Politics & You.

Cartoon by Mike Shelton

Mention the very word "politics", and often (especially in apathetic Singapore), it is sufficient to send others scuttling or be harried into hushed silence.

Politics is incredibly important, not as an ostensible trophy of mention, but as a knowledge platform of when and why (and quite possibly, how) you are stabbed in the back. (note: if is not in the picture).

What has the domestic squabbles of a country across the Atlantic got to do with me, a speck on a red dot? Well, have you not heard of the butterfly effect, my dear Watson? Domestic issues, if not contained, may well spread to its immediate region, and later, to the rest of the world. Flagrant disregard is not the wisest stance to adopt. Suffice to say, globalization has enabled new players into the international foray while threatening to displace traditional heavyweights.

Currently, the proposed Amnesty Bill hogs headlines across the United States. Under this plan, millions of illegal aliens are placed on a path to citizenship thats let them remain in the US without being prosecuted during the application process and would not punish their unlawful entry as a felony, contrary to a House-passed bill.

“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”
--Sir Winston Churchill

And that is just what the proposed Bill seems to perpetuate. To be precise, section 601(h) gives each and every illegal alien (with fraudulent documentation, that means all of them) immediate and free "probationary status" entitling them to live and work in the US. At some point, "probationary status" expires and the now-legal alien has to convert to "Z-nonimmigrant" status and pay a fine of $1000 (only $500 for illegal family members, see 601(e)(6)(B).

The bill contains both border security and Employment Eligibility Verification Systems (EEVS) triggers. With recent, "strengthening" amendments, the bill now calls for 20,000 additional border patrol agents, expanded detention facilities to accommodate 31,500 detainees, at least 300 miles of vehicle barriers and 370 miles of single-layer fencing, 105 ground-based radar and camera towers, and four unmanned aerial vehicles deployed along the southern border. The EEVS will theoretically prevent illegal aliens from getting jobs in the US in the future.

Sounds good till you note that in 2006, the White House passed the Secure Fence Act that required the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to hire 18,000 border patrol agents by the end of 2008, To date, there is a shortfall with only 15, 000 agents. In addition, 700 miles of double-layer fence were required along the 1,951-mile southern border. To date, the Bush administration with a billion-dollar fund in hand has done little with only 2 miles of single-layer fence being completed so far.

Is that a regression, or did I get that wrong? Uncle Sam must be suffering from dementia since protection against Iraq is up on the priority scale and oh, let's forget about the immediate backyard, Mexico, shall we?

Scratch your head further when you discover that illegal aliens are allowed to try to get past the border any number of times. Once they do, they are home free because the border patrol is forbidden to detain illegals away from the border. The border patrol is not allowed to chase them either and the rest of the US acts as a 3 million square mile sanctuary.

Did that make sense to you? I guess not.

The Adminstiration consistently propagates the notion of a comprehensive Bill, but put Instant Amnesty, a mere 19%-fenced border together with illogical border patrol regulations and the sum doesn't quite tally, does it?

And to perplex anyone with a sound mind, the Bill also blankets amnesty to every corporate exploiter of illegal aliens since it legalizes the illegals and ensures Corporate America an endless supply of cheap immigrant labour. (Hooray, Nike?)

So, how does that affect you, the Singaporean sitting in an air-conditioned room with your iPod docked as you read the scrambled letters across your iBook?

Short of being a bipartisan issue, with the Senate Democrats strangely backing the Republican bill, it calls for a litmus test within the Administration. This very legislation is part of a larger agenda of a large slice of America's economic and political elite. It is about the merger of nations into larger transnational entitles and, ultimately, global governance - the architecture of a new world order.

Corporate America wants a limitless supply of low-wage immigrant labor and an end to penalties for hiring illegals, with benefits nonexistent and regulations lax. Businesses want to be able to move products back to the United States free of charge. They want to be rid of their American workers, but keep their American consumers. They want to be able to go out to Asia, hire bright kids and bring them to the United States to replace middle-age U.S. workers who cost too much. They want to be able to outsource their white-collar jobs to India at a fraction of the wages they pay Americans.

Does this sound familiar to you? Do you not see that the future of Singapore does not lie in your hands, you young Netizen? We are the New Age displaced Red Indians in time to come. Just like the Native Americans, we will struggle to find our footing in this land we call our Home. [ Refer to a past blog entry on Migration Policy. ]

It is about globalism, about greed.

Each individual is just a cogwheel in motion.

However, I've a strong hunch that this notion would be thrown out with the bathwater once you click your way out of here.

[ NB: My next rant in the near future would harp on Google, if time permits. ]