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To: shades who wrote (36998)	8/6/2005 1:38:48 PM
From: Doughboy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

TB was a scourge in the early part of the 20th century. I don't know when it came to the US but as far as I can tell it's been here ever since. It was not "reintroduced" into this country by aliens; it has simply become resistant to antibiotics so it is more prevalent today. Many diseases appear more prevalent among immigrants because they are poorer and tend to live in closer quarters and have less access to medical care. That's true of the poor, generally, not just to immigrants. I'm certainly not saying that my family is the typical story of 'illegal' immigration, but I don't think it's all that unusual either. Italian, Irish Chinese, and Germans faced the same sort of discrimination that Mexicans face today, if not worse. They weren't assimilating fast enough in relation to how fast they were coming to US shores. How many people today complain that Italians or Irish are not assimilated or aren't part of the melting pot? There's undeniably friction at the edges of immigration, but history has shown that the US has become stronger for it. I'd hate to become a place like Japan, which is so insular and racist that no one wants to come to their shores. Japan's population is shrinking every day, and they have no way to grow anymore and support their aging population. As for the PhD's in my family; they're not my "buddies"; They are my aunts and uncles. And no they didn't invent a vaccine for TB. My father is an economics professor and has helped develop the health care financing systems in the US, South Africa, Cyprus, Taiwan, HK, Singapore and many third world countries. One uncle was an art historian. My other uncle is an biologist/agronomist, and developed new strains of tomatoes and rice that need less water to grow. My aunt was a foreign language professor. The non-professors were also pretty productive: One aunt taught in high school; the other aunt is a nurse and served in Vietnam during the war and has devoted the rest of her life to treating AIDS patients in NY. I hope we're not going to judge immigration by a cost benefit analysis of each family; but I think the country we have today is a testament to what immigration can do. Doughboy.