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West Virginia is right to not promote foreign immigration to solve state’s ‘dilemmas’

Paul Kiernan has an article in the Wall Street Journal about West Virginia. Why is the state against mass immigration?

Well, we know the WSJ has long championed mass immigration, and this piece gives us an idea of how mass immigration boosters think and the arguments they make.

The title of the article is, “Desperate for Workers but Dead Set Against Migrant Labor: The West Virginia Dilemma.”

The original article is here but you can read the whole thing for free here.

Here’s how Kiernan explains West Virginia’s so-called “dilemma”:

West Virginia shares a demographic dilemma afflicting many parts of the country: an aging population and unfilled jobs. Decades of migration out of Appalachia have left West Virginia older, less educated and less able to work than other parts of the U.S. Its labor-force participation rate—the share of the 16-and-older population either working or looking for work—was 55.2% in March, the second-lowest in the country.

Some other states, including Maine, Indiana and Utah, have sought immigrants to shore up their workforces. But while West Virginia represents one extreme in its labor needs, it represents another in its resistance to immigration.

Why is the solution always mass immigration?

Why doesn’t the article suggest other solutions, such as investment, education or vocational training to keep young West Virginians in the state, rather than bringing in foreigners?

An aging population is not the end of the world, especially with new technology. Japan, for example, develops robots to help care for the elderly.

The article says only 55.2% of the state’s population is working or looking for work. How about mobilizing part of the other 45% and encouraging them to work?

The WSJ is puzzled that West Virginia is fighting illegal immigration:

“Sanctuary cities” have been banned in the state.

The state’s National Guard has been deployed to the Texas-Mexico border.

Bills in the legislature have been introduced to make businesses screen potential workers to make sure they’re legal, to “punish companies for transporting migrants who are deportable under U.S. law,” to give the state authority to remove “inspected unauthorized aliens” (who entered illegally but the federal government allows to work) and to give Texas money for fencing on its border with Mexico.

Moore Capito, running for governor, ran a TV ad in which “he blocks a van of migrants from entering the state.”

The WSJ’s response?

There is little evidence that many recent immigrants—either those who entered the country legally or those who didn’t—have had any inclination to go to West Virginia, the only state with fewer residents than it had in 1940. The portion of its population that is foreign-born is 1.8%, the lowest of any state.

Don’t worry, the state has a cheap labor lobby wanting to change that.

Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, says that “We should avoid sending messages, either overtly or through our actions, that this is not a good place to come if you’re willing to work.” Roberts says manual laborers are needed to “do the work that some of us have just gotten too old to do.”

So work to keep young people in the state!

Local historians said the state has long been wary of outsiders, not just from other countries but from other states. “West Virginians don’t want immigration—of any kind,” said Stephen Smoot, editor of the Pendleton Times newspaper. There is even antipathy toward “come-heres” from nearby metropolitan areas who move in and look down their noses at locals, Smoot said.

Well, what do you expect?

“There’s a quality of life that comes from living in a sparsely populated area,” said Smoot. “You don’t have the irritations of constant human contact.”

Yes, some people like to live in sparsely-populated areas. They don’t want urban sprawl everywhere.

The state of West Virginia is famous for its scenery and outdoor recreational activities, which are also sources of income.

West Virginia is right to not promote foreign immigration into the state.

Instead, they can work on solving the state’s problems with the currently-existing population.

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Israeli Plan to Force All Gazan Survivors Onto US Ships Exposed

City’s new policy is aimed at ensuring the “neutrality” of public office

Poland’s capital has instructed civil servants not to display crucifixes and other religious symbols at Warsaw City Hall, sparking backlash from conservative groups. 

According to the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, officials will not be permitted to hang crosses or crucifixes on the walls or keep them on their desks. Government employees will still be allowed to wear crosses while at work, however. 

The new rules are part of a broader set of regulations aimed at combating various forms of discrimination. Officials have been instructed to use gender-neutral language, address people by their preferred pronouns, and not discriminate against same-sex couples. “Warsaw is the first city in Poland to adopt such a document,” City Hall spokeswoman Monika Beuth said.

Some politicians and religious groups have argued that such regulations are inappropriate in a predominantly Catholic country.

“I think this decision is unnecessary,” said Szymon Holownia, the speaker of the Polish parliament. “I have found a large number of crosses on the walls of the Sejm. While I personally will not hang crosses in public offices, I don’t think that today in Poland we need a war on whether crosses should be taken down from walls.” 

Conservative member of parliament Sebastian Kaleta promised to ask the prosecutor’s office to check if the capital’s policies violate any laws, while Catholic activist group Ordo Iuris urged people to send complaints to the city hall.

Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski defended the new rules and blasted “the hype in the media.” He explained that the guidelines were put in place to ensure an inclusive environment and uphold Poland’s secularism.

“Everyone has the right to their faith, or the lack thereof. This includes civil servants and clerks. [But] anyone who comes to the office to handle their business has the right to feel that he or she is in a neutral office. As simply as that,” the mayor wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. “No one intends to wage a battle against any religion in Warsaw.” 

Speaking at a news conference, Trzaskowski said the regulations would not apply to hospitals, schools and social welfare centers. He further clarified that although the guidelines bar religious ceremonies from taking place in government buildings, they will not apply to “traditional historical celebrations,” such as the commemoration of the 1944 uprising of Warsaw citizens against the Nazi occupation during World War II.

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Israeli Plan to Force All Gazan Survivors Onto US Ships Exposed

Some US defense contractors are reportedly already there, repairing weapons provided to Kiev

Several US allies within NATO are “inching closer” to sending soldiers into Ukraine to train its armed forces, the New York Times has reported. Some American military contractors are already on the ground to repair US-supplied weapons systems.

Facing troop shortages, the government in Kiev has asked the US and NATO to “help train 150,000 new recruits” inside Ukraine, so they could be sent to the front faster, according to the American outlet.

The move “would be another blurring of a previous red line” and could draw the US and the EU “more directly into the war,” the Times noted. Although the White House has publicly opposed sending instructors, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff thinks it is inevitable.

“We’ll get there eventually, over time,” General Charles Q. Brown Jr. told reporters on Thursday, while traveling to Brussels.

One problem with deploying NATO instructors to Ukraine would be having to shift already scarce air defenses away from the battlefield in order to protect them from Russian air and missile strikes, the Times noted. According to the outlet, the US would be obligated to defend any NATO instructors inside Ukraine from attack, “potentially dragging America into the war.”

French President Emmanuel Macron first raised the issue of sending NATO troops to Ukraine back in February, as an idea that should not be ruled out. Estonia and Lithuania have since expressed support for either sending instructors or support troops, to free up Ukrainian soldiers for combat duty. 

The White House is “adamant” that it will not put American troops on the ground in Ukraine – including instructors – and has urged NATO allies not to do it either, an anonymous White House official told the Times.

Meanwhile, Britain, France and Germany are working on a plan to send contractors to maintain weapons in the combat zone, the US outlet has revealed. Though the US has banned defense contractors from going to Ukraine, “a small number have already been allowed in, under State Department authority, to work on specific weapons systems like Patriot air defenses,” the Times noted.

American instructors used to be part of a NATO training program in Yavorov, in western Ukraine, but were withdrawn in early 2022. Russia has since struck the facility with missiles multiple times.

NATO has trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops in Germany, Poland, the UK and elsewhere. Western tactics have proven less than adequate during the summer 2023 offensive, however. The Times has described the Ukrainian battlefield as “far different and more intense than what American forces have fought on in recent years.”

According to anonymous US military officials, training inside Ukraine would allow American instructors “to more quickly gather information about the innovations occurring on the Ukrainian front lines, potentially allowing them to adapt their training.”

Earlier this week, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said that “moving training closer” to Ukraine would make sense, but added that London did not want to put British troops on the ground.

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Israeli Plan to Force All Gazan Survivors Onto US Ships Exposed

Figure is the highest ever recorded in response to the survey question

A majority of likely voters in the United States believe that a randomly selected group of people would govern the country better than the current US Congress, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll published Friday.

Most voters, 54%, believe that a group of people randomly selected from a phone book would better address the country’s problems than current lawmakers, the poll report said.

The figure is the highest ever recorded in response to the survey question, topping the previous high of 52% in July 2014, the poll report said.

The figure is up five percentage points from December 2022, the poll report added.

The poll surveyed 1,087 likely US voters from May 7-9. The poll maintains a margin of error of plus-or-minus three percentage points with a 95% confidence level.

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Israeli Plan to Force All Gazan Survivors Onto US Ships Exposed

Local reporters say one of the most dangerous they’ve ever witnessed

A wild pursuit came to a violent conclusion when a female suspect slammed a cargo van head-on into a wall of vehicles stopped on a busy highway in Southern California this week.

The shocking string of events unfolded at around 4:20 a.m. on Friday morning in Venice.

Two Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers were injured when a woman backed into their patrol car and then fled the scene, Fox 11 reports.

Local reporters are calling the ensuing chase one of the most dangerous they’ve ever witnessed.

LAPD pursued the van on I-405, performing multiple PIT maneuvers that were unsuccessful in neutralizing the vehicle.

Suddenly, the suspect made a u-turn and began driving directly into oncoming traffic, crashing into at least one vehicle before racing onward.

Authorities were eventually able to block the highway, creating a pocket of space where the suspect could drive without endangering other motorists.

However, as the suspect approached a line of stopped vehicles, she barreled at full speed into multiple cars and a tractor-trailer.

At least one motorist can be seen fleeing from his car after it was struck while another man was reportedly trapped inside his sedan due to extensive damage.

The female suspect can be seen climbing on top of the van before crawling onto the hood of the big rig.

Officers eventually pulled her to the ground and took her into custody.

Images showing the bloodied, wild-eyed suspect prompted social media users to speculate if she was “possessed.”

Incredibly, no serious injuries were reported following the collisions.

Authorities have not released information about the suspect or charges she might face at the time of this writing.

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UN Troops Being Brought in as Migrant Refugees

Dan Lyman on X | Gab

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine contains up to 354 times the recommended limit of DNA contamination, according to the findings of a peer-reviewed scientific study which raises concerns regarding the carcinogenic potential of the Comirnaty COVID-19 […]

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