003.

"Debt is such a powerful tool, it is such a useful tool, it's much better than colonialism ever was because you can keep control without having an army, without having a whole administration."

Susan George

002.

I HIDE myself within my flower,
That wearing on your breast,
You, unsuspecting, wear me too—
And angels know the rest.

I hide myself within my flower,
That, fading from your vase,
You, unsuspecting, feel for me
Almost a loneliness.
-Emily Dickinson

001.

I recently watched the documentary, Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend watching. This profoundly moving documentary details the struggles undertaken by a handful of Central Americans hoping to immigrate to the United States and Canada.

I was enlightened, to say the least. Not only do you see the desperate living conditions that many of these so called "illegals" endure in their home countries, but you also are able to see just how difficult, and frankly dangerous, it is to attempt to come to the United States. While watching, any oversimplified notion one might have of some dishonest, underhanded, individuals sneaking across the boarder to "take our jobs" will disappear, as it should.

Can anybody with and intellectual integrity honestly say that "illegal" immigrants, whether they be Mexican or Guatemalan or Chinese or Indian, are actually TAKING jobs from American citizens? Sure, a small percentage of the estimated 25 million "illegal" immigrants in American are directly filling job positions that otherwise would be open to legal American citizens, but for the most part this is little more than a dishonest meme used by xenophobes to demagogue to the uninformed, and frankly unintelligent American public. Honestly, illegal immigrants offer valuable labor that keeps the American economy functioning while never receiving any of the benefits bestowed upon American workers. While "illegals" pay upwards of $9 billion into the Social Security fund annually, they will never collect from it. No Medicare, no Medicaid, no unemployment, no welfare, no government benefits what so ever will ever go to the vast majority of "illegals" breaking their backs daily in hopes of supporting their families, yet they are easy scapegoats for the atrocious trade policies put in place in this country. NAFTA, CAFTA, the WTO, "free trade" and Reganomics are to blame for the horrid state working class America finds itself in today, not the small number of hard working men and women who happen to be in American without the proper paperwork.