Originally written by David Kallans on November 22, 2008 10:57 PM There are decent felons and decent criminals (Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jesus Christ, for example), and there are people who are neither felons nor criminals yet are far from decent (the emperor Nero, for example).

And then there are also people like President Bush.

Palin's Celebrity Status Still on the Rise

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD

AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Nov. 22) - Sarah Palin is juggling offers to write books, appear in films and sit on dozens of interview couches at a rate astonishing for most Hollywood stars, let alone a first-term governor.

……………………………………………….. 

However,

Just this past week, shortly after conducting a string of national TV interviews and skipping a state education conference, she was scolded by the Anchorage Daily News. "There are ... low graduation rates, plummeting North Slope oil prices, proposals to build alternative energy projects, the gas pipeline," the paper said in an editorial. "It's time for the governor to refocus on Alaska's needs."

http://news.aol.com/article/palins-celebrity-status-still-on-the/257306?icid=200100397x1213395585x1200906782

decent   
adjective

1 socially acceptable or good:
Everyone should be entitled to a decent wage/standard of living.
I thought he was a decent sort of person.
It was very decent (= kind) of you to help.
It made quite a decent-sized (= large) hole.
After the recent scandal, the priest is expected to do the decent thing and resign from his position.
2 INFORMAL dressed or wearing clothes:
Are you decent yet?
You can come in now, I'm decent.
decency   
noun
behaviour that is good, moral and acceptable in society:
a sense of decency
[+ to infinitive] She didn't even have the decency to apologize.

Originally written by David Kallans on November 23, 2008 1:57 AM Originally written by Bertha S. Deffenbaugh  All of them will be able to sneak in, the decent ones along with the felons and the criminals. All in the same pot.    "Decent ones" is not the opposite of "felons" or "criminals."  There are decent felons and decent criminals (Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jesus Christ, for example), and there are people who are neither felons nor criminals yet are far from decent (the emperor Nero, for example).

Whatever makes you think I wanted to use a word that was **the opposite** of felons and criminals?

I did not mean to use "honest"; I used "decent" because that's exactly what I meant.

Bertha

According to a story published in the Colorado Denver Post (local newspaper) immigration has been on the decline, and even more so now that the U.S. economy is in the toilet. The article didn't break down the decent from the others.

David

Giving up on the American dream

With its faltering economy, the U.S. is no longer the land of opportunity it once was for Mexican immigrants.

By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post

And not just in the U.S. During these rough economic times people are, it appears, moving back home world-wide. From the same article as above....

Pattern seen worldwide

The shifting U.S.-Mexico dynamics mirror similar changes elsewhere. In Britain, Polish workers are leaving for better opportunities in Poland, said Bela Hovy, chief of the migration section in the population division of the United Nations in New York.

Once-poor countries such as Brazil that now have growing economies increasingly can harness workers, Hovy said. A fluid global mixing is emerging in which "every country is becoming a country of origin, a country of destination and a county of transit," he said.

Originally written by D. T. on November 24, 2008 2:02 PM According to a story published in the Colorado Denver Post (local newspaper) immigration has been on the decline, and even more so now that the U.S. economy is in the toilet.

I believe that it is far too early to detect a clear trend. These things take hundreds of years to work themselves out. The Great Migration ("Völkerwanderung") of the Germanic, Iranian and Slavic tribes into what was the Roman Empire lasted from 300 AD to 700 AD. There is another Great Migration going on but this time worldwide and my bet is that it will go on for another 300-400 years and result in the total homogenization of Homo sapiens sapiens in both DNA and language. Naturally there will be fluctuations but the fact is that the USA with only 31 persons/sq.km. (GDP $45,800 per capita) is underpopulated in comparison with many other developed nations (it is 181 down on the list) and will remain under pressure for many years to come. If this thread is still going in 2400 maybe somebody will bring it up to date on the migration issue. I bet you that some US politician will still be going on then about "securing the borders" ...

Derek 

True, there is no real clear, longterm trend. In the short-term, at least according to the below, there is a decline.

David