Politics & Government - 25 September 2006

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2006-09-25 08:15:25 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Immigration

The Constitution of the United States says that all men are created equal.

True or False????

2006-09-25 08:13:26 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Government

2006-09-25 08:12:46 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

I like particularly the fact that Condi has an oil tanker named after her (true)

2006-09-25 08:12:30 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

Those are expressions you will usually hear in politics.
- He's a man of vision.
- He'll make a difference in people's lives.
- He's good for the country.
- He knows what the country needs.
- He won't back down to the special interest groups.
- I've never believed in polls.
- They're trying to steal the election.

2006-09-25 08:12:05 · 5 answers · asked by Mysterio 6 in Politics

The report said most of them try to hide it from their husband or father cuz he would disown them for having it.

2006-09-25 08:10:53 · 25 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

2006-09-25 08:10:46 · 3 answers · asked by VVR 1 in Law Enforcement & Police

2006-09-25 08:10:22 · 14 answers · asked by puffin stuff 1 in Other - Politics & Government

give or take away freedoms, by forcing condos and home developments to allow residents to display the flag...?

2006-09-25 08:09:58 · 5 answers · asked by shut up dummy 6 in Politics

I have to be ironic, because other people are ironic against immigrants too.
However, how do u feel when u see undocumeted workers making more money and having better hauses, women and life than you who was born in the US bu always in trailres, and ghetos?

2006-09-25 08:09:54 · 16 answers · asked by Omar 2 in Immigration

I'm talking about the accusation from a Bloomberg reporter saying that she heard Cherie Blair say "That's a Lie" when referring to a part of the Chancellor's speech

All of a sudden it has completely dominated the news agenda completely overshadowing Browns speech forcing Cherie to deny the allegation. Doesn't this demonstrate the power that the media has these days and shouldn't something be done about it?

2006-09-25 08:09:46 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

I mean really, Bush is commander in chief. He has HANDLED the war with a totally republican congress for gods sake. How can the Dems be responsible for mishandling all the "Mission Accomplished" BS etc.

2006-09-25 08:09:06 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

Then why is it that people are opposed to shooting the criminals who try to escape from Mexico into the US? Just as the prisoners must do their time in jail, Mexicans should do their time in Mexico, waiting until they are legally allowed to come here. And if they don't, we should blow them away, right?

2006-09-25 08:08:00 · 12 answers · asked by Pro-America, Anti-Illegal 2 in Immigration

Time in field versus classroom hours for each?

2006-09-25 08:06:45 · 2 answers · asked by standanddeliver87 2 in Military

2006-09-25 08:06:33 · 6 answers · asked by ZOHAR A 1 in Other - Politics & Government

so nice to see the priorities of Louisianna are right in sync......

business as usual.......

they should be fricken ashamed!
who cares if a group of 70 can play football there while so many remain homeless and hungry?

2006-09-25 08:06:10 · 17 answers · asked by seanachie60 4 in Other - Politics & Government

we all appear to agree about problems with immigration so why are we not doing anything about

2006-09-25 08:05:49 · 16 answers · asked by rocky 3 in Immigration

http://360.yahoo.com/profile-Ncy.aLEmcqq6X4T_agTVp3TcOfivbyAte1wA

2006-09-25 08:05:38 · 7 answers · asked by so sweet 1 in Immigration

2006-09-25 08:04:27 · 6 answers · asked by K G 1 in Law & Ethics

For no good reason.

2006-09-25 08:02:56 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

Rush just has money and spews doctrine they line? Oh well a Republican is just a rat in a pair of dockers and a golf shirt.

2006-09-25 08:01:36 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

Is the world sustainable with so many people out of such poor nations? Do you feel guilty that we in the West have so much more than these people? Are they inferior because of their size? With China and India's population over 2.3 billion people and their rapid industrialization the West is going to have to give up to our standard of living in this more compact world. This is seen as Asians move towards Amercia and Europe because they are too crowded. Also, our rising fuel prices are due to their rising demand for fuel. Do we need so many people to satisfy our demand for cheap labor and even that will soon end as they become richer and demand higher wages. Unless the US acts now will China take over the role as the world leader (economically and politically)?

2006-09-25 08:00:22 · 8 answers · asked by gordongecko 2 in Law & Ethics

2006-09-25 07:58:54 · 7 answers · asked by motherpeanutbutterbutinsky 6 in Civic Participation

I'm on my third time now. That's three stereos, three windows and three urges to kill.

2006-09-25 07:58:02 · 21 answers · asked by ? 4 in Law Enforcement & Police

Military Industrial Complex only benefits a few.. but destroy a lot.

Both Physically and Psychologically. Anybody wondered why we do not have any genuine friends left in the world, apart from Nuclear dependent Israel.?

2006-09-25 07:57:53 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

say tomorrow you are president, you see everything bush sees, you learn everything bush knows.......that includes intelligence reports and all classified reports

are you------

A- not surprised and feel this is the kinda stuff every president does year after year

B-shocked and horrified with what the US is doing

C- a bit of both

D- none of the above

2006-09-25 07:57:33 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

Should people know what are the real issues of the war?
Would you accept to invade a country knowing this is just to prevent China from developing too fast for example?

2006-09-25 07:57:09 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Military

I hear alot of Crowing, especially on Fox Entertainment (not news), they sat around patting each other on the back with that phony enthusiasm routine, the one usually done on infomercials selling miracle products.

2006-09-25 07:53:24 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics

Sept. 24, 2006, 1:14PM
'Border baby' boom strains S. Texas
More illegal immigrants are pouring into the state to give birth


By JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

RIO GRANDE CITY — First it was a trickle, now it's a flood.

Rising numbers of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America are streaming into Texas to give birth, straining hospitals and costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, health officials say.

Doctors and health officials say they are overwhelmed by both the new arrivals and those immigrant mothers who already are in the state. Even Houston's feeling the pinch. An estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of the 10,587 births at Ben Taub General Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital last year were to undocumented immigrants, administrators say.

Also feeling the strain is Starr County, an already poor South Texas county that has the region's only taxpayer-supported hospital district.

Immigrants "want a U.S.-born baby" and know that emergency room staffers don't collect any money up front, said Dr. Mario Rodriguez, an obstetrician in Starr County.

"The word is out: Come to Starr County and get delivered for free. Why pay $1,000 in Mexico when you can get it for free?" Rodriguez said.

''When we are separated only by the distance of the river, it's easy to do," Starr County hospital administrator Thalia Muñoz said. "It's gotten worse, and it's because the economy in Mexico is not good and because we provide all these benefits."

Unfortunately, doctors say, Starr County isn't alone.

''Our little snapshot is duplicated in all the municipalities between here and California," said Tony Falcon, a Rio Grande City physician who was appointed to the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission in April. ''What you see here is what is happening in Brownsville, McAllen, El Paso and San Diego."

He operates a private family clinic and delivers babies at the Starr County hospital. About a third of his deliveries are what he calls "walk-ins" — mothers in labor showing up at the ER.

''Obviously, it has a huge impact on patient health and the kind of health care that's provided," Falcon said. "You don't get the kind of prenatal care you should get."


'Anchor babies'
Immigration-control advocates regard the U.S.-born infants as "anchor babies" because they give their undocumented parents and relatives a way to petition for citizenship. They estimate that 360,000 of these babies are born in the U.S. every year and warn that the numbers are rising.

Once parents have an "anchor baby," they become more difficult to deport, said Jack Martin, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a lobby organization in Washington, D.C.

''It's a fairly big factor in complicating the removal of illegal aliens," Martin said. "Illegal aliens know that and, to some extent, we think they're being influenced into having children as soon as they get into the U.S. to complicate their removal."

Some lawmakers want to begin denying citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants.

Birthright citizenship, as it is known, has been in force since the approval of the Constitution's 14th Amendment in 1868. But several bills under consideration in Congress would abolish the longstanding federal policy. Sponsors include U.S. Reps. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, and Nathan Deal, R-Ga.

In a largely symbolic move, the Michigan House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Sept. 8 to end birthright citizenship.

Undocumented immigrants say they are being attacked unfairly and think that all children born in the U.S. should have equal rights.

Socorro Gonzalez, an undocumented immigrant who in August gave birth to her fourth child on U.S. soil, said she and her husband aren't trying to take advantage of immigration laws or abuse the health care system.

''We're not here to have a child. We are here to work," she said as she cradled her infant son, Orlando Soto.

Gonzalez, 42, said she moved to South Texas four years ago to join her husband, a cabinet maker. Two of their older children were born at a private midwife's clinic, she said, and two were delivered at taxpayer expense at hospitals in McAllen.

Gonzalez said the benefits of undocumented immigrants' labor in the U.S. more than compensate for the costs of their medical bills.

''I don't see why they should deny a medical service if we're here struggling for this country," she said. ''Because of the help of Mexican workers, whether they want us or not, this country is progressing."

Still, someone has to pay the bills, and not everyone is happy about that.


Uncollected medical bills
Starr County Memorial Hospital had $3.6 million in uncollected medical bills in 2005, up from $1.5 million in 2002. The total when fiscal 2006 ends on Sept. 30 is expected to hit $3.9 million, chief financial officer Rafael Olivarez said. Unpaid bills for the past five years will reach nearly $13 million, he said.

To make up for the shortfall, Starr County's hospital district is proposing a 25 percent tax hike.

Already, the U.S. government is pitching in, setting aside $1 billion in Medicaid funds to pay for emergency care received by undocumented migrants over the next four years.

But Olivarez said getting the reimbursements isn't easy. Federal officials ''told us at a meeting they would pay us about 20 cents on the dollar," he said. "But it's better than nothing."

No one knows for sure how many undocumented immigrants there are or what they cost the health care system. Most hospitals don't ask whether patients have papers.


Total cost unknown

''It puts them in the position of being border police," said Amanda Engler, a spokeswoman for the Texas Hospital Association in Austin.

Harris County Hospital District officials say their policy is not to question patients directly about their citizenship.

''We do not explicitly ask if our patients are illegal, but we do ask them for proof of Harris County residency," district spokeswoman Shannon Rasp said. "Often citizenship status becomes clearer when billing issues come up."

Eighty-three percent of the undocumented immigrants receiving in-patient care at the district's hospitals and clinics last year were from Mexico, officials said. Six percent were from El Salvador or Guatemala. And the remaining 11 percent were from such countries as Britain, Canada, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Vietnam.

''Using anecdotal information provided us by our staff, statistics from other public hospital systems and our patient demographics, we believe that approximately 70 to 80 percent of our obstetrics patients are undocumented," Rasp said.

In all, 57,072 patients visited the district's hospitals, clinics and health centers last year, and nearly a fifth were undocumented, Rasp said. The cost of their treatment was $97.3 million, up from $55 million in 2002.

2006-09-25 07:52:14 · 30 answers · asked by Anonymous in Immigration

2006-09-25 07:51:59 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics