WendyMcElroy.com

YouTube of Ron Paul on immigration. Hat tip to the intrepid Karen de Coster on whose blog I found this item. I share her reaction to this frightening nationalistic scare piece -- "Yikes" -- even though we differ on our reactions to Ron Paul. Hint: she supports him. Gee...I wonder how a small government libertarian is going to enforce the totalitarian style of xenophobia Paul is pushing. For example, his desire for a Constitutional Amendment that would deny automatic citizenship to an individual born within the United States; they would have to have to 'qualify' -- or, rather, their parents would have to qualify as being legal -- before the baby's backside was officially stamped 'a product/property of the U.S.A.' Citizenship is one of the very few 'rights' that does not currently require a government license or approval, and having one's citizenship recognized is a non-trivial matter because so many other 'rights' depend upon it -- e.g. the right to enter or re-enter the country. Now so-called small government Paul wants to mandate government screening and approval for citizenship for those born in places like NYC. Yep...that will reduce bureaucracy. Presumably, when a mom shows up to give birth, she will have to have proof of her own citizenship and/or the father's...or she will have to produce it within a certain limit of time. Will Americans who give homebirth be required to register with a new Bureau of Baby Authencity in order to secure citizenship for their offspring? The foregoing questions may sound ridiculous but I think they are mild examples of the nightmare of bureaucratic growth and government usurpation that Paul's plan entails.