America's Broken Immigration System is Crippling the Military Too

Those who want to disband the American military might soon get their wish. The military is having an ever-harder

www.csmonitor.com

time recruiting Americans. Why? Because the mainstreaming of punk fashions – tattoos, gauges for enlarged earlobes – combined with rising obesity and ADD prescriptions are increasingly rendering America's native sons and daughters ineligible to serve. (Colorado's marijuana legalization is very bad news for the military.)

And thanks to the backlogged green card situation, immigrants who would otherwise be attractive human fodder for the military, are unable to enlist.

The Obama administration could use its executive authority to kill two birds with one stone and give the military the tools to recruit more immigrants by offering an expedited naturalization process that skips the green card step altogether, I explain in my column in The Week today.

But that would require it to recruit some intelligent life first (that could maybe also help it come up with a strategy for how to deal with ISIL in Syria).

 Go here to read the whole thing.

Comments

[ant1sthenes]

It worked pretty well for Rome, so why not?

[RightNut]

What, you think having a military with little connection to the people or institutions it’s supposed to be fighting for is a bad thing?

[ant1sthenes]

Can’t imagine what could go wrong.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

immigrants who would otherwise be attractive human fodder for the military,

Hey, Dalmia, you know what?

Fuck you.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Talk about undermining her argument.

[Kure'i]

I had the same thoughts exactly upon reading that passage.

Way to disrespect a whole swath of people willing to perform one of the essential duties of government.

[Jensen]

Childish elitism is a badge of social status and ‘enlightenment’ to folks like Dalmia.

[Swiss Servator, Bern baby Bern]

Yeah, I got a bit hot around the collar with that one. Dalmia, if you think I EVER thought of any of the Soldiers under my command as “fodder” you are wrong and profoundly so.

Insulting and arising from ignorance.

[Redmanfms]

Insulting and arising from ignorance.

Hey, Dalmia is around to prove that libertarians too have smug, arrogant, profoundly ignorant assholes willing to spout off about shit they know positively nothing about.

The rest of the argument is fucking stupid too.

[Agammamon]

Its funny watching the military’s sudden (this really didn’t get going until a bit over 5 years ago) attempt to purge body art from its ranks backfire.

At almost the exact same time that tattoos are losing their stigma in the wider society the military decides they are not acceptable.

[grrizzly]

At least one institution in our society stands athwart history, yelling Stop to the scourge of the revolting body mutilations with ink.

[Rhywun]

+1 tribal tatt

[KDN]

Is it really a recent phenomenon? I had a roommate that tried to join the navy in ’05 but was rejected due to several tattoos below the elbow.

Similarly, everyone I know who that joined the Marines came home tatted up, but having them going into the service was understood to be a dealbreaker when I was in HS.

[Swiss Servator, Bern baby Bern]

As long as the unfiorm coves them up, you can be OK – its the face, neck and hand tats that are the dealbreaker.

[Agammamon]

. . . But that would require it to recruit some intelligent life first

And this – unless your trying to say that all of us who served are a buncha morons . . .

[RightNut]

For Shikha Dalmia concentrating power in one person is fine as long as that person is doing what she wants. Fuck the rule of law and separation of powers and all that. Really no different than a TEAM red/blue partisan.

[Lord Humungus]

No, our immigration system is not broken

Of all the arguments made in the long and contentious debate over immigration reform, the one heard most often, from all sides, is that our immigration system is “broken.” President Obama, John Boehner, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, Chuck Schumer, John McCain, Dick Durbin ? just about every politician who has ever weighed in on the issue has said it.
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The only problem is, our immigration system is not broken. The part of the system that lets people into the United States is working ? not without flaws, of course, but successfully managing the country’s immigration needs every day. And while the part that keeps people out of the country, or expels them if they overstay their permission to be here, is not working very well, it’s not because the system is broken, but because Congress and the president do not want it to work.

[Agammamon]

The part of the system that lets people into the United States is working

Sure its working. If you believe that ‘Top Men’ can ‘successfully manage the country’s immigration needs’. Of course those needs are whatever the ‘Top Men’ say they are, ignoring any evidence to the contrary.

The reason we can’t keep out undesirables is because we’ve made it so that they mix in with a flood of otherwise desirable immigrants that out blessed masters have decided, in their college trained wisdom, don’t provide enough ‘value add’ to be allowed to trade their labor inside this country.

Open up the green card/visa limits (you don’t even need to change the other disqualifying factors – illness, criminal history, etc) and you gut the border problem.

[Tak Kak]

Operation Brown Shield will go over well.

[Kure'i]

While I agree with the general thrust of this article, Shihka Dalmia continues to set progressively lower bars in terms of both the tone and quality of H&R pieces.

[Drake]

The military is having an ever-harder time recruiting Americans.

I’m going to need a reference. The Army is in the process of dropping 40,000 officers and enlisted. Re-enlistment bonuses are lower and the number of new recruits being trained has been “sharply” reduced.

http://www.armytimes.com/artic…..uced-goals

[Rorschach Carlyle]

If you were expecting an honest article about immigration in this publication, I have a nice bridge out on the desert to sell you.

[Drake]

Ah. It’s “invent-a-problem, solve-it-with-open-borders” Friday?

[SIV]

And thanks to the backlogged green card situation, immigrants who would otherwise be attractive human fodder for the military, are unable to enlist.

Let ’em join ISIL. They can teach Assad not to cross any red lines.

[Almanian!]

I read that as “Let ’em join SNL”

That would be funner than SNL, ya gotta admit that…

[antisocial-ist]

What you’ve just said… is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

[Brochettaward]

You know what’s easier than the military encouraging mass immigration for bodies?

Getting rid of the dumb tattoo rules. You are sending guys off to fight. One thing that grated on me in the military is what their notion of ‘professionalism.’ They want soldiers to appear as these clean cut choir boys. Those aren’t the types that win wars. Combined with the Obama administrations desire to use the military as a place to carry out their social justice campaign, and you are just wasting time.

You want the hard drinking, non-PC assholes to go fight your wars.

[Brochettaward]

And I know people who weren’t born in the states and didn’t come here legally who somehow managed to get into the military.

Believe me – if they needed bodies (they have them in excess right now), they would lower these ‘standards’ in a heart beat.

[DJF]

The US military is cutting numbers, it is actually forcing trained people out.

Also if a country of 300 million plus people can’t find enough citizens to fill military ranks then lets cut unneeded use of that military such as defending foreign countries.

Though I would vote to draft Shikha Dalmia and send her to fight the ISIL in Syria since she seems to care about that.

[Acosmist]

Yep.

People are having trouble getting into the military; they aren’t having trouble getting people. With this economy, that only makes sense.

Don’t let facts taint the narrative, though, Shikha.

[drugwarisevil]

Please, unless you are planning to eat said birds, don’t kill them. Rather than”… to kill two birds with one stone…”; may I suggest that you free two birds with one hand. More libertarian.

[F. Stupidity, Jr.]

Because the mainstreaming of punk fashions ? tattoos, gauges for enlarged earlobes ? combined with rising obesity and ADD prescriptions are increasingly rendering America’s native sons and daughters ineligible to serve. (Colorado’s marijuana legalization is very bad news for the military.)

And thanks to the backlogged green card situation, immigrants who would otherwise be attractive human fodder for the military, are unable to enlist.

Lord knows I’ve never seen any tattoo’d, obese, pot-smoking immigrants.

[Invisible Finger]

If the military changes their stupid recruitment rules, immigration is a non-issue.

Therefore, Dalmia makes herself look stupid trying to conflate 2 issues to score immigration policy credibility points.

Besides, I’m thinking most libertarians are on the “more militia, less military” side anyway so we are probably going to celebrate “less military fodder”.

[Brandon]

Why do the racists always come out for Dalmia’s articles?

[MarkinLA]

Dalmia is the racist.

[MarkinLA]

Yes, lets amnesty 12 million (really 30) many on welfare to get 1000 new soldiers to fight in our stupid unfunded wars in the ME.