thinking which creates the avenues for exploitation. IMO employment visas should be portable to the employee, not the employer. This way they are not coerced into working under market wages or putting up with abusive employment situations, just to stay in the country. Also such visas should be convertible to permanent residence if one works here long enough and seeks to stay. Such people already have grown roots here and contribute to our economy and society. It would be returning the favor and allowing them to contribute even more.
“There are levels of immigration that can be sustainable, not just financially, but in the sense that those people can be assimilated as far as knowledge of, and respect for constitutional protections, education to the point of employability, and instilling basic American values and work ethic”
The economy does that for us. Immigrants don’t get the benefits of public assistance like citizens do. Even illegal aliens go through this. No jobs available means no American standard of living. No point in staying. Which is why we lost about 2-3 million illegal aliens without deportation efforts. Just due to the economic downturn from 2008 onward.
10 Likes
