Obama's Job Summit was Immigration Lite and Heavy on the B.S.

At last week s Job Summit, there was talk of a second stimulus
package, of tax credits for small businesses that hire new
workers, of an Infrastructure Bank to select national priority
pubic works projects like the Hoover Dam and TVA of yesteryear.

But no one, it seems, advanced the one obvious idea that would
have the most immediate and dramatic impact -- a moratorium on
all immigration into the United States.

Q Mr. President, thank you for the invitation. My name is Bill
Aossey from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I have a request that won t cost
us anything. It ll bring money home. Can you please help ease
the visa regulations so we can have students coming back, and
international business visitors that will bring money and cultivate
long-term resources of culture and academic relationships? So
please help ease this visa -- it ll bring money in and it won t
cost us anything. Thank you.

If those students start seeing a closed door, then we are losing
what is one of our greatest competitive advantages, and that s
something that I think we re committed to doing.

Let me broaden the point. There are a lot of things that don t
cost money that could make a difference.

In 1907, Yahya Aossey, a young boy of about 16 years old, left the
Lebanon Region of Syria to immigrate to the "Promised Land" of
America and to the heartland of the U.S.A.

Further, MIDAMAR S continued goal is to satisfy the Western and
Ethnic Halal food requests by Muslim consumers wanting to be
part of Western society, yet still remain faithful to the
teachings of Islam with regard to what is Halal and Haram.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think you make an important suggestion. We
live in a interconnected world and an interdependent world, and I
think that, properly, we had to respond to 9/11 by reviewing our
policies on visas, on immigration, on a whole host of issues.

But I think it is important for us not to get into a bunker
mentality. That s not America s strength. Our strength has
always been saying yes to the rest of the world, inviting
ideas and different cultures and commerce. And we have not
seen the same kinds of openness, I think, over the last
several years that I d like to see.

Now, we ve got to do it in a prudent way, but, you know, let s just
take the example of foreign students. One of the great things about
this country is we get the best and the brightest talent to study
here, and once they study here they start enjoying the intellectual
freedom and the entrepreneurship, and they decide to stay, and they
start new businesses. And suddenly you ve got a whole new
generation of folks who are creating intel or other extraordinary
businesses.

But I told the story of my lunch with the President -- President
Lee of South Korea. And, Gary, you were in that lunch --
remember I asked him, what s happening in terms of education
policy in Korea? And he said, well, you know, my biggest problem
is, Korean parents are too demanding and they are insisting,
for example, that I import, and I ve had to import, thousands of
foreign English teachers because they all feel that first graders
should be learning English already.

LEGAL WARNING! Some Americans have run into serious legal problems
with Korean Immigration because they either work as English
teachers while in Korea on tourist visas or they accept part-time
employment or private classes without obtaining the proper
permission. Violation of Korean immigration laws can result in
severe penalties including imprisonment, fines of up to 100,000
won ($120) for each day of overstay, or deportation with a ban
on re-entry for up to two years. It is your responsibility to
understand local laws and to obey them.

Unfortunately some American citizens come to Korea under contract,
with promises of generous salaries, bonuses and other amenities,
only to find themselves in tenuous situations, often lacking funds
to return to the U.S.

If you re thinking of going overseas to teach English in South
Korea, my first advice to you is DON T.

Don t go! Pick a different country or find a job somewhere else.

I estimate there is a 70% chance that if you go you will end up
getting screwed over in your contract and actually end up losing
money. Most people don t last the first three months with a
company. The ones who stay longer usually end up getting screwed
over for even more money.

Now, you think about that mentality, which is pervasive throughout
Asia -- you saw the same thing in China -- and it gives you a
sense of what we re up against in terms of global competition.

So as tough as this recession is, as tough as the job market may be,
we need to double down on our education investment.