Short-fingered vulgarian under impression Bostonians will do what he commands them to

...in my luggage, along with a Playboy, as I had been advised/warned that mainstream porn and cigarettes were more valuable currency than rubles. The Spy was for me. In JFK airport, I thought for a minute about the fact that I was about to fly into the country with whom we had an espionage laden and stressful relationship carrying a magazine called Spy, but figured that I could explain my way out of it as necessary.

I didn't need to worry as the young customs officer opened my suitcase, deftly removed the Playboy, closed the suitcase & handed it back to me, no paperwork, no problem, welcome to Moscow.

I think the Spy had Sandra Bernhardt dressed as Cleopatra on the cover (I can't believe I'm remembering this). I was in a Glasnost-era student exchange program.

One of my favorite Spy issues was dedicated to DC, and involved, in part, tailing Lee Atwater around Washington by stuffing a potato in his tailpipe and "following the smell of burnt french fries." When Walter Monheit died a few years ago, I actually felt all verklempt.

Spy and later Might were a turning point in refining American snark, bless 'em.

I don't like the thought that there are millions of people out there - driving cars, raising children, operating machinery - who think that giving Donald Trump access to nuclear weapons is any kind of idea.

You may want to familiarize yourself with the immigration process that doesn't involve paying coyotes, crossing rivers, fences etc.. That is, the legitimate one. The one where people apply and pay fees far lower than illegal methods besides being safer. Applicants are evaluated so that the criminals are not admitted. This process betters your statistics showing that legal immigrants are far less likely to commit crimes than average Americans or average illegal immigrants who are not evaluated.
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How can statistics on illegal immigrants committing crimes in the US be accurate when local law enforcement (apparent misnomer) won't check or acknowledge if someone is here illegally and report it? So, you end up with very inaccurate data, automatically favoring your claim.

Please understand that Fish is pretty fact-resistant when it comes to parroting the extremist talking points.

Markkk has been expanding his hobbyhorse inventory of late as well, as he seems to have worn more than a few out.

Keep it in mind when you see their comments, and enjoy the show.

His hatred and fear of the Great Invasion of the Southern Hordes is based on science and logic, not racism! How dare you?

It's a damned shame that UserScripts is no longer a thing, or else you could install the plugin I once wrote, which puts every comment Fish writes into a speech bubble coming out of a giant cartoon rooster. I find it adds the appropriate level of gravitas to his insightful commentary.

Mexico is involved in a huge drug war the likes of which the US has never known. It isn't clear who's winning. It's extremely violent with both the drug lords and government abiding to few rules. Thousands of innocent people are killed. Things have gotten better as of late but it's still pretty bad.

The country is poor. Not bottom rung 3rd world poor but most citizen's standard of living is far, far below what is the average in the US.

So to say that instead of policing their own drug war (most of the drugs go to the US) or investing in things to improve their standard of living they should spend money to prevent people from leaving is just idiotic. If the US won't prevent it's citizens from leaving the country why should Mexico?

Babysteps for them embracing the fact that they are tabloid trash and not real journalists. I wonder how their "blogger union" is going.

LOL. Surely you jest.

Occidentlism?

Or, more accurately, a land of wave after wave of immigrants who immediately tried to slam the door behind them when they got in. Good thing there weren't immigration laws whenever your people got here, eh, Markk?