Aliens!

[Eric J in MN]

The word "alien" was used repeatedly today in Congress during discussions of the Military Tribunal bill.

I'd prefer some other term, like non-citizen.

[JuniperLea]

1. Oh man! I thought the Martians had landed!

Come on! Take me away!!

[TheWraith]

2. No no, that's the hearing on the pending invasion by the Reticulans.

Their five year study has concluded that we are not, in fact, an intelligent species, therefore our planet has been placed on the colonization list.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. Perhaps their (Reticulan) colonial government stands a chance of being

a bit more benign than this one.

[Johnny Noshoes]

5. Maybe its the Vogons

and the hyperspatial bypass bill

[sweetheart]

3. What kind?

Klingon?, Romulan?, Borg? (republican), Sportsfan?

[Tesha]

6. Perhaps they should mod-u-late their tones?

"Perhaps they should mod-u-late their tones?"





But seriously, "aliens" is the correct legal term and a lot of
us are old enough to remember that "Aliens must register"
(which only started to sound like a joke when "Star Trek"
and "Lost in Space" started to make people think of aliens
as extraterrestrials rather than just extranationals).

Tesha

[Marie26]

7. It makes them sound much scarier

"Immigrants" makes you think of huddled masses yearning to breathe free. "Aliens" makes you think of slimy monsters who want to attack Earth to become our new overlords. Wouldn't want those "aliens" invading your country. Kind of brings up fond memories of Independence Day - where real Americans defeated the evil alien invaders. USA! USA! It's all about the Pavlovian knee-jerk reaction with these people. It's all about the hate & fear. If I were an "alien", I'd be getting out of this country right about now.

[AnnieBW]

8. Klaatu Barata Nikto!

n/t