Is the American culture to blame?

A lot of people blame the US for the problems of the world. We are blamed for the poverty in Central and South America, we are blamed for the terrorists in the Middle East, we are blamed for the starvation in Africa, and we are blamed for nearly everything bad that happens in China and Russia.

Why is this? What did we do other than win the cold war, send billions of dollars in foreign aid packages, accept your illegal immigrants, and save your country when it was under attack by someone bent on YOUR destruction.

Most people I know, when someone helps them, they say "Thank You!" But here in the US, we are accustomed to the rest of the world taking what we give, then, while still holding out their hands for more, they go and tell everybody how evil we are to have given them sooooo little help.

If you don't like it, don't ask for more!

Why Atheism is wrong!

Atheism is a morally corrupt view of both religion and humanity. The primary tenet of Atheism is the premise that humanity is the ultimate ruler of the world, in fact, of the universe itself.

This posting is NOT to try to prove to atheists that there is a God. Rather, it is a posting to reflect on the fact that regardless whether there does exist a God (I believe there is), that we must believe in his existence to maintain our world with at least a semblance of order.

The different beliefs in a being superior to mankind is called religion. Unfortunately, these different religions have caused many wars and long standing 'hot-spots' around the world.

However, imagine the world without religion. Imagine a world that had absolutely no belief in a superior being. Imagine a world where mankind really was the ultimate in evolution. We are our own gods!

This means that since I am a god, and you are a god, I have my own moral principles that are equivalent to anybody else in society, and thus, I can do what I want to do, and your silly laws mean nothing. After all, where did our 'morality' come from? It came from belief in a higher power!

Without having God, or Allah, or Yahweh, where would our species be? Would we have advanced to this point or would we still be slinging rocks at each other playing king of the mountain?

Who gave us our morality? It wasn't man. It was man's belief in God.

To build or not build the fence

A lot of debate has been going on over whether we should actually build a fence on our Southern border. I don't think we should.

Let's take the money for building the fence, and invest it in something that will work. Let's put more border patrol on our border, let's back them up with the National Guard, let's equip those on our borders appropriately, let's get more ICE agents inside the US tracking down those who employ illegal immigrants, and let's simply enforce the laws we currently have.

We are a kind and caring country, we allow more legal immigration every year than the entire rest of the world. We donate more time, more money than all other countries, but enough is enough!

The heat is on? or off?

Why is our legislature so worried about our Honorable Attorney General doing his job? Don’t you realize that he cannot prosecute a crime unless sufficient evidence has been presented before a judge to establish probable cause?

After all, didn’t we elect the best man to be our Attorney General? Don’t we trust him to do his job? Isn’t Paul Morrison dedicated to pursuing criminals wherever they are, regardless of their campaign contributions and political leanings? Isn’t Paul Morrison an honorable man who told us through his campaign ads that he would apply the law equally to everyone?

Why do you think that we have to mandate to Paul Morrison to do his job?

What? Oh, you mean there WAS a finding of probable cause in front of a judge? You mean that one of Morrison’s biggest supporters, the one he stopped the investigation and prosecution of, really might need to go before a jury to find out if he violated on numerous occasions Kansas state law?

I just cannot believe that a highly regarded doctor (if you don’t believe me, just ask him, he’ll verify his greatness) might actually be guilty of criminal violations? No!!! It can’t be! Wouldn’t Paul Morrison put his honor and duty to the state of Kansas above his political views?

Say it ain’t so!

So if there is a finding of probable cause that a crime (or 31 crimes) had been committed, why don’t certain segments of our political spectrum want to investigate and pursue the person alleged to have committed these crimes? Isn’t that a basic tenet of honor? To respect the law?
Or are those dollar signs that float towards certain parties every campaign season more important than doing what is right?

Finish the investigation, if the evidence warrants it (which at least one judge has already determined), hold a trial, and let the jury determine if Dr. Tiller is innocent or guilty of the charges.

Paul Morrison has already shown his integrity in the manner in which he has treated this case, thus I recommend that he appoint an independent counsel to pursue this prosecution to ensure that both the state and the defendant have the best possible chances at trial.

Mr. Morrison, if you can’t do it for human babies (as we are talking about LATE term abortion here of near fully formed fetuses), then do it for your own respect and honor.

To Charter? or not to charter?

Charter Schools. Say those two words in a meeting with the Board of Education of most school districts, and the room temperature will seemingly drop 20 degrees. Another word with the same impact is ‘vouchers’.

Why is it that numerous private schools can thrive on tuition rates that are between 60-70% of what our public schools receive per pupil, and yet, the private schools seem to turn out students so much better prepared than the public schools?

Dr. Betty Horton has been attempting to establish a charter school inside the USD 501 district for quite some time, to address the problems that USD 501 has experienced educating our special needs children, and yet, despite her outstanding credentials, the Board of Education has seen fit to deny the permit to establish the charter school.

Would anyone on the BoE like to explain the reasoning behind the denial?

The research that I have seen shows me that attaching state education funding to the student rather than to the school, and allowing the student to attend the school of his/her choice, whether public or private, would result in better quality of education, higher test scores, and a significant lessening in the number of high school dropouts.

The only people who it generally seems are against allowing our parents their choice of schools are those who profit directly from the lack of competition. The school district administrators.
Maybe it is time for us to look more closely at why our K-12 education is quickly closing in on what a college education used to cost.

Opinions are Free

In the first amendment to the US Constitution, we are provided four basic rights that we, in the US, take for granted. We are granted freedom from government meddling in religion, we are granted the right to say or write pretty much what we want, we are granted the right to assemble peaceably, and we are given the right to petition the government for a resolution of our complaints.

Every time I drive down California Avenue, I am reminded by the owner of the Family Nutrition store just how precious the gift of free speech truly is. I would assume that this owner believes that the President is a liar as the sign outside the store constantly displays messages on this topic.

After passing this sign numerous times, reading a constant variation on this theme, I realized that this sign was an emblem of freedom.

Where else, could a person consistently and constantly question the moral and ethical values of our President, without having a government agent coming to tell them to take the sign down, throw them in jail, or simply make them ‘disappear’?

Though this message would have been better if it were announced several years ago, I am glad that this honorable citizen has finally decided to stand up and denounce these lies.

I too wish to join this person in denouncing President Bill Clinton for his lies and betrayal of trust to the American people. I am glad you lost your law license for the perjury you committed in an effort to hide your personal betrayal of your committed wife, Hillary.

Fortunately, I am proud to state that we now have an honest President. The Honorable President George W. Bush has been wrong (ain’t that an understatement), but, at least he never intentionally lied, especially under oath, to the American people as President Clinton did.

So I want to say a simple, “Thank you!” to the owner of the Family Nutrition Store for showing me the power of free speech!

God Bless You!

The Losses of USD 501

In the Sunday edition of the Topeka Capitol Journal, the headlines read “USD 501 Head Count Falling”. In this story, some unidentified school district officials insinuate that real estate agents are to blame for the decline because they “steer home buyers away from the school district.” USD 501 Superintendent Tony Sawyer further implies that real estate agents are at fault by saying, “What we’d like to get is a fair message from our real estate brokers that says our school district is really improving,...” I disagree.

My disagreement is based upon my personal experiences with USD 501. As I am sure I have told you before, my son, who is now nine, has Autism and is in special education. My son attended Kindergarten at Berryton Elementary in the Shawnee Heights School District. That year, my daughter attended Tecumseh North, also in the SHSD. Both children had outstanding years, with no problems.

However, to be closer to the center of town, we moved into USD 501 district three years ago. It seemed that both of my children immediately started to have ‘issues’. It started with my son coming home with bruises on the inside of his arms. He started to wake up in the middle of the night screaming from nightmares. He came to dread going to school, whereas at Berryton, he drove my wife and I nuts with his impatience of waiting for his bus to arrive each morning.

As we slowly discovered the truth, it was so astounding that I couldn’t believe it. It turned out that it was not other children leaving the bruises on his arms, it was his teachers. Rather than asking (or even telling) him to move from one activity to the next, they would grab his upper arm, and physically pull him over to where they wanted him. Rather than showing patience with my disabled son, they would yell at him for not doing what they wanted as fast as they wanted (typical of his disability).

My sons doctor who is a man who loves all of the children under his care. He spent a day observing my son in his classroom, and during a followup meeting, told the teachers that some of the things they were doing could reasonably be considered child abuse and some could even be considered human rights violations. Very strong words from such a gentle man, but at least they seemed to work temporarily, as the bruises stopped appearing for about two months.

During his second year in USD 501, after my son showed that he really didn’t like his teacher (he called her ‘very mean’), the school district agreed to transfer him to another school. My son immediately fell in love with his teacher at the new school. Unfortunately, the schools tolerance of children bullying other children was simply unacceptable. This bullying had the impact of teaching my son that violence was not only acceptable, but in certain cases, it was approved of.
One day, when I went to pick up my son for an appointment, all of the students were attending an assembly in the school gym. I was standing in the hall chatting with a few teachers, when a couple of students came walking out of the gym. One of the students was relatively small, and the other relatively large. The smaller student walked up to one of the teachers, as if to tell her something, when the larger student walked up, interposed himself between the teacher and the student, and told the teacher that she needed to tell the smaller student to stop pushing people. He then proceeded to place both of his hands on the smaller student’s shoulders, and physically shoved him to the ground.

One teacher reacted by looking at the bully, and telling him something like, “Now you know you’re not supposed to be doing that, now get back inside the gym and sit down!”

The other two teachers only reaction was to help the smaller student pick himself up off the ground, asking if he was hurt.

I was shocked. I went to the school’s office and demanded to see the principal. I told him what I had seen, and he promised to attend to it.

However, I was wondering if this was the way students acted in front of the teachers, what type of behavior went on when the teachers weren’t watching. Maybe the stories my son told me of being accosted on the playground by two or three students at a time were true!

It was then that I then decided, never again. As soon as our lease was up, we fled back to Shawnee Heights, and once again, my children seem to be receiving the education they deserve.
Fortunately, we were able to escape from USD 501, and no matter what propaganda is spewed, I don’t foresee any improvements forthcoming until such time as the district gets back to the basics of teaching in a safe and secure environment.

In the school my son first attended in USD 501, the teachers were bad. In his second school, his teachers were excellent (thank you Margaret Price of Avondale West), but they were unable to control their students. Whether due to policies, or because there were too many students for too few teachers, I don’t know. But it is definitely a result of the failures of the USD 501 school district.

My advice to you Mr. Sawyer, is that you make the district worth attending before you attempt to blame others for your own faulty policies.

Gracias Señor Presidente Calderón

In a speech broadcast over multiple Spanish channels live, and of course reported on in the American press, the President of Mexico acknowledged the increasing problems Mexico is experiencing due to the increasing migration of Mexicans to the US.

As reported in the Washington Times, El Presidente condemned the construction of a border fence, and lamented the loss of their youngest and their best people, in emigration North to the US.

I am hopeful that we, as both a people and as a country, can help our Mexican neighbors build their country into the thriving country that it should be. In so doing, we help not only those in Mexico who are unable to come to the United States, but we will indeed show the world the power of helping someone to grow strong rather than keeping them weak and dependent.

Imagine what we could do with the money saved if we could get Mexico to help us in resolving our own illegal immigrant problem. We could actually afford to provide Mexico $10-15 Billion per year in economic aid and still be better off financially. Imagine how much could be done in Mexico for $15 billion!

Some of you have stated that you feel sorry for the poor people of Mexico, so do I.But THIS is the way we should be solving it, not by forcing them to enter the US as beggars and criminals.

The irony of it all is that as El presidente Calderon is wanting those in the US to return to help make Mexico strong, President Bush in a parallel speech emphasized that he wants to push for immigration reform and the “path to citizenship” (meaning amnesty). Seems that these illegal immigrants to the US are in popular demand, the President of both countries wants them!

I swear to tell the truth... Not!

For the last several days, I've been dealing with a major headache. I got the headache when I was listening to the discussions in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee (FSAC) meeting last week and got my first good look into the underbelly of our political system.

It's always been a long-standing joke that to be a politician, you had to lie. I always assumed that this was based upon the hundreds of thousands of broken campaign promises that lay cast to the side of the campaign trail. Unfortunately, my assumption was wrong.

It has always amazed me on the internet, that when you start to quote verifiable facts and statistics, there would always be a someone who would come out and tell you just how wrong you are, make some inappropriate innuendos, then tell you that they weren't going to “waste their time” in proving you wrong. Or else they will throw out some weird and unverifiable statistic that is obviously fake, hoping to win over a convert who is easily swayed by tripe.

I found out last Thursday, that the same type of behavior goes on inside our government as well. The main difference is, in our government, it is expected that people will stick to verifiable truths.

On Thursday, the FSAC was discussing a bill to require proof of US Citizenship or legal residency to receive financial aid/benefits from the state government. Now, I'm not going to accuse anybody of lying, however, to believe some of the things that were said... well... I'll let you judge...

One representative tossed out a figure stating that nearly 40% (if I heard him correctly) of the American troops that have died in Iraq were Hispanics. Of that amount, 25% were hispanics who were ILLEGALLY in this country. On the face of it, this is a startling revelation, that sounds first like a reasonable statistic when coming from a duly elected representative. Then, upon consideration, it sounds like what it really is, one of those weird and unverifiable statistics that is obviously fake.

The truth is, the US Military only accepts members who are legal residents or US Citizens. And having gone through the process myself, I can attest that the military does pay attention to your paperwork.

So was this statistic thrown out by the representative based upon bad information provided by a constituent? And repeated by the representative out of ignorance? Or was it a contrivance designed to convince people that those who cross our border illegally are true American Patriots?

Just a bit later, the same representative brought up the topic of Min Choi, a Korean citizen who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom while serving in the US Military. Min Choi was honored by being posthumously awarded US Citizenship at his funeral. Min Choi was a young man, who had immigrated legally to the United States with his family. He served our country with honor, and upon his death, he was properly awarded US Citizenship. To date, over 100 legal permanent residents of the United States have died in Iraq, and been awarded US Citizenship for their sacrifice to our country.

And our representative wants to dishonor our fallen soldier by saying that he was a criminal trespasser? Shame on you, Mr. Representative.

So was it a lie? Or was this representative simply ignorant of the truth? An old saying, which I usually ignore, but which seems appropriate here is, "It is better to appear a fool for remaining silent, than to open your mouth and prove your foolishness."

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.

The 'Peace' Movement in action

What is it called when people who are against war, launch a surprise attack on a war hero in his local hometown bar?
I call it liberal hypocrisy. We want peace, and we're willing to kill you to get it.

As reported on CTV.ca, a Canadian press outlet, Master Cpl. Collin Fitzgerald, a member of the Canadian military was brutally attacked soon after he returned to Canada from a tour in Afghanistan.

Soldier calls nasty bar beating a 'sneak attack'.

Is this going to become the new liberal movement? If you don't agree that we should appease the terrorists, then we also will act like terrorists and hurt you?

I thought the so-called peace movement was supposed to be like.... peaceful?

I thought the anti-war movement was supposed to be like.... non-violent?

If it was a single attacker, then you could say it was a loony, but four attackers? Attacking from behind? And where did everyone else in the bar disappear to?

Bunch of cowards...

The only positive side to this story is that at least these cowards have shown how they wish to 'support the troops'.

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.

Is it racist?

One of the things I notice on a daily basis, is that there are people who yell and scream racism at the drop of a hat. Why are these people so caught up on the issue of race?
So I thought about it. Then I thought about it some more. Then, still not believing my conclusion, I thought about it yet again. My conclusion? It's not about race at all.

Though there are still those who continue to believe that they are members of the “superior race”, I consider these people ignorant.

When people propose enforcing immigration laws, many call them racist. When people propose reducing the welfare budget by putting people to work, they are racist. If someone makes a stupid joke, they are racist. If someone points out unfortunate facts of life, they are racist. Do you want to eliminate affirmative action? You're a racist, even though the entire premise of affirmative action is race-based selection, despite the evidence that it hurts minorities more than it helps them.

In most cases, I have found that the people who are yelling and screaming about racism, are trying to force their point of view on others through intimidation and by changing an issue from being based on facts to being based upon theoretical harms that never seem to come about.

I was called a racist last week based upon my views that the United States should enforce immigration law, and that those who are illegally in this country should go home voluntarily or be shipped home. Does this mean that I am a racist if I want murderers locked up? Or pedophiles? What about kidnapping, is that a racist crime?

If you think about it carefully, then you would realize that actually, the racist in this situation is the person making the accusation. By insinuating that I was anti-hispanic for wanting to enforce immigration law, doesn't that mean that this person really thought that hispanics were the only ones who broke this law? And by extension, that all those in our country illegally are hispanic? I wonder how many people were aware that Hillary Clinton gave a speech last week to a group of 2500 illegal alien residents who were IRISH!

I was watching some television clips that included various people discussing the construction of the fence along our Southern border. I found it amazing that one gentleman insisted that building a wall was blatant racism, while also blaming the multinational companies based in the United States of exploiting the peoples of Central/South America, thereby forcing those people to live in poverty.

Could someone please explain to me how a company that invests millions of dollars in building a new plant, giving hundreds of people jobs that pay as much or more than the prevailing local wage, can be 'exploiting' those same people? Or keeping them in poverty? You tell me, was this gentleman speaking from the facts? Or was he using the rhetoric or hatred and racism as an excuse to not do the right thing?

He couldn't justify his views against the wall based upon any reasonable facts, so he resorted to calling our country racist.

So you tell me. Is it racism? Am I wrong? Am I right?

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.

Immigration? or Invasion?

Yesterday, I asked you whether the massive influx of people across our borders was a wave of “immigrants” or a wave of “invaders”. Today, I will explain why this constitutes an invasion.

For over 200 years, the United States has welcomed immigrants with open arms. Since 1808, the US government controlled immigration by requiring that all immigrants either register upon arrival or request permission to enter.

Those who we call “illegals” are neither registering their presence nor requesting our permission to enter. Thus, are they immigrants? Or are they invaders?

Though each person who enters our country illegally could possibly be considered an immigrant, I call them invaders because I have seen how they live, I have been told of their methods of remaining hidden, and I have studied the impact they have on our society.

During the “pro-criminal” protests that were held by illegal immigrant supporters in April/May of 2006, the number one theme was the story of "Aztlan", and that Mexican citizens here illegally were assisting in the "reconquista" of the Southwestern United States. In a report from the Washington Times, dated April 16, 2006, “Mexican aliens seek to retake 'stolen' land”

The Washington Times story quoted one observer as saying, “You're seeing people marching with Mexican flags chanting, 'This is our country.'” Immigrants? Or Invaders?

Jose Angel Gutierrez, a professor at the University of Texas, stated in an interview that “there was no viable reconquista movement”, and indicated that this was a theory being pushed by proponents of a “closed border” and “right wing bloggers”. However, Mr. Gutierrez was also captured on videotape talking about the eventual takeover of the Southwestern US by Mexico, “We are millions. We just have to survive. We have an aging white America. They are not making babies. They are dying. It's a matter of time. The explosion is in our population.” Immigrants? Or invaders?

I told you of a city called Caduhy just two days ago. Immigrants? Or invaders?

I talked of the 9,000 Americans killed each year by illegal immigrants, who flee and are than protected by their governments from extradition back to the United States for prosecution. Immigrants? Or invaders?

Each year, nearly 1.3 million people enter the United States LEGALLY. These are immigrants.

Each year, the low estimates say that only 500,000 NEW illegal immigrants successfully make it into our country, whereas the high estimates go up to two million. Based upon the statistics I have seen, I would estimate that figure to actually be between 1 and 1.5 million illegals coming into the US successfully. Immigrants? Or Invaders?

2,900 children sexually violated by predators in our country illegally? Immigrants? Or invaders?

The Federal Government has estimated that one out of every twelve persons who enters our country illegally is wanted in their home country for criminal acts. This equates to 8.3%. They break our laws on entry to our country, and a good percentage continue breaking our laws to stay “below the radar” while they remain in our country. Immigrants? Or Invaders?

Of course, we, being a compassionate people, have financed this invasion, and in fact, it seems that our politicians are bending over backwards to help these invaders take over our country. Amnesty didn't work the first time, so now, let's try it again.

Mr. President, Honorable Senators (including you Mr. Brownback), Honorable Representatives, I would like to point to your basic responsibility of protecting America from those who would take our country away. By promoting amnesty to those here illegally, by promoting forgiveness of the crimes they have committed against Americans, you are aiding and abetting the most insidious enemy that our country has ever had to face. Immigrants? No. They are invaders.

The vast majority of our Citizens have stated they do not want amnesty for those here illegally, and they want to ensure the integrity of our borders, but our politicians are not listening.

Call your Representative, call your Senator, call the President. Tell them they MUST enforce the law rather than giving in to criminals intent on the theft of our country. Get active, and stand up for America while we still have a chance to have an America.

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.

It's Illegal... but what is it?

This week, I have dedicated my page to addressing what I see as the largest threat to the future of our country. I make no qualms about my feelings on this issue, and I am hopeful that by revealing some of my own experiences, I can sway you, the reader, into contacting your Senators, your Representatives, and let them know how you feel about the way they are handling this problem.

Today, I am going to take some very simple definitions from the dictionary, then, I will ask you a simple question that you must answer for yourself...

Immigrate: to enter and usually become established; especially : to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence

Invade: 1: to enter for conquest or plunder
2: to encroach upon : infringe
3 a: to spread over or into as if invading : permeate
b: to affect injuriously and progressively

Infringe: to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another

Think about these terms, and answer for yourself one question...

Is the United States having a large influx of illegal immigrants? or are we being invaded? Tomorrow, I'll provide my answer...

Living Dangerously

Imagine living in a town where placing yourself on a ballot for city council opened you up to anonymous death threats. Imagine running for office and being told that the sitting "vice mayor" would take care of you with his "AK-47". Imagine a town where Mexican drug rings, Mexican mafia and Mexican street gangs ruled by fear. Imagine a town where politicians hold their fund raisers in a nightclub that features photos of Mexican drug smugglers. The town? It's called Cudahy, and it is located about 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

The story is told of this town in a LA Weekly report dated 02/21/07, "The Town the Law Forgot".

It is estimated that illegal immigrants murder 12 Americans every day. Another 13 Americans lose their life to illegal immigrants driving while intoxicated. That's over 9,000 Americans killed each year by illegal immigrants!

2,920 American children are victims of sexual abuse each year at the hands of these criminals!

The main stream media is hammering into us daily the death toll in the war on terror, but here we have a death rate nearly 15 times as much, and the media remains silent! Where is the outrage? Where is the anger at the 140,000+ illegal immigrants who are also sexual predators roaming our streets?

Kidnapping, murder, rape, child pornography and prostitution. You name it, and we got it. We can't blame all of our problems on illegal immigrants, but.... it sure doesn't help us solve our own problems when we just keep getting more people in that exacerbate them.

Is this where we are heading? Are we following the path of Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas? or will we stand up and resist this invasion?

There is still time to stop it, but will we? Or will our politicians keep giving away our country, one illegal immigrant at a time? And will we keep voting for those same politicians that promise to let other government's establish their claim to our land?

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.

In the Spotlight

was on my way to pick up my wife in our recently acquired "preowned" (and here I thought it was "used") vehicle, when I saw those red and blue flashers come on behind me. So I pulled over, wondering what I had done.

I have to admit, I'm not really that used to seeing those flashers (only two tickets in twenty-three years driving, none in the last twenty), so it really startled me. What had I done wrong?

As the officer approached, I reached into the glove box and got out my insurance card, and then pulled my driver's license from my wallet. The state trooper politely asked me how long I had owned the vehicle (the temp plates were a dead giveaway I bet)?. Only two weeks I replied, almost three...

After running some checks on the windows, he politely informed me that the windows on my vehicle were too dark, and he needed to issue me a warning. As he walked back to his vehicle to write the warning, I had time to think about just why would having my windows too dark matter?

I realized that having the windows too dark meant that I could not see as well at night. I then realized, even more importantly, that it meant that if I was pulled over (like I had been), that the police officer would be unable to see inside the vehicle to assess any possible threats.

Personally, though I've only been pulled over four times in my life, I think I prefer to have the police more relaxed when they approach, then coming up with their hand on their pistol, wondering if they have a routine traffic stop, or if they have an armed criminal waiting.

Anyways, I'll take the vehicle back to the dealer tomorrow and ask them to remove the tint, then I'll go out and get some lighter (and legal) tint to help temper the sun this summer.

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.

Are they really citizens?

On July 9th, 1868, only three years after the end of our civil war, the United States ratified the 14th amendment. This amendment formally removed the distinction between free men and slaves, and recognized all former slaves as US Citizens.Our original Constitution stated: “Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.” Please, go back and read that again...

Yes, it is true, our US Constitution originally counted only free persons as “whole” persons in determining their population for census purposes, and thus for how many delegates that state would receive in the US Congress. Slaves were counted as only three fifths of a person, and Indians were not counted at all unless they paid taxes.

The civil war won, the people of the United States quickly granted full citizenship to all persons born in the United States, whether born as free men or as slaves with the 14th amendment which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;”

Since then, it has been assumed that any child born inside the United States, was automatically a US Citizen.

Under US law, there are situations whereby children born inside the United States are not granted US citizenship. Foreign diplomats stationed and foreign military personnel stationed in the United States do not fall under US Jurisdiction, thus their children are not eligible for citizenship (though they are subject to following our laws). Children born to illegal immigrants should be treated the same.

In the normal immigration process, one requests that the US accept jurisdiction by making application for a Visa, either temporary or permanent, and the US may either accept or deny the assumption of jurisdiction by the issuance/non-issuance of a Visa. Unless the US accepts jurisdiction, than no jurisdiction may be assumed.

Unfortunately, millions of people have bypassed this process and are in the United States illegally. These persons have never been granted jurisdiction, or, by failing to properly renew their Visa, have allowed that jurisdiction to expire. Until now, children born to these illegal aliens were assumed to be US Citizens, whether the parents were here legally or not. Children born to illegal immigrants are not estimated to number about 330,000 per year.

Each year, our government provides hundreds of millions (billions?) of dollars to provide housing, food, medical and other social benefits to these babies. As our Social Service bureaus such as SRS, SSA and HUD are prohibited from asking about the immigration status of persons not directly receiving benefits, it is actually impossible to know how much taxpayer money it costs to fund anchor babies and their families.

In one instance of which I have personal knowledge, a family of five was living in the same relatively nice section 8 housing development as my family. The three adults in this family and one of the children were in this country illegally, and the other child was a US Citizen by birth. They laughed at my wife and I when they found out that we were paying nearly full rate for our rental unit.

This family, with three adults working, claimed to have a joint income of about $5000/month, which put them well above the income limit for subsidized housing, yet, they also claimed they were only paying $50/month in rent. They explained how the landlord thought they didn't have jobs and their jobs couldn't be traced back to them, because they were working under assumed names and stolen social security numbers.

Knowing they were paying $50/month for a $650 apartment, the first question to enter my mind was, “Who ends up paying the other $600/month?” The answer is, of course, the American Taxpayer.

When I talked with one of the apartment complex employees, the employee told me that they were obligated to accept all tenants as long as at least one resident of the unit was legally in the country. As this family had a child who was a citizen by birth, this family could live in this unit for as long as they wanted. As there was no obvious indication of fraud, the apartment complex could not do anything about it. (But that family did move out of there when I said I was going to report them for fraud).

When I lived in Dallas, I saw many illegal immigrants in the SRS office applying for food stamps, WIC and every other benefit possible. Of course, it was all “for the children”, but who actually got the money/assistance? The child? or the parents?

How can we stop our tax money from financing these illegal immigrants?

Kansas State Representative Lance Kinzer from Olathe has taken the first step by entering HB 2367 in the Kansas House of Representatives. This bill requires all persons requesting state aid to prove they are in the United States legally. This bill will be discussed in the Federal and State Affairs Committee this Thursday, 03/08/2007 at 1:30 PM.

This bill is a good first step, however, it will not address the issue of those who use anchor babies and lies to fraudulently obtain benefits.

To fully address this issue, one of two things must happen; either our US Congress, must pass a law defining the children of illegal immigrants either as eligible or not eligible for US Citizenship, or our Supreme Court must make a legal finding of the same.

Will either of these happen? With our Federal governments history of ignoring the populace on this issue, it is highly doubtful we will ever get a law. Will any entity ever file a federal lawsuit (or determine they even have the right to file a lawsuit) and force a Supreme Court ruling?
Either way, we must do something... or it will soon be too late.

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.

Romney and Giuliani Make Pitch to Conservatives

WASHINGTON, March 2 — Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York are both Republican presidential candidates who have been voted into office by largely Democratic electorates. They both have a history of taking liberal positions on social issues. And both are viewed warily by conservative Republicans who are integral to the party’s presidential nominating process.

Mr. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, and Mr. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, sought to address those challenges on Friday with speeches to conservative advocates gathered for an annual conference in Washington.

To a certain extent, they approached the task in similar ways: by presenting themselves as devotees of Ronald Reagan who had tamed Democratic excesses in their communities. Mr. Giuliani talked about cutting crime, welfare and taxes; Mr. Romney talked of cutting taxes and the size of government.

Yet they parted company on how they dealt with the more difficult question of their positions on social issues. Mr. Romney made no mention of his past support of abortion rights and gay rights, instead focusing on his current opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. He portrayed himself as someone who stood at the barricades as his state sought to permit same-sex marriage and to remove restrictions from abortion and stem cell research.

“I stood at the center of the battlefield on every major social issue,” Mr. Romney said in a speech to the gathering, the Conservative Political Action Conference. “I fought to preserve our traditional values, and to protect the sanctity of human life. I vetoed bills. I filed new bills. I enforced a law that banned out-of-state same-sex couples from coming to Massachusetts to get married.”

Mr. Giuliani made no mention of his support for gay rights, abortion rights and gun control. Instead, he suggested that he and his audience had many more agreements than disagreements.

“Ronald Reagan used to say, ‘My 80 percent ally is not my 20 percent enemy,’ ” Mr. Giuliani said. “What he meant by that is, we don’t all see eye to eye on everything. You and I have a lot of common beliefs that are the same, and we have some that are different.”

Oh yeah? no way Guiliani, at least Romney is less for amnesty and the sell out of our country than you are. You may have saved NYC, but you lost our country.

Romney, I'll vote for you if you can keep your story straight, but.... I doubt you can and I bet you are going to be another GW Bush.

Obama Blames U.S. for Stronger Iran

Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday blamed Bush administration failings in Iraq for strengthening the strategic position of Iran, which he says must be stopped from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Illinois senator said that means "direct engagement" with Iran similar to the meetings with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

"A consequence of the Administration's failed strategy in Iraq has been to strengthen Iran's strategic position; reduce U.S. credibility and influence in the region; and place Israel and other nations friendly to the United States in greater peril," according to a text of a speech Obama delivered to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Barack!!!! Keep it up!!! you are SOOOOOO right on this that we are guilty of making Iran Stronger. Of course, you say it's because of Iraq strategy? Have you ever thought that it might be because the left and the liberals are constantly undercutting our military forces, making us appear to be weak, and thus an opponent to be reviled and spit upon rather than one to be feared?

Have you EVER done any study of the Arab psyche? Maybe you ought to. Maybe Bush should have five or six years ago, but you and the rest of your left wing friends have screwed up our soldiers more than any mistakes that Bush's administration ever could have.

Nifong has no recall of session

Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong and the lead investigators in the Duke lacrosse case have different recollections of the first time they huddled at the Burlington laboratory that provided DNA testing for the prosecution.

Durham police Sgt. Mark Gottlieb and Investigator Benjamin Himan each listed in their case notes that they were at DNA Security on April 10, a week before any indictments in the case.

And Himan noted that Nifong was present at the meeting with Brian Meehan, head of the private lab.

But in a letter to the N.C. State Bar released this week, Nifong said he could not recall the event, although he acknowledged that a meeting occurred.

"I can only report that I have no recollection of that meeting and that I have no documentation or other evidence that I ever attended such a meeting," Nifong said in the Jan. 16 letter.

Of course you don't remember Mr. Nifong... We didn't expect anything different out of you (like the truth?)

You used your position and your power to screw over the lives of three young men, and did it to further your own good. Sir... you lost. Now you look like an idiot, and you will have to pay for the crimes you have committed against these innocent men.

Howard Dean Demands GOP Candidates Denounce Ann Coulter for Referring to John Edwards as a 'Faggot'

"Democratic Party boss Howard Dean demanded that Republican presidential candidates denounce conservative columnist Ann Coulter after she referred to Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards as a "faggot" during a speech Friday at a national conservative gathering."

Dean? Would you rather refer to Edwards and the rest of the liberals as the "Traitors" that you are? Looking at how you can sell out your country of birth and line your pockets with the money extorted out of others? Oh, wait a minute.... You are the one who likes to build bridges AFTER scooping up the land most likely to increase in value.....

Why don't you just go back into your little hole, shutup, and think about letting the American Public have a little bit of time without the hypocrisy of the ultra libs....

Letter to Sam Brownback

MAIL A LETTER TO SENATOR SAM to tell him to STOP favoring illegal immigrants over legal immigrants!

I am a Kansas Republican. I will not vote for you now, nor ever, as long as you continue to provide any type of support for illegal immigrants.
I was living in Bolivia when you told my dad here in Topeka that you could not help me get my wife to the US after 2.5 years of waiting. It finally took me 6.5 years to get my wife here THE LEGAL WAY!!! But you wouldn't help!!!
Your attitude of not helping people trying to come legally as the spouse of a constituent, but bending over backwards to help the illegals?
I'm sorry, but that makes you a hypocrite.
As far as your views on illegals, have you done any investigation at all on the damage they are doing? The crimes they are committing? The 4700 Americans who are murdered each year by illegals? The 4300 killed by illegals driving drunk? The 2700 children who are sexually assaulted by them?
Have you no shame?
If you like the town of Caduhy, CA, then you will love the future you are proposing.
Why don't you just resign, and put us all out of our misery with a Sebelius appointee...
Alan Fernald

Tis a long road we take

I have to ask your forgiveness for not writing for so long. Between the work and the wife, the children and the schools, it has been a long, long week. But I have learned many things....

- I learned for example that consecutive 20 hour days on 1.5 hours sleep is something that 20 year olds do... not 40 year olds....

- I learned that my dog has figured out how to fetch the wrong things....

- I learned that my wife has given up fetching things for me (drat nab it!!!)...

- My wife really DOES cook a lot better than my macaroni and cheese dinners...

- Peanut butter sandwiches have nothing on Tecumseh North and Berryton Elementary lunch menus...

- The word “crap” does not always go well in response to your teacher asking about the 4th amendment.... (don't believe me? Just ask my daughter!)

- No sweetheart, the 2nd amendment does not give you the right to wear tank tops... it's "bear" arms, not "bare" arms...

- The Circus is still as much fun now as it was when I was a kid...

- Speaking fluent Spanish is worth it when you hear someone tell you “no speak English”...

- Speaking fluent Spanish is not worth it when your wife starts rattling it off at you in a loud tone of voice... (I swear honey, I really didn't remember....!)

- The new social security office is much easier to get to... if you can ever find it... and you have a car...

- Every time you trust a politician... you figure out quickly why you shouldn't have...

- Ditto for lawyers

- Don't argue with the nurse until AFTER you get the blood drawn...

- Don't you wish you were back in high school? in journalism class? um... not really.

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.