Politics: Immigration

Even when I was living in Louisiana, a state that shares no borders with other countries, the problem of immigration was a hot topic. People are pouring over the borders of Mexico to escape that hellhole, and they're coming into our country to work longer hours and for less pay than any Americans are willing and legally able to work. All this while having their kids, who don't speak English, come to our schools that we pay for with our tax dollars, visit our charity hospitals, and just generally take advantage of all of the freedoms we've earned. Also, it's illegal, and the problem is that the government needs to just start enforcing the law.

Except, it's really not that simple at all. I think we will need to completely reevaluate our approach to immigration in this country. And, if we do, I think immigration can help to fuel the country's growth rather than drive it into the ground.

Japan Trip, Part II: Immigration

If you ever fly to Japan, do yourself a favor and make sure your plane arrives sometime during the day late afternoon at the latest. Unless you have a car available, the cheapest way to get around is the public transit system, but that all shuts down at around midnight. After that, all you've got is taxis, and that gets real expensive real fast.

So, as our plane landed at 10:30PM or so, we were in a big damn hurry to get through customs. Unfortunately, it seems like every international flight landed at once, just in time to make sure we weren't getting out of that airport until well past midnight.