This what having no compassion looks like

[MooNiNite]

I spilled my water, in justification, my carpet is wet.

 

Why do you think the lives of people who do good things and work hard generally improve? 

 

Is it God's grace?

 

Or a quantifiable justification?

 

You know, If someone goes and runs into a wall really hard, I personally don't think the wall will have sympathy.

 

Is that a fault in reality? Or a fault in the individual for not grasping the nature of things?

[Stosh]

Justification is presenting a moral endorsement. Cause n effect isnt doing that. The water isnt good or bad for being in the carpet. Lives end in death, regardless, walls and gods have no sympathy, humans may.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Stosh

[thelerner]

Poker.  You're dealt a hand at birth, genetics, social standing, environment.  You play it well, or badly.  More cards are dealt, good or bad.  Playing well has its rewards, but offers no guarantees, except for the love of the game. 

[dust]

Or we might have system in place which isn't merit-based...

 

Perhaps, though I might point to The New Colossus. Isn't there some merit to that sentiment? Wasn't it the huddled masses yearning to breathe free that made America (apparently) great in the first place?

[cold]

I wake up look in the bathroom mirror and I see hope, love and compassion.

Driving later I am cut off in stop and go traffic, in a hurry, I look in the rare view mirror and see anger, intolerance, and no compassion.

[Brian]

Perhaps, though I might point to The New Colossus. Isn't there some merit to that sentiment? Wasn't it the huddled masses yearning to breathe free that made America (apparently) great in the first place?

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" was carved on the General Post Office Building in NYC (ZIP Code 10001) when it was built in 1912 because the architects liked it. It is a nice sentiment.

 

"The New Colossus" was written as part of a private fund-raising campaign to help pay for the pedestal for The Statue of Liberty. Twenty years later, it was engraved on a bronze plaque and hung on the wall in the lower level. It is a nice sentiment.

 

In 1965, the Johnson Administration changed US immigration policy to abandon the traditional practice of predominantly merit-based screening and selection. The same folks also implemented the framework for the welfare state (main elements came into being in '64, '65 & '66). Combine those two and mix in the Cloward-Piven Strategy (introduced in 1966 as a plan to overwhelm the welfare system to force the implementation of a national guaranteed income program) and the puzzle pieces start to fit together.

[dust]

Who in power benefits? If these pieces really fit as an intentional, fully-formed, long-term plan.... why?

 

Yes, the sentiments of both carving and plaque are nice, and no, that they were placed there doesn't mean that they must hold true for eternity, but I'm glad you agree that the sentiment of The New Colossus, and the modern symbolism of the statue, is nice.

 

Also... isn't the American system merit-based? As far as I know, in order for a foreigner to get a visa to work at an American company there must be evidence that the company cannot find a US citizen to fill the position?

[Stosh]

Perhaps, though I might point to The New Colossus. Isn't there some merit to that sentiment? Wasn't it the huddled masses yearning to breathe free that made America (apparently) great in the first place?

It Depends on what you mean by "great", arguably , america's 'greatness' in terms of power , source in things like whaling, slavery, conquest , tobacco , rebellion , civil war , greed , exploitation of cheap immigrant labor by capital, etc. Other folks might feel that the stage for greatness was established by the writers of our declaration of independence and constitution.. and yet others may argue that america isn't all that great , its just big and industrialized. 

But any way you look at it , the expectation that america must continue to do what was done , or imagined to be the ideal , yester-century,  isn't compulsory. Heck, many Americans don't respect the rule of law , don't want to honor the election process, don't want to extend the high-minded freedoms expressed by our founding fathers to special interests, nor respect their own citizenship. That being said , there are ideals which are commonly held which are really pretty great IMO. 

[dawei]

Or we might have system in place which isn't merit-based...

 

I'm not following all the chatter but in general, visit approval is not merit based although there are some visas based on skills.

 

A VO does an interview and they are looking at the application and software programs that give them additional information to arrive a a go vs no go.     When My mother in law applied at the same time as my brother in law, the former was approved and the latter was not.

 

A 80+ year old chinese lady with 3 heart surgeries who might not even want to return to China was approved over a young man married with a child and ever reason to return...    Of course, the devil is in the details.   He was chinese police and , OMG... who can trust that.

[Brian]

Who in power benefits? If these pieces really fit as an intentional, fully-formed, long-term plan.... why?

 

Yes, the sentiments of both carving and plaque are nice, and no, that they were placed there doesn't mean that they must hold true for eternity, but I'm glad you agree that the sentiment of The New Colossus, and the modern symbolism of the statue, is nice.

 

Also... isn't the American system merit-based? As far as I know, in order for a foreigner to get a visa to work at an American company there must be evidence that the company cannot find a US citizen to fill the position?

There is a relatively small merit-based system with national quotas juxtaposed with a much larger and less restrictive (unlimited in some categories) chain-migration process.

 

I'll explain in more detail tomorrow, if you wish.

[Brian]

I'm not following all the chatter but in general, visit approval is not merit based although there are some visas based on skills.

 

A VO does an interview and they are looking at the application and software programs that give them additional information to arrive a a go vs no go. When My mother in law applied at the same time as my brother in law, the former was approved and the latter was not.

 

A 80+ year old chinese lady with 3 heart surgeries who might not even want to return to China was approved over a young man married with a child and ever reason to return... Of course, the devil is in the details. He was chinese police and , OMG... who can trust that.

Assuming your wife is a US citizen, her mother is type IR (immediate relative) and that is totally unrestricted.

[dawei]

Assuming your wife is a US citizen, her mother is type IR (immediate relative) and that is totally unrestricted.

 

she is not

 

talking visitor visa issues

[Brian]

she is not

 

talking visitor visa issues

So non-immigrant B-2 visas for both of them? We issue a couple million a year to Chinese nationals. I suspect you are right about his history raising a flag.

[dawei]

So non-immigrant B-2 visas for both of them? We issue a couple million a year to Chinese nationals. I suspect you are right about his history raising a flag.

 

As a real test... I told her to let his son apply to come on a visit...   I'm 100% sure they will deny it despite the major shift to allowing chinese nationals to come.   I'm happy to see the shift but visa overstays is a major method of legal entry 

[dust]

I'll explain in more detail tomorrow, if you wish.

 

I would be curious about an explanation as to the benefits to those in power of engineering things such as immigration policy that are apparently detrimental to the country...