of Capitalism." Puritans made capitalism so successful because their religious work ethic put production ahead of consumption. You work and strive and become successful not to indulge in the fruits of your labor -- but because this was an outward-and-visible sign of God's Grace. Well, the Catholics don't have that hangup about Grace. And tbey were poor farmers, and worked to survive, and believed that God would provide. They also raised huge families and often liked to drink and get violent. If you haven't done the research, go read what the popular magazines were saying at the turn of last century about the Irish, Italians, Poles, Croats, etc. You'd be astounded at how similar they said about Catholics to what you're saying now. So I don't buy your cultural pollution argument. At all. I also think your some of your suggestions are entirely too hardass to be practical. An illegal immigrant doesn't have to be a *saint* to deserve citizenship. If they're a hardened criminal -- deport them -- but they don't have to demonstrate a spotlessness above and beyond what's average in their socioeconomic group. You don't take away a family's chance to become citizens if one of their kids joins a gang. It's also blisteringly ironic to hear you say disparaging things about the Mexican devotion to la familia when we've been hearing this same cultural dysfunction rap about inner city blacks for decades -- and one of the things Hispanics are noted for is intact family structure.