Closing the border wouldn't turn Arizona into a utopia, but it certainly would improve the situation. Illegal aliens are criminals and should be treated as such, just like businesses which employ them rather than legal residents.

As far as helping Mexico, I don't see why we should. We're engaged in nation building in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the long run, it will probably change little. The United States is drowning in debt. We don't need to spend more money on a country that won't help itself.

You will probably disagree with my first two statements since you believe in a world without borders, and think more of our shared humanity than our differing nationalities. Believe it or not, I respect your view. I don't agree with it, but I respect it. Many advocates of illegal immigration have similar views, but hide them. Unfortunately, that view point has problems.

If there were no borders, everyone would gravitate to the "best places", which would eventually strain the resources of that area. Basically, allowing unfettered growth could make things worse for us. It may sound greedy, but it's true.

There's no reason countries like Mexico can't improve. They just need to spend more time improving their country, and less time encouraging their citizens to break our laws.

I think you're way off. If he were speaking passionately about an issue that would improve the country, I would agree with you. Instead, he talks about "racist white people", which sounds like he's leveling an accusation at white Americans in general, then he refers to the United States as "the belly of the beast", and criticizes capitalism. He doesn't think the United States is a nice place that can improve, he feels it is a wretched place full of racism and exploitation of those in lower income brackets. A place which "stole" the southwest from Mexico.

From his speech, it's easy to see how the United States is perceived as the villain, while Mexico is seen as the heroic underdog. His speech goes beyond ethnic pride and shows his hatred for the United States and what it represents. He might love the opportunities afforded to him in this country, but he certainly doesn't love the country itself.

In many cases, the deserving were those who were considered to be "too big to fail". With GMAC, it's size is only part of the reason. The federal government owns a large stake in GM, which in turn also owns a stake in GMAC. A GMAC that continues to weaken will further drag down GM. As a result, the government feels a need to continue to bail them out.

I'm not sure, but I have heard about the possibility of a bag tax in Rhode Island. Now that it has been passed in one place, we'll likely see more municipalities gradually pass similar legislation. The trickle will quickly turn into a flood.