Correspondence

...It's embarrassing for any level-headed American...

...But will a ban actually accomplish his goal...

...I am talking about a major savaging of the president and his policies in front of foreigners...

...The proper parallel between France and the United States is not between the two countries' Islamic populations, which in the United States seems to assimilate rather well, but with the United States' own African-American underclass...

...As with Muslims in France, the U.S...

...Immigration is one of those issues where elites are completely out of touch with the people—partly because it is the populace, not the elites, which has to deal with the unemployment and depressed wages that result from immigration...

...government sought to remedy the evils of legally sanctioned discrimination by welfare programs that, though well intended, isolated the black poor in the urban centers and left them totally dependent on welfare...

...Yes, we embarrassed them, but we are also Americans who believe in being "outwardly loyal" to our nation while overseas in public situations...

...He is mistaken...

...Our problem is not "solved," but it is much ameliorated by the participation of formerly excluded peoples in civic and economic life...

...It was not simply "constructive criticism...

...embassy officials can be in public...

...In spite of the fact that the overwhelming majority of people want immigration reduced and illegal immigration halted altogether, the president believes, it seems, that he can hold on to his base and increase support among Hispanics who favor his proposal...

...It strikes at the ability of workers to earn a wage that will allow them to live a decent life in this country and to prepare their children to do even better...

...Republican constituencies ranging from traditional conservatives to Reagan Democrats are against this proposal...

...Until it allows Muslims to participate fully, France will not even begin to solve its problems...

...expatriate living in Hanoi, Vietnam, and one who often is part of the diplomatic social scene (mainly through my wife, who is a country bureau chief with a major international news agency), i am often shocked at how vocally anti-Bush U.S...

...President Bush's immigration proposal amounts to amnesty with some fines and paperwork, and it will be devastating to American workers...

...WILLIAM J. PANTNAM Hanoi, Vietnam ALIENATION FRED BARNES ONCE OBSERVED that the Democrats seem to "live in a parallel universe where ordinary economic rules don't apply"—a phrase that could describe Cesar Conda and Stuart A. Anderson in "Barely Illegal" (Jan...

...All these voters have to do to send a message to the president is stay home on Election Day...

...representatives to either keep quiet about their views or resign...

...embassy diplomats...

...In his article, Caldwell suggests that Chirac wants to ban the veil to force assimilation of Muslims into French society...

...Two out of the three U.S...

...From what I have observed firsthand, the State Department does little to advocate President Bush's foreign policy views and objectives, and, in many ways, will try to obstruct policies and damage the president as much as possible...

...diplomats spent a good part of the evening bad-mouthing President Bush and his policies...

...19), it seems to me that he may have left out one of the key elements in France's Islamic problem: why, I wonder, do France's Arab immigrants all live in housing projects ringing the major cities...

...For decades, France has resisted allowing immigrants to experience such full participation in civic life, in large part because the French government's economic policies hurt job creation and make it difficult for ethnic Frenchmen to find suitable employment...

...Assimilation comes about by participating in all the typical activities of one's adopted nation, beginning with entry into the workforce...

...During the Christmas holidays, my wife and I had a dinner party with a number of foreign diplomats, foreign business people, and three U.S...

...As I understand it, employment practices in France favor ethnic Frenchmen, leaving the majority of Islamic immigrants on welfare...

...TOM KAMINSKI Chicago, IL...

...DEENA FLINCHUM Blacksburg, VA VEIL OF IGNORANCE AFTER READING Christopher Caldwell's excellent "Veiled Threat" (Jan...

...Being good hosts, my wife and I listened politely for an hour or so, until finally, being fed up with it all, we suggested it would be best for the U.S...

...The great under-reported story in the United States today is the entry of increasing numbers of American blacks into the middle class...