Thread: This Week with Chirstina Amanpour

ABC's Sunday morning program 'This week with Christiane Amanpour' did a dis-service to American citizens and is borderline treasonous.
The panel of experts could be, by some, considered little more than a Kangaroo court on the subject of illegal immigration.

Those sentences were the beginning of a letter I sent to ABC News. I would like to advocate a boycott of Ms Amanpour's program if not all of ABC. Watching it left me frustrated and angry. If there were ever an example of US journalism doing a dis-service to US citizens, this was it.

We need to organize and press even harder or we will loose our way of life and our heritage to those who are dedicated to taking it from us.

Illegal Immigrant: 'I Represent How Broken the Immigration System Is'

By EVAN HARRIS
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2011

VIDEO AT LINK

Despite being known as a nation of immigrants, American politicians are locked in a longstanding stalemate over how to best solve the country's immigration problems – a debate also taken up by a panel on ABC News' "This Week with Christiane Amanpour" which included among others, a self-admitted illegal immigrant.

"In many ways, I represent … just how broken the immigration system is," former Washington Post reporter Jose Vargas said on "This Week" of his decision to publish an account of his illegal status. "In many ways the goal was to expose just how incredibly dysfunctional and irrational the whole system is and has been for quite some time."

Meeting the Demand for Highly-Skilled Workers

Vargas was joined on the panel by former Florida Senator Mel Martinez, former chancellor for the District of Columbia Public School system Michelle Rhee, and ABC News' George Will – many of whom argued that the shortage of highly-skilled laborers demands a more inclusive immigration approach.

"There are some things that we need to do just for the good of the country, for the good of our economy," said Martinez. "We have a tremendous shortage of people in the high-tech fields, the STEMS as we call them – science, technology and mathematics – where we really need people from other countries who are learning these skills to be able to come here and create jobs."

Michelle Rhee, who has devoted much of her time to founding the group Students First since leaving her controversial tenure in the Washington school system, described a gap between the skills American schools are preparing students for and the skills needed to sustain a strong American economy. "In the next twenty years in this country," Rhee said, "we are going to have 125 million high-skilled, high-paid jobs. And at the rate that the current public education system is going, we're only going to be able to produce 50 million American kids who have the kills and the knowledge to take those jobs. That means we're talking about potentially outsourcing the rest of those jobs, the majority of those jobs, overseas."

"Let me give you another reason why we need immigrants," Will told Amanpour. "When we started Social Security there were about 42 workers for every retiree. Today we're down to three point some. … The Social Security Trustees Report assumes the continuing high level of immigration to replenish the workforce, to make the entitlement system work."

Prospects for Comprehensive Reform

Politicians like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have called the lack of comprehensive immigration reform national suicide, but few lawmakers have been willing to risk the political capital needed to stake a certain claim in this highly polarizing topic.

"I think perhaps a piecemeal approach could be obtained," said Martinez, who once served as chairman of the Republican National Committee. "We need to talk about the fact that this is a country that people still yearn to come to. People love this country and when they come here, they get invested in America, they want to become Americans."

"At the end of the day we're not facing the facts on this issue," said Vargas. "This is not an abstraction. These are people who have very much woven into the fabric of our lives in every possible class."

The roundtable discussion aired on ABC News' "This Week with Christiane Amanpour" on Sunday, July 3, 2011.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/illegal- ... d=13984178

I think I watched some of that. The only one I could identify with was George Will. I noticed they caught Herman Cain on a flub somehow. I turned it off after they were arguing about the Constitution. I didn't know they were to debate illegal immigration.

Right now almost all of the comments on the article are against illegals. ABC will wave their propaganda wand and in a day or two and the comments will be overwhelmingly for the illegals.

"I think perhaps a piecemeal approach could be obtained," said Martinez, who once served as chairman of the Republican National Committee. "We need to talk about the fact that this is a country that people still yearn to come to. People love this country and when they come here, they get invested in America, they want to become Americans."

Really Mel? Really? Then why do they march in our streets carrying flags from their home countries, making demands? Why are they sending tens of billions of US dollars back to the home countries? Why do we they refuse assimilate and learn English?

Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining, fool!

Our immigration system is fine and dandy. Enforcement of immigration laws is what's broken and needs to be fixed NOW!

NO Amnesty ever, deport! deport! deport!

Amanpour is all for Immigration since she came here on a student visa then an H-1B work visa and never left.

Will was the only one who said Illegal Immigration is making our country a Welfare State otherwise ALL were for CIR including Will.

Varga is a smug little SOB and I am wondering why he has not been charged with forgery and many other crimes against the usa. The policeman in AK is going to prison for his forgery,false papers so why is Vargas still able to have his face all over the news,walk like a Banty cock and is still free ??

There is Video of a Green Room conversation:
Green Room: The Politics of Immigration

The "This Week" roundtable continues the immigration debate in the green room.

Bleak Prospects for Substantive Immigration Debate in 2012
By EVAN HARRIS
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2011

As the 2012 presidential candidates prepare their political platforms to pitch to citizens all around the country, can they afford to take a firm stance on the controversial issue of comprehensive immigration reform?

"No one wants to talk about it," ABC News' George Will said of candidates' desire to discuss immigration reform on the campaign trail. "And if they don't want to, they won't."

Although 2008 Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and, in recent weeks, President Obama seemed reasonably willing to discuss ideas for improving the nation's immigration system, both parties have generally avoided the heated debate.

"The fact is that this is an issue that's a problem for Democrats as well as Republicans," said former chairman of the Republican National Committee Mel Martinez. "Democrats have their constituencies – they don't like certain things about immigration or immigration reform because it impacts the labor movement and others. So this is a bipartisan failure here, not just Republicans."
PHOTO: The "This Week" roundtable continues the immigration debate in the green room
ABC News
The "This Week" roundtable continues the... View Full Size

While many political figures will recognize that the immigration system is in need of reform, few have thus far been willing to lead the charge. With elections looming for representatives, the prevailing view has been that immigration is too volatile to deal with on or near an election year.

Former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public School system Michelle Rhee recounted moments politicians were unwilling to fight for reform in the education system out of fear of losing an election – a concept she says translates the immigration debate.

"I hear this all the time in education that going into an election year, no one is going to take on the tough issues … because you know they have to worry about being in office," she said. "I think we have to change that dynamic, and we have to make sure that there actually is some incentive for politicians to take one the hard issues like education, like immigration, so we know where people stand, and we know where the vision is – and encourage more courage amongst these folks as opposed to just saying we'll deal with it later."

"Michelle, good luck on changing this dynamic," Will responded to Rhee. "The axiom in Washington is you can't do anything in an election year or before an election year, and that's every year."

The "This Week" panel discussed the politics of immigration in the green room after appearing on a special Independence Day weekend edition of the program.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bleak-pr ... d=13984176

Originally Posted by miguelina

"I think perhaps a piecemeal approach could be obtained," said Martinez, who once served as chairman of the Republican National Committee. "We need to talk about the fact that this is a country that people still yearn to come to. People love this country and when they come here, they get invested in America, they want to become Americans."

Really Mel? Really? Then why do they march in our streets carrying flags from their home countries, making demands? Why are they sending tens of billions of US dollars back to the home countries? Why do we they refuse assimilate and learn English?

Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining, fool!

Our immigration system is fine and dandy. Enforcement of immigration laws is what's broken and needs to be fixed NOW!

NO Amnesty ever, deport! deport! deport!

Miguelina, I feel your anger but I have to admit ROFLMAO at this:

Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining, fool!

Talk about telling it like it is . . ..

Originally Posted by USPatriot

Amanpour is all for Immigration since she came here on a student visa then an H-1B work visa and never left.

Took a job an American wouldn't do?

Last night there were tons of comments on the article. This morning there are 14. ABC must have had a hard time finding the pro comments(or their mole was on vacation this week) because half of the ones that are left are about the word "perspicacious" and white illegal immigrants. The rest are against the illegals.