Stubby wrote:
Sorry, but the times when the US would welcome people from around
the world with open arms are long gone.

That is clearly wrong.

I guess you never went through the process of trying to get a work visa,
have you?
See e.g.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...f_121605PR.pdf
As for immigration
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bu...etin_2757.html is quite
interesting. The worst is probably family-4 for the Philippines which is
backlogged for 23 years now. Meaning, if you are born on the Phillipines and
23 years ago your US-citizen brother agreed to sponsor you and you filed an
application for permanent residency in 1982 then this year you have a chance
to finally get the green card.

Now, how you interpret these fact is of course up to you.

Most of the baggage screeners don't speak
English, or at least didn't before the time that TSA cleaned up its
act.

Many people may say that US people do not speak English to begin with, but
that is a different discussion.
Also, I am not certain what someone's language has to do with handling
luggage (you don't talk to luggage, do you?).

jue