Over the past several years we have seen the borders of the US crowded with various people trying to get into the US, to immigrate with no documents or with fake documents. They seemingly come from everywhere, from all corners of the world. Mostly they are poor, not well-educated, mostly from Spanish speaking countries. Many, though, are from Africa, the Caribbean islands and the Middle East.
News interviews show people from many other countries as well. Some are able to speak English but the majority do not. Crossing the border from Mexico is not for the weak but yet small children, old people and pregnant women seem to make it with help from the men.
Somehow they appear to be well clothed, reasonably well fed and mostly in good health. How they get to the border is a different chapter that someone else can sort out. We tend to think of these as the illegals.
The history of America is the history of immigrants. Most of us can trace our arrival back a couple generations, coming from Europe. Some, like me, only have to go back to our parents. In earlier times waves of new arrivals came from a particular place and migrated to be with their fellow countrymen, speaking the same language and having the same customs. It made the transition a little easier. Soon the new generation adopted the common American customs.
Often times the European Wars displaced many and those displaced people found their way into the US. American service men, being men, took an interest in the foreign ladies. In the three years after WWII some 300,000 war brides (some with young children) arrived in the US. Previously, Asian women were excluded from immigration due to rules from the 1920s, but legislation was enacted to allow them to be included.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 brought 30,000 refugees to the US. I remember my mother complaining that “they are taking our boys’ jobs”. Many, however, were well educated and disappeared into the population. Being a smart ass 18-yo, I’d argue with Mom, “how could people that didn’t speak English take our jobs?”
The Cuban crisis aftermath saw 1.3M Cubans arrive in the US, changing the politics of Florida and beyond. Most stayed around Dade County and slowly are spread out to the rest of the US. A strong cultural and family bond have kept many in Florida.
More recently, the aftermath of the Vietnam War saw more than 1.3M Vietnamese refugees enter the US. They came from all economic strata, settling mostly in California and Texas, but scattered across the US. Small towns have Vietnamese restaurants, near bigger cities Mong truck farms supply fresh vegetables and fruit. The Vietnamese seem to have integrated and progressed economically and socially.
The Somalis, practitioners of Islamic faith, are more recent arrivals, starting from the 1990s . Only 1-2% of Minnesota’s population is Somali but are highly visible in the Twin Cities area. Hijabs make the Somali women easy to identify. The recent political scandals have not looked favorably on the community as a whole.
The estimates of undocumented (illegal) immigrants vary with the wind, but it’s in the millions. Lately there has been much criticism in the identifying and removal of these immigrants. Many are working in low paying and under-the-table jobs. The argument seems to be they are doing jobs that Americans won’t do. That presents a problem.
Recently there was a story that agriculture products would rot in the fields without the cheap labor. I guess my question is who was doing these jobs before the arrival of the newcomers? Was the produce not being picked and used? Were farmers willing to over-plant and under-harvest? Doesn’t sound like a good economic plan. Or were there pickers, as in teenage kids learning how to earn money. Maybe some of those we call unemployed would be willing to work but don’t ’cause the welfare benefits provided for them.
We’ve all seen pictures from the Depression of men on the streets with a basket of apples trying to sell a few. In the before days who was washing dishes in restaurants? Were the motel sheets not be changed? As a kid growing up in the 1950s there were very few jobs for teenagers. The ’70s and ’80s saw the rise in fast food places, my kids and their friends worked in those places, going from one to the next. Now we see old people working fast food and big box stores.
The idea that jobs would go undone without 5 million recent-arrivals is ludicrous.
We’ve seen the protests with lots of people that apparently have spare time to demonstrate, somehow they feed not on compassion but anger. Were it not for politicians buying votes with other peoples’ money a lot of anger would disappear ’cause more regular Americans would have to work. Now there are chapters of non-working people willing and able to protest after a few whistle puffs.
What is the right number of illegals? When will we know when equilibrium has been reached? Will there be a time when long time skilled “non-citizens” will begin to lose their jobs to newer arrivals willing to work for lower wages?
Back to skinny windows.
At least we have the workaround.
I feel bad that fewer people will read Fourscore.
yep
You people reading on wide-screen TVs or something? I don’t have that issue on my average screen sized desktop.
Once my browser window drops below 980px wide, things work OK.
Is your desktop resolution set to “old man eyes”? That’d keep things relatively narrow.
Phone.
Font size is weird and a couple other glitches but everything or readable.
Yeah, a phone browser will be narrow-enough by default that it should mostly work.
Threedoor, you asked about how Monocle works – newest branch has a README that includes install info:
See the ‘Installation’ section:
https://gitlab.com/glibertarians/forumProject/-/tree/Eyepiece_v4
If you’re not running any of the listed combos of OS/browser/etc. let me know and I’m happy to expand the doc as needed (my handle at proton.me works for e-mail, too)
Note that Monocle has limited functionality at the moment.
Of course. With modern HD displays and not modern eyes it is a must. Not sure of pixel width but it’s a 32” display and the browser is covering about half the width.
Thanks Slum, I’m 100% iPhone, safari usage.
Up to date phone typically. I’m not sure how much different the phone and iPad OS is.
I read that and I’m guessing it’s above my point and click ability to install it pay grade.
Threedoor, I think it’ll work the same on IOS & IpadOS
The secret sauce is:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/userscripts/id1463298887
Maybe I’ll steal my wife’s iPhone to confirm that.
I could mail my phone to you for setup.
That’s a the Glibs Platinum level.
Three, it’s simple. I also have installed Userscripts from the App Store on my iPhone. Best of all if you have a Mac you can share any modifications you might make on iCloud. It will create a “Userscripts” folder there and you just drop the Monocle script there and you’re good to go.
Slum, home now – my screen is currently 1093px wide. My CSS is also pretty customized with a script also saved where Userscripts reads it. Maybe that’s why I don’t see the issues.
iCloud.
I know that’s a thing because I get a daily notification saying it’s full for the last six or seven years.
Not again. 😩
https://youtu.be/DHbT6BjFvcA
When hell freezes over. Or when both Teams take their thumbs off the scales.
Fuck Teams.
Is it really a team sport?
Yes, the D’s and R’s team up to screw us from both sides.
lol
Airtight.
Had to manually enskinnyfy on my laptop.
I shrank from full window to partial window and then I was able to comment. I also had to magnify the text to make the giant black overlay go away.
I did mention something about the waves going up and down a few times before we settle in last link.
I definitely did enjoy the article, I am also sad that formatting has clearly gone commie to prevent anyone else from reading it.
There’s lots of money and aid to get people here. Not so much for those that realize the grass is not always greener.
https://nypost.com/2026/02/14/us-news/nick-shirley-comes-across-a-family-of-migrants-including-young-children-living-in-a-tent-in-skid-row/
Which romantic Glib is this?
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/on-valentines-day-i-want-to-hold-your-invisible-hand-6c1ba459?st=t4UGgi&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Pie. His girlfriend’s hand is invisible because it doesn’t have a reflection in the mirror.
Thanks for this, Fourscore.
Abandoning the idea of the “melting pot”, which smoothed off the edges of immegrant culture while adding something to our existing culture, in favor of “multiculturalism” – immigrants keep their culture as-is with little adoption to the US culture – was a wild mistake.
That and giving so many of them a free ride. Eliminate those things and I’d welcome most of them.
There are a fair number of Glibs who like the Asian girls…
I can think of 4 that I have met.
Curious.
I resemble that remark!
Thanks all for the tip on the skinny windows tip.
If not on my laptop I usually read in super wide screen because I generally have multiple sites and spreadsheets up at any given time that I’m consulting or working on.
Fourscore:
“The argument seems to be they are doing jobs that Americans won’t do”
at the wages being offered. So instead of wags those who won’t pay what the job is worth imported millions of modern day scabs. And since these scabs can and are being counted for purposes of proportion both electorally and for welfare, it’s a win-win for both the greedy businesses and the politicians. The two wolves at the table with the sheep.
Throw in do goodies in the US making youth employment all but impossible.
Recently there was a story that agriculture products would rot in the fields without the cheap labor. I guess my question is who was doing these jobs before the arrival of the newcomers? Was the produce not being picked and used? Were farmers willing to over-plant and under-harvest? Doesn’t sound like a good economic plan. Or were there pickers, as in teenage kids learning how to earn money. Maybe some of those we call unemployed would be willing to work but don’t ’cause the welfare benefits provided for them.
A relative of mine back in the 80s and early 90s worked at a local orchard. He said the owner had a lot of problems with American workers. Not showing up, showing up drunk, or wanting to get paid cash daily so they could go drinking (and not show up the next day). My relative was one of the few Americans the owner hired.
Back then, Mexicans would show up around harvest time, do a bunch of work, and then go home to Mexico. So the owner would hire a lot of Mexicans. Far fewer problems.
I’m not sure that orchard is still around. Lots of orchards in the area sold out to developers. Lots of money and no more problems.
Good article, Fourscore.
I don’t know the answer either.
My family on my dad’s side came from Germany in 1914.
According to my granddad, his parents didn’t let him speak German in the house because they were Americans now. It sucks that that feeling has been lost.
I was surprised by how many Somalians I saw in Minneapolis and had a couple random conversations with people that were not happy with that situation.
I can’t imagine all of the “Learing Center” controversy has helped.
According to my granddad, his parents didn’t let him speak German in the house because they were Americans now. It sucks that that feeling has been lost.
My one grandfather was born in Philly. Either his parents or grandparents came off the boat from Germany, I can’t remember which.
They spoke German in the home but only English outside the house.
Two of the remaining three grandparents knew Pennsylvania Dutch. They spoke Pennsylvania Dutch among relatives and close friends, English otherwise.
If I remember right, he said that was their way to learn English as he did it in school.
This leads to some interesting questions.
Assimilation into a new culture happens in generational shifts. Most first-generation immigrants assimilate very little or not at all, because they can’t. Their kids assimilate, because they can.
This worked okay with the last generation of immigrants, because they came mostly from European cultures with a fundamental belief that one’s children should do better than the parents themselves.
When you substitute cultures where the family is an extended tribe, and children’s job is to support the family…things start to fall apart.
to the United States came mostly from Europe and
I don’t care what they speak at home, in fact I encourage keeping at it as I am a language nerd.
It’s the refusal to learn English, or the expectation that Americans cater to your whims that pisses me off.
We can’t accept everyone into the country who wants to come into the country. This is actually a good problem to have. So we put limits on how many people can come in at any given time. Not sure how libertarian that is but I agree with putting limits on. The problem is rather than making the changes legislatively you have one Party saying the laws don’t matter and we can let everyone in.
I don’t know what the right number is, but we’d find out if they didn’t get any government support.
If there was no support, I don’t think it would be an issue.
The leeches would go back and the ones that stayed would be productive.
Never happen I know.
The die has been cast. The only way to right size immigration is mercilessly go after the non for profits and businesses that enable this behavior. Unfortunately the GOP don’t have the stomach to do this and the Democrats won’t change because it helps them electorally.
A 16-year-old boy got stuck 50 feet down a shaft on the Queensboro Bridge while performing a dangerous stunt he planned to post on TikTok, authorities said Tuesday.
https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/02/17/boy-16-falls-50-feet-down-shaft-on-nyc-queensboro-bridge/
It seemed like such a good idea at the time.
Where’s Lassie?
Too young (legally) to say” Hold my beer.”
Dumbass. Almost won the Darwin Award.
And even the leftyest of the NYC papers doesn’t call it that. Poor Ed.
https://x.com/HumbleFlow/status/2023826315737219458
🙄
That’s the after being burned at the stake picture.
Bravo sir. You are entered in the “Snark of the Week” contest for the week ending 02/21.
NYT: Obama Took On Recession, Health Care and Iraq. What He Didn’t See Coming Was Trump.
We didn’t deserve him.