Really? You do realize that a big chunk of the border is mountainous and most of it is desert. Building a channel like that that could be used for shipping is practically impossible. Leaving aside things like building a channel has anyone considered what it will cost to secure the border? We've been hearing a lot about how much government is spending and I can't imagine making the border illegal proof, which will be very difficult, will be very expensive. Also consider that if we were just to shut off illegal immigration there will be a cost to our economy as businesses such produce agriculture will take a hit and prices will rise.
I view the canal and immigration as separate issues, but I mentioned the canal, because it would impact border jumping. Put it another way, even if illegal immigration weren't an issue, I'd still like to see an official study done on building a canal. Perhaps you are right, and it's impossible, but I dare to dream, and that's what Obama has to impart to the American people, not the dare to hope, because hope is too vague, but the dare to dream, because that leads to new ideas and new ideas are what America needs, now more than ever.
Getting back to the original post here- Okay, here's one of the two "inoffensive" quotes: This premise is built on a logical fallacy. If Nick is a Greek and a liar, it does not follow that all Greeks are liars. If twelve muslims kill thousands of Americans (including Muslim americans who died at ground zero) in the name of Islam, it does not follow that all muslims would do so. To say that a mosque at ground zero is "against common moral sense" is to claim that anything muslim is bad. This is where the accusation of bigotry comes in. To build a monument honoring the 12 murderers at ground zero (or anywhere) would be against common moral sense. But to build a mosque? There's no correlation to equate the two. The 12 murderers do not equal Islam. Furthermore, the attacks of 911 were not just on NYC and the Pentagon- it was an attack on all americans. It was planned and executed by men who hate america and all americans. I think that Sarah Palin would agree with me on this. This begs a question: Mrs. Palin objects to building a mosque specifically at ground zero why wouldn't she object to all mosques in all parts of the country? Despite what she says, this is indeed an issue of religious tolerance. Her quote above is directly intolerant of Islam.
You're right, of course. I was just looking for an excuse to talk about the canal. I think it's an interesting concert worth discussing, but probably not in this thread.
I don't think you have quite thought this through. Consider that El Paso is about 3,700 ft above sea level. If you are going to build a canal that could go from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, that is going to always stay full of water deep enough to navigate you are going to have to dig down that far and another 100 ft or so. The Grand Canyon is about 5,700 ft deep for comparison. I don't want to see government money wasted on a study that with just a little geography will show just how impractical taht is. Is telling people to dream rather vague too? If you are talking about daring to dream as putting forward some big ideas he already has done that, comprehensive health care reform, cap and trade, financial reform and etc.. Those might not be things you dream about but a lot of people do and much of the support for Obama came from people that dream about those sort of things.
I voted for Obama. As for a dreaming, I'm talking about something beyond legislation, some grand national project that would stir the soul and create jobs, lots of jobs. If not a canal then something else. Something epic. The American people need something to get behind that isn't divisive or overtly political.
a canal from the gulf to the pacific would be absolutely pointless - waste of space, time, money and resources. you can transport goods quicker by land (train or truck). and china ships in goods thru mexico - its cheaper. why pay a dock worker in the u.s. $20/hour when you can pay a guy in mexico $2/hour? we are not panama and the 19th century ended a long time ago.
You have to wonder for every nutjob that actually paints a sign saying something like "monkey see monkey do" or whatever that one sign said, there's probably 5 or 10 or 100 more people who agree but just don't make a sign. It's not like the crowd around those people are angrily screaming at them or tearing up their signs in reaction to their racism.
