Extras

I’m trying a new approach to New Year’s resolutions this year. Instead of worrying about everything I’d like to change about myself, I’m going to focus on what I’d like to change about everyone else. In other words, this year I’m making New Year’s resolutions for other people. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. It’s a lot more fun than the old way and I’m sure it will be every bit as effective.

After reading through U.S. Representative Rosendale’s rant on refugees and immigration, I got to thinking how great it would be if both sides of the congressional aisle would sit down and work out a bi-partisan, revised immigration policy as a prime goal for the New Year. For decades immigrants have come to America from all over the world and we have never had a workable immigration policy. When hundreds of thousands of people came in the early 1900s it was all well and good; they were inexpensive and plentiful labor. Big business was excited to see them come because they thought they would counteract the Unions and the growing Labor movement. Railroads recruited them because they would come and settle the open land and provide markets. Chinese were recruited with the idea they would return to China when the railroads were built, but in the meantime they were inexpensive labor and if they were injured or died, too bad; they were just temporary anyway. When they kept coming, Congress set up an immigration act that simply excluded people and did not enact workable policy.