Johnny’s Half Shell, Immigration, and Munching my Tax Dollars

 by Joseph BH McMillan  

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So far as I am concerned, the People of the United States are free to decide who does and who does not live in their country – and that is how it should be.

I always make a point of taking lunch at Johnny’s Half Shell when I pass through Washington, DC on my way to our American bolt-hole in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Johnny’s is one of my favorite seafood restaurants in DC. On North Capitol Street, it is directly opposite the Capitol building, and beneath Fox News studios. It’s also only a short and pleasant stroll over to Union Station for the late train to Charlottesville, VA. For some reason, I have always had the good fortune to munch at Johnny’s on wonderful sunny days – that must say something about the place!

I’m a bit of a creature of habit, so I usually go for the Barbecued Shrimp starter, followed by the Classic Maryland Crabcakes, fried not broiled – although both are excellent.

That is not to say that the other dishes on offer are not worth sampling. Take for example the Chesapeake Bouillabaisse; absolutely delicious – that wonderful little mini-crabcake soaking up the tasty lobster broth. Sometimes I even take a half portion of the Fried Shrimp Po’ Boy as a starter instead of the Barbecued Shrimp, although I seldom munch on the salads or slurp the soup of the day or the Gumbo on offer, although I’m sure they are delicious – one of my sons just loves the Gumbo (New Orleans Filé Gumbo).

Of course, as the name suggests, Johnny’s specialty is Oysters on the Half Shell, although you can get a Fried Oyster Po’ Boy in half or whole portions. I’m just not an oyster person – they’re just too slimy for me!

Now, the mention of ‘slime’ brings me to my theme – immigration, and Munching my Tax Dollars.

Like all good things, even Johnny’s has its down-side. And no, its not that I have bumped into Brit Hume or his ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ from Fox News Upstairs (I don’t even know whether they patronize Johnny’s, although if they don’t it would certainly reveal a lack of taste), it's those ‘others’ that can cause that slimy indigestible feeling. Yes!! – the Slime from the Hill.

At Johnny’s, Oysters come at €2.00 a piece, €12.00 for Half a Dozen, or €24.00 a Dozen; so no discount for quantity. Clams are better value at €1.75 a piece (yet smaller), but again, no discount for quantity – although the Clams are delicious – less slimy.

Now, from my observations, not all the Slime from the Hill munch on slimy Oysters, but I have seen many doing just that. But why should that bother me? It bothers me for two reasons. The first is immigration, or in our case, the lack of it. And the second, and related reason, is that every time I see a Slime swallow a €2.00 oyster, I see €2.00 of my tax Dollars disappear down their throat.

We have a home in Virginia, and investments in the United States, so we are compelled to pay taxes. But, we are only allowed to visit our home for a maximum of three months every year. I expect I spend as much time over here in Spain opening and dealing with demands for some kind of charge or another from the US as I do enjoying our home over there.

But, so far as I am concerned, the People of the United States are free to decide who does and who does not live in their country – and that is how it should be. To me, one’s country is like one’s home – only the invited should be allowed to stay.

Yet, when I do visit, I have this feeling that all is not quite "fair." Each time I catch a taxi from the airport, or to get around DC, I seem to end up with a driver who speaks Arabic, or Farsi, or some other language from the Middle, Near, or Far East. And when I engage them in discussion, I inevitably hear about their parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces and other far flung family members who have also found their way into the United States. When I ask how they manage that, I am usually met with a chuckle.

Now presumably all these people are in the United States legally, and I give them full credit for their success. All I know is that all our inquiries, and legal advice, tell us that we must "invest" large quantities of money AND employ a significant number of people (benefits and all) if we want any hope of getting in to the United States permanently. It is not enough, apparently, to buy a home, invest money, pay your taxes, guarantee that you will never take any state benefit of any kind, not avail yourself of the education system (we homeschool our children), and promise not to be a naughty boy.

Oddly though, none of those I have spoken to who have gained entry to the United States offered to, or were required to, make such a commitment.

On the other hand, I have been advised that if I could get a job and show that no American would be qualified to do that job, I could gain entry. Now I may be a vain person, but to assume that I am equipped with a skill that no American could match would be the ultimate indulgence in vain delusion – but still, it seems, there are a great many such "exceptionally skilled" people pouring into the United States. Remarkable!! And anyway, I find the prospect of working for someone else a quite undignified and humiliating prospect. I also thought that America was built on individual initiative and a commitment to independence, not servitude and dependence; but alas, it seems things have changed.

Apart from these "legals," I have also encountered a great many people who quite openly admit that they are in the United States illegally. They even tell me about their children in school, the great medical treatment they get, and other "goodies" that come with their status. They don’t seem to have any shame in the fact that they should not be in the United States in the first place, or that my tax dollars may be used to help finance them, even though I cannot bring my own family to live in my own house with my own money; they seem to think that they have some sort of entitlement or right," not just to be there and avail themselves of the tax Dollars of Americans, but also my tax Dollars.

Yet, as I have said, I’m not going to cry into my Bouillabaisse as I sit in Johnny’s after my time has elapsed to enjoy my own home and earnings – I just have to be thankful that at least my hard earned money which I had hoped would go to my children is going to another good cause – "conscience relief" of the Slime swallowing Oysters at the next table in Johnny’s.

Elections & Political Parties, Immigration

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