Legit Reviews

I don't know how many of you are New York Times readers, but this story was on their front page at 1am today. It was also in their print edition today (Feb. 15th).

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/us/15 ... tml?ref=us

I was hoping / waiting for something like this to happen, but I thought it would come from Obama. Frankly, this helps someone like me a lot, because I speak fluent Russian and I'm still waiting for my permanent residency, but I don't know about the 4 year commitment.

Anyone else out there in the same situation? Got any comments?

Hope this comes with an extensive background check, could be really easy for a terrorist to get in.

dicecca112 wrote:Hope this comes with an extensive background check, could be really easy for a terrorist to get in.

What's really bugging me is not so much this, but what the military has been letting in from home growns over the past few years. A lot of waivers have been given the past few years to people with a variety of issues (arsonists, rapists, you get the idea). There are some bad things happening to our troops internally because a lot of garbage is getting in. ---

I think giving citizenship for service is great. I still like Heinlein's ideas in the book Starship Troopers. The movie wasn't good, and was a terrible interpretation of the book (IMHO). One of his ideas is that you had to perform some form of service to become a full citizen - which gives you the right to vote. So the right is earned and not given. I'm all for giving someone a shot at citizenship in exchange for a few years of sacrifice.

Sporg wrote:

dicecca112 wrote: I think giving citizenship for service is great. I still like Heinlein's ideas in the book Starship Troopers. The movie wasn't good, and was a terrible interpretation of the book (IMHO). One of his ideas is that you had to perform some form of service to become a full citizen - which gives you the right to vote. So the right is earned and not given. I'm all for giving someone a shot at citizenship in exchange for a few years of sacrifice.

Ah! An educated man! Good on you for reading the classics. Heinlein was basically trying to modernize the idea of the Roman empire in his novel. Service guarentees citizenship. The idea being that only those who have risked thier lives to defend the nation they serve truely understand the sacrafices nessicary to lead. Nothing freely given is of any value. It's a shame Paul Verhoven decided to make it an anti-Nazi film instead of the pro-democracy ideals Heinlein had. Have you ever seen the animated series Roughnecks? Much closer to Heinleins ideas.

As for allowing aliens to serve to get citizenship I'm all for it provided, as already stated, we vet them first. If someone is willing to fight and possibly die for the chance to become an American then they deserve the right to be one far more than many who already live here.

Skippman wrote:Have you ever seen the animated series Roughnecks?

I have seen parts of it. And you are correct, they did a better job of staying true to Heinlein's ideas.

Skippman wrote:The idea being that only those who have risked thier lives to defend the nation they serve truely understand the sacrafices nessicary to lead. Nothing freely given is of any value.

I agree 100% on this thought.

I'm so sick of the "entitled" feelings that so many in this country have. While our system is far from perfect we are very lucky compared to other areas in the world. Sorry for going off-topic...a lot of issues can be tied to the idea of service for citizenship.

I liked the movie.. I never read the book.

I personally think it should go one step further- allow Mexicans who want to flock to the US a chance to serve to become citizens instead of this craziness I hear that they should just be given citizenship. I was lucky to have been born a US citizen I am not sure that I feel I am more entitled to live here than Mexicans but laws are laws and I think that would help both the armed forces and allow them to become acclimated to American life. Learn English ect ect ect…

I agree with the service = citizenship part considering the pics I've seen posted online of air conditioned underground tunnels that lead to Arizona and other border states...if you can work that hard on breaking into the country, then you can work just as hard(if not less) to become a legal citizen