Explaining Immigration Categories

In the United States, the Immigration system actually has very few major flaws in it's structure.

The problem is in the execution of it's policy. Delays measured in years, lack of enforcement, corrupt officials inside the system, and a general lackadaisical attitude of those who are supposed to be there to help people.

Some people believe that the system is unfair because it arbitrarily returns "illegal" aliens back to their home country where they are subject to abuse, danger, or even death.

However, there are three categories of the US Immigration code that resolve this issue:

1. Refugee - Those who come here from countries in the midst of a war/revolution, etc... are able to apply for refugee status. This was very common when Haiti, Nicaragua, Honduras, etc... were suffering from continual fighting. Any person from these countries that arrived in the US were almost automatically granted legal status. The only reason they would not be granted legal status would be if there were proof they had been actively involved in the fighting.

2. Asylum - Any person who arrives on our shore and can provide evidence that they would be subject to abuse or deprivation of civil liberties if they returned home can claim asylum. This can actually be done at the US Embassy in that persons home country, but getting someone out of the home country can be rather tricky. Once again, if reasonable people can determine that abuse or danger would occur if the person were repatriated, that person and their family are granted asylum and legal permanent residency.

3. Familial Abuse - A new category has recently been established which prevents the deportation of people who would be returned to an abusive familial situation.

Thus, those who flee actual danger, are NOT deported and returned to their home country, they are granted the chance to live their lives peacefully in the United States.

Ain't that the Pot Calling the Kettle Black?

Former President Jimmy Carter spoke out this last Saturday calling the Bush Administration “the worst in history” in international relations. He also derided Great Britain’s outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair for supporting President Bush. My first thought when I heard this was, “ain’t that the pot calling the kettle black!”

The same president who brought the art of appeasement to an entirely new level further complained about President Bush’s environmental policies and his faith-based initiative funding. But maybe appeasement is the better way. After all, they didn’t attack us HERE when Carter was president.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not sure I would rate President Bush’s idea of international relations that high either, but I would certainly rate his presidency above that of the President who brought new meaning to the word appeasement. It’s definitely leaps and bounds ahead of the man who ridiculed Reagan’s plans to end the ‘cold war’.

Former President Carter should be commended for his excellent work for “Habitat for Humanity”, and should be congratulated for his Nobel Peace Prize (something President Bush will probably never get), but flinging insults at an outgoing head-of-state in Tony Blair and at a sitting President is something that traditionally, former Presidents have not done.

Obviously, in 1980, the American public believed the same when Carter was soundly drubbed by the voters when they selected Ronald Reagan as the new President. Of course, Carter’s horrific domestic policy probably had a great deal to do with his defeat. His introduction of double digit inflation, high unemployment and a new American recession probably did not make Americans happy.

But what Carter will ever be remembered for, is the 444 days that American diplomats and US Citizens were held hostage by the Ayatollah Khomeini in Teheran, Iran. Held captive by a group that included the current sitting President of Iran. Carter was the one that taught America’s enemies to look us in the eye and laugh at us with impunity.

What shame Carter must have felt when Ronald Reagan took office, and the American hostages were immediately released. So, please return to writing your Anti-Semitic books and promoting your Habitat for Humanity, and quit embarrassing yourself by calling the kettle black.

Mexican Police for Santa Fe, New Mexico

A big flap has occurred because the major media has broadcast that the Santa Fe, NM, police department is wanting to actively recruit Mexican Nationals to fill out the ranks of their local police force. My question is, why is this a big flap?

The people being recruited are in the United States legally, they have their work permits, and the police force has empty space in their ranks that they cannot keep filled due to neighboring police departments hiring away their people. So I don’t see why some people are making an issue out of this.

I do have a recommendation for the Santa Fe Police Department. When you hire and train your people, you really should pay them a fair wage, and one that is competitive for your area. Isn’t it more costly to constantly be training new recruits? Or are you thinking that by hiring immigrants, even though legal, this will allow you to continue paying substandard wages?

Those immigrants who have been granted Legal Permanent Residency should be allowed to join our police forces. Legal immigrants have always (as far as I know) been allowed to serve in our military forces, and in fact, receive expedited citizenship for their service, yet they are currently barred from joining the police forces.

According to the news clippings I have read, this prohibition stems from Federal Law, as well as New Mexico state law. My personal opinion is that any federal law prohibiting employment of any type for legal residents should be repealed, with the only exceptions being possible types of highly classified government work.

These immigrants have shown their fortitude in obtaining their legal residency, and they should be treated as the people they are; Americans.

One Immigrants Story

have decided to tell a story today. It is a long story, though I will try to keep it short. It is a story of a man who served his country, fell in love, and was nearly destroyed for following the law. Of course, that man was me.

I served in the US Navy for six years, and while stationed in Japan I met the lady of my life. My wife-to-be was Bolivian/Japanese, born and raised in South America, and had followed her father back to the land of his birth only four years before.

I was honorably discharged from the Navy, and almost immediately was employed in a technical support position working for Citibank Japan.After eighteen months in my consultant position, my work was noticed by personnel in Citibank, New York, and I was offered a permanent position, with a significant pay raise, and all the titles and accoutrements associated with the position. I was extremely excited as I gave them an emphatic, “Yes!”, and made preparations for the transfer.

Unfortunately, this excellent twist of fate was soon turned into the worst decision of my life. You see… My wife needed a Visa to enter the US due to her Bolivian nationality.

The US Embassy in Tokyo recommended that we pursue the Visa in Bolivia, as there was insufficient time to start the process, and due to paperwork my wife needed from Bolivia, we agreed.

So my wife and our 7-month old daughter headed to Bolivia as I went to New York City for what we expected to be a relatively short separation.

Two years and three months later, with no end to the immigration nightmare in sight, I resigned my dream position, and moved to Bolivia. Both my wife and I were suffering from severe depression, my work had been suffering, and she was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown.

Because of the economic situation, and my lack of having any type of work available in Bolivia, I brought my daughter up to the United States to live with my mother, content with the possibility that even if we had to live in poverty, we would be together.

Fortunately, Amoco was in the process of acquiring part of the Bolivian state-owned oil company (YPF Bolivia), and I was able to obtain a position as the Director of IT for the new company created, EP Chaco SA. The next few years were some of the best in my life. I loved my job, my family was eventually reunited, and we added a new son. The problems of my wife’s Visa were out of sight and out of mind, as we could wait forever as long as we were together; though the battle of the bureaucracy did continue.

In 1998, after I had been in Bolivia for a little over a year, my father, who lives in Topeka, KS, contacted Senator Sam Brownback, now the presidential candidate from Kansas, to request his assistance in pushing my wife’s Visa paperwork. When I heard this, I got rather excited, as Senator Brownback was the sitting chairman of the Senate Committee on Immigration. Surely, my home state Senator could do something to help out a veteran.

Boy, was I wrong. The simple response was that, “I’m sorry, he’s not a constituent.” I found his response to my father who WAS and still IS a constituent to be highly unsatisfactory. But I let it slide, because the Senator was technically correct. Despite being born and raised in Kansas, my last place of residence in the US was New York.

Then the economic crisis hit Bolivia. In 2000, the economy of Bolivia crashed. I had stepped out to create my own company, and within a two month period, the vast majority of the clients we were supporting could no longer pay their bills. As I was the most expensive employee, and I could not afford my own salary, I took the easy way out and returned to the US, once again, bringing my daughter with me to stay with my mother.

Despite landing in Kansas City, the only immediate work I could find required me to relocate to Dallas. Once again, I started working my way back up the job scale, changing over to a full time position at a new company once my initial six-month contract was completed.

Since I was in Dallas, my wife and I contacted the Mexican Embassy in Bolivia to request a Visa to allow her to “visit” Mexico while waiting for the final issuance of her Visa. However, the Mexican government turned her down, telling her that she was a “risk” of illegally immigrating into the US!!!!! Isn’t that a crock?

Finally, after yet another eighteen months of waiting, with the family starting the downslide into depression yet again, I was able to contact Senator Phil Gramm of Texas. After the experience with Brownback, I wasn’t too hopeful. However, Senator Gramm’s office responded quickly, and despite the incident of 9/11, and with the push of Senator Gramm, the US Embassy finally issued my wife and step-daughter their Visas in January of 2002.

So why do I tell this story? I tell this story for a variety of reasons.

1. Because I insisted that my wife and step-daughter enter the United States LEGALLY, it caused us a delay of almost six years over if I had them enter the US Illegally.
2. I question Senator Brownback’s “conservative values” when he refuses to help a person trying to follow the legal process, then turns around and sponsors a bill (last year) to give amnesty to those who violated the law.
3. Why are we even considering giving criminals an amnesty when those who followed the law have had to pay such a high price?
4. What impact will this bill have on our government’s budget? What will happen to our schools when the current illegal immigrants bring in all of their OTHER children and flood our schools with now legal immigrants.

Our government, including Sam Brownback, is selling out Americans for their own political motives. Whether it is the Republicans kowtowing to their big business contributors, or the Democrats trying to “win” the Hispanic vote, it is the American Taxpayer who ends up footing the bill.

Let both Senator Brownback and Senator Roberts KNOW the harm that they this bill promotes. The first amnesty in 1986 was compassionate, and it failed. This amnesty is simply stupid, and it will also fail (though we will get another 30 MILLION citizens over the next 12 years). As we have all heard a million times, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!” So who is going to be the fool here?

Why the Left Hates America

Over the last several weeks, I have had to ponder long and hard to determine why the lunatic fringe of the left has developed such a hatred of our President George Bush, and everything that he stands for. I first thought it was because they were against the war. Then I thought it was because of the many mistakes President Bush has made. Neither one of these made any sense, as the hatred they were showing wasn’t directed only at the President, but actually against all conservatives.

The hatred was directed against anyone that had any faith in God, anybody who dared showed deference to the flag or to a patriotic song. They directed hatred at all who even thought to oppose their views on the war in Iraq or on terrorism, and even went so far as to fling personal insults against those who have already had loved ones injured in the war.

To avoid a “flame war” with those who obviously have a ton of hatred stored up, I decided to ponder the question of why the loony left fringe really hates our country so much.

It took me a while. It took a long while. I was about to give up on my search until I realized I had been looking in the wrong area. I had been trying to figure out what America had done that deserved such hatred. I also wasted time trying to figure out how America had possibly failed them. Then I realized that it wasn’t anything America had done, or had failed to do, it was the idea of America itself that caused these people to feel such hate.

It is because America is faith, America is hope, and America is belief. And those who hate America, hate her because they have no faith, no hope, and no belief. They have no faith in America, her military, her leaders or her goodness. They have no hope for the future because they are so caught up in their own miserly lives. They have no belief in a higher power, regardless of whether that higher power is God or simply a higher plane of being.

And so, because they cannot stand the optimism that America brings, they attack her and anyone else who dares to show even the slightest support for her. They try to compare our President to the most evil men of the modern era, and they try to picture our country as the oppressors of the world.

However, I am here to tell you that they are wrong. Failure, for America, would be to compromise our ideals and our standards. Failure, for America, would be to kowtow to those who would see us destroyed. Failure, for America, would be to listen to the hatred of the lunatic left, and believe that they are the true representatives of our people.

America is the beacon of hope for the entire world. Millions of people, from every nation on this planet have the desire and the hope to one day come to America, and become Americans. If we lower our flag, if we slide down that slope that the lunatic fringes of the left want, then we will no longer be that nation of faith, hope, and belief. We’ll simply be yet another former superpower slowing sliding off into oblivion.

We, as a people, are better than that. We as a people, are more intelligent than those who blather. We as a people, are stronger because of our faith, our hope, and our belief. No matter what they say, we will endure, and we will remain strong

Victory for Americans!

For once, law-abiding citizens have been able to win a battle to stop the foreign invaders that we know as illegal aliens. It has taken a while, but it sure is nice to know that some Americans are willing to stand up for enforcing the law, and ensuring that we give no sanctuary to those who knowingly and willingly break the law. Last year, the city council of Farmer’s Branch, Texas, passed ordinance 2903 which required landlords to verify the legal residence status of all persons wishing to rent a residence. Obviously, this ordinance offended those who prefer to aid and abet these criminals.

The supporters of the criminal aliens hit the streets with their petitions, gathered enough signatures, and put this same measure on the ballot for the Saturday, May 12, 2007 local elections of Farmer’s Branch.

Well, by a two-to-one margin, Americans in Farmer’s Branch stood up and told these criminal invaders, “Basta!”. And by a majority of nearly 70% of the vote, the legal residents of Farmer’s Branch upheld ordinance 2903.

My only question now is, when will our Topeka City Council have the guts to take a stand and do what is right? When will our state of Kansas quit bowing to the special interests who want to mandate that we accept their corruption and criminality. When will our government stop the discrimination against US Citizens and Legal Immigrants, and throw these criminals out.

Of course, just remember, the liberals lost in Farmer’s Branch, and now... as usual, it’s off to court to whine because ‘they got robbed’.

America - The most evil country in history

It sometimes gets tiresome. It seems that every day, I get the privilege of hearing yet another new “argument” from those representing the views of the far left. Unfortunately, when you start to think about all the arguments, regardless of topic, they seem to blur together in a morass of “yet another reason to hate America”.

Just in the last several days, I have seen/heard/read people blaming the US for:
- the destruction of our forests, and indirect destruction of the rain forests
- the illegal invasion of Iraq, yadda yadda yadda
- inhumane treatment of terrorists in Guantanamo Bay
- the destruction of our oceans and the algae in them
- called the largest polluter in the world
- letting people around the world starve to death
- the unfettered exploitation of third world countries

We also, according to the “hate America” crowd, are the most racist and bigoted nation, we have no empathy/sympathy for our own poor and needy, and we are the most aggressive/violent nation to ever exist.

I could probably sit around for the next few weeks and find more and more of these reasons to ‘hate America’, but like I said, it is tiresome listening to such prattle.

Let’s look at some facts:
1. From a UN Study in 2005, the forest land in the US is growing by .1% per year.
2. The US invaded Iraq using the same type of information and motivation as Bill Clinton’s air strikes in December, 1998. Additionally, evidence existed showing that there was indeed a threat that Al Qaeda terrorists would gain access to chemical and/or biological weapons of mass destruction to be used against the US. Article 51 of the UN Charter permits preemptive strikes in case of an imminent threat. Remember 9/11 and Al Qaeda? President Bush decided this was an imminent threat, and he took action.
3. Human rights abuses for detainees determined to be enemy combatants? Please cite ANY precedent in the history of this planet that allows POWs or illegal enemy combatants to have a lawyer? That comes after the fighting has stopped and the war is over. As that may be a LONG time… I’d recommend those detainees get as comfortable as possible.
4. Algae in the oceans? How many ships does the US have compared to countries like China, Taiwan, Greece, Panama or Japan?
5. Largest polluter in the world…. I’m not even going to look this up. It might be true, it might not. I doubt that I would find any reliable statistics, so I’ll admit, we are the largest polluter.
6. Please name a single country where we let people starve?
7. Please name a single country that we are exploiting? (and remember, a contract in place set by two willing parties can not be called exploitation).

Maybe someday, those people whose actions really do speak tons more than their “I support the troops” stickers, will realize that they live in the greatest country this world has ever known. If they don’t, they should opt for another country that they think is better, and simply move there.

I’ve lived around the world, and I’ve seen plenty of both good and bad in it. And really, there ain’t no place like home.

Iraq - Take 3

By now, you either agree that we entered Iraq for the right reasons, or you don’t. I think you probably know my feelings by now. However, regardless of whether we agree that we entered Iraq for the right reasons or the wrong reasons, I think we might all be able to agree that American soldiers are currently in Iraq, risking their lives on a daily basis. So what exactly is the situation in Iraq? And how did it come to it’s current situation?

First off, I believe (and I think even my detractors will agree with me), that the current administration had no real plan on what to do in Iraq once we deposed Saddam. I think they underestimated significantly the different factions, the lack of Iraqi leaders who had the requisite qualifications to lead a country into democracy, and the trust of the different factions to be able to unite Iraqis into a common country. The current administration estimated that it would take about ten years, and as we near the halfway point of that estimate, I will not hazard a guess as to how accurate that figure will end up being.

There have been abuses in Iraq, and I believe the military has dealt with those people perverse enough to take advantage of the power given them, and I also realize that a handful of wrong-doers does not represent the bulk of our forces stationed there. The same as those four soldiers found looting in Greensburg do not represent the thousands of others stationed at Fort Riley.

I believe that our Commander in Chief (CinC) President George W. Bush has made many mistakes in Iraq. Even though the fighting of a war should never be a political endeavor (though war is simply another tool of diplomacy), as we learned so well in Vietnam, our CinC, to show America’s compassion, decided to have our army fulfill the role of policemen and engineers, not the professional soldiers they are.

It is only recently, with the change in the Rules of Engagement (ROE) that came with the troop surge, that our soldiers are able to do what they know best. That is the destruction of the enemy. Their hands are now untied, and they now do not have to spin their wheels repeating the same “suppression” of different zones, week after week after week.

Those who oppose the war are correct in saying that we have fought the war ignorantly. But this could also be said of almost every war in American history. I will dispute the statements of the anti-war element that state that Iraq is currently mired in a civil war.

A civil war is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as: “a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country”.

Unfortunately, when the people who committing the atrocities are actually members of a recognized global terrorist organization (Al Qaeda) and foreigners from Iran/Syria, this becomes an insurgency, not a civil war. Do we call Lebanon a country in “civil war”? Did we say Israel was in a “civil war” when it was under attack by Hamas?

There are three major sects in Iraq, yet they are all united (somewhat) in the government. Has there been a call to arms by one of them to secede? Did I miss something?

Anyways, if you want to call it a civil war, it is your right to be wrong.

However, I digress.

President Bush, in undertaking this invasion, has made many mistakes, and has attempted to handle it as a purely political undertaking. This is the same mistake that led to our defeat in Vietnam. I am optimistic regarding the success of the troop surge, and so far, it has met my expectations. Will it be enough?

Guess we’ll talk about that in Iraq – Take 4.

Illegals in the Military?

On May 1st, after the rally in support of the rights of undocumented resident aliens, I had a conversation with some of the people that support providing amnesty for those who are in the country illegally. One of them told me flat out that there are currently 17,000 undocumented aliens on active duty in the US Military and serving in Iraq.

He also stated that there were plenty of reputable sources on the internet that supported this statistic. Of course, I had to check this rumor out, so I went to the source, the US Government.

As I expected, this ‘statistic’ is a complete and utter fabrication, a falsehood, a lie.
I do not believe that the person who gave me this statistic was intentionally trying to mislead me, I simply believe that he did not verify the veracity of his sources. I did find some good news for him though, but we’ll get to that later.

On July 10, 2006, Undersecretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) David S.C. Chu, testified before the US Senate Armed Forces Committee regarding the use of non-citizens in the military. Here are some of the statistics he provided regarding lawful permanent residents and the military:

1. 40,000+ non-citizens are currently serving in the US military (active and reserve).
2. Approximately 8,000 legal permanent residents enlist in the military each year.
3. Over 25,000 green card holders have earned their citizenship through military service.
4. Over 100 non-citizens serving in the military have died since 9/11/2001.

Regarding the service of non-citizens who are also not legal residents of the US, he brought forth the following facts, most of which come from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2006:
1. Section 1059 provides for up to 50 “Special Immigrant Translators” to be granted lawful permanent residence Visas for themselves and their families. Though not specifically stated, it seems to imply that this program would only be available in Afghanistan and Iran. At the time of the hearing, the details of the program were still being worked out between the DOD and USCIS.
2. Section 504 limits military service to US Citizens, Legal Residents and certain persons from Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. However, the NDAA 2006 was amended to read:“…the Secretary concerned may authorize the enlistment of a person [other than one listed above] if the Secretary determines that such enlistment is vital to the national interest.”

This amendment is interesting. It basically permits the various Secretaries of the Military Branches to permit anyone, of any nationality to enlist in their branch of the service, regardless of their immigration status. It could even be read that this amendment could be used to enlist military members that have never been inside the United States.

The Undersecretary said: “According to an April 2006 study from the National Immigration Law Center, there are an estimated 50,000 to 65,000 undocumented alien young adults who entered the U.S. at an early age and graduate from high school each year, many of whom are bright, energetic and potentially interested in military service. They include many who have participated in high school Junior ROTC programs. Under current law, these young people are not eligible to enlist in the military, until and unless the Armed Services determine that it is vital to the national interest as provided by section 504.”

This amendment, if used for what the undersecretary stated, does not bother me for those who indeed entered the United States at an ‘early age’, however, the amendment itself does create a great concern. However, I will be addressing this in a later entry.

Iraq - Take 2

There are many people who still don’t get it. Obviously, some of us have longer memories than they do. So, rather than using traditional war-mongering Republican sources, I’ll go ahead and use some of the leading democrats and their own words: To demonstrate the seriousness and the gravity of Saddam with WMDs, and to demonstrate Saddam Hussein’s recalcitrance in complying with UN resolutions, we have President Bill Clinton, in his speech justifying his air strikes of Dec 16, 1998:

“The international community gave Saddam one last chance to resume cooperation with the weapons inspectors. Saddam has failed to seize the chance. So we had to act and act now...”; ”...Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons. The Iraqi dictator has used these weapons against his neighbors and his own people and left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again." - President William Jefferson Clinton
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec1998/n12171998_9812171.html

To show Iraq beginning a working relationship with Al Qaeda, we have the 9/11 commission report:“The original sealed indictment had added that al Qaeda had ‘reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.’ ” - 9/11 Commission Report
http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/pdb120498.pdf - Page 128, 9/11 Commission report.

And AFTER 9/11, but before our invasion, we have former Vice President Al Gore:“We know that he (Saddam Hussein) has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country...” he continued on to state: ”...Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to completely deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Former Vice President Al Gore
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/gore/gore092302sp .html - Speech presented by former Vice President Al Gore to the Commonwealth Club of California, Sept 28, 2002

To show continued development of WMDs, we turn to Madeline Albright, President Bill Clinton’s secretary of State:“It’s just that Hussein has just not chosen to spend his money on that. Instead, he has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction, and palaces for his cronies.” - Madeline Albright - www.snopes.com/politics/war/wmdquotes.asp

From Senator Robert Byrd:“The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retained some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capability. Intelligence reports also indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons, but has not yet achieved nuclear capability.” - Senator Robert Byrd: October 3, 2002 http://byrd.senate.gov/

Senator John Kerry:“When I vote to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat, and a grave threat, to our security and that of our allies in the Persian Gulf region.”Senator John Kerry in Foreign Policy Speech at Georgetown University
http://web.archive.org/web/20040204225854/www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2003_0123.html
Senator Hillary Clinton:“"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.” - Hillary Clinton - Speech to the US Senate on Oct. 10, 2002: http://clinton.senate.gov/speeches/iraq_101002.html

We know that Bill Clinton is a liar, which was proved beyond reasonable doubt. But did he lie about Iraq? Did all of the others?

They had significant evidence that we, the public, did not have access to, and yet they all said the exact same thing as Bush, or better yet, Bush actually repeated what THEY said.

The major difference (if you read all of the sources) is that the Democrats, though admitting that Saddam Hussein was creating WMDs, and that he was establishing links with Al Qaeda, wanted to negotiate and appease a person who had reneged on EVERY promise he ever made.

If you can read all of these, and please, go out and read their entire speeches please, and continue believing that we were not justified in our invasion of Iraq, then….

I’m sorry; I simply don’t know what it is going to require to convince you of the truth. The evidence is there, unless you want to call all of these democratic leaders liars, or ‘led about’ by George Bush for echoing what Bill Clinton had said.

But I will keep trying to educate you on what really happened. This isn’t revisionism; it’s fact. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.

Iraq - Take 1

Lately, I have heard some people becoming increasingly vocal about our troops serving in Iraq. As I hold many controversial views, I am used to having people throw out opposing opinions, however, I do have one favor to ask; Please, if you want to throw out an opinion, don’t include fabricated facts, false characterizations, or flat out mistruths to try and justify your position.

In case you have forgotten some of the facts that you are now attempting to contradict, let me reiterate why the United States went to Iraq.

1. The United Nations passed 17 resolutions telling Saddam Hussein that if he didn’t take a certain action or stop a certain action, penalties up and including military action would be taken against Iraq.

2. There is indisputable evidence that Saddam Hussein had been in possession of WMD (Chemical). He used these weapons to mass murder several Kurdish villages in Northern Iraq.

3. There was evidence that Saddam Hussein had destroyed some of his stockpiles of chemical weapons, but not all.

4. There was credible but unconfirmed evidence that Saddam Hussein still had stockpiles of WMD. Saddam Hussein ignored all UN resolutions to give access for UN inspectors.

5. The vast majority of the world, especially in the US, believed that Saddam Hussein retained a significant stockpile of WMD.

6. There was evidence that Al Qaeda was operating in Iraq. There were suspicions that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were attempting to set up a relationship.

7. Al Qaeda committed the 9/11 terror attacks, and had promised more attacks on the US

8. Saddam Hussein + WMD + Al Qaeda + Osama bin Laden = A significant threat to the safety and security of the United States.

9. President Bush, with FULL BIPARTISAN support, invaded Iraq in order to depose a tyrannical despot to eliminate one possible source of WMD terrorist attacks on US soil.

In other words, in compliance with many UN resolutions, and by Iraq’s outright refusal to comply with the cease fire signed in 1991 after their illegal invasion of Kuwait, the US legally invaded Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein from power.

Unfortunately, our President, George W. Bush is tasked with protecting the American public from all enemies foreign and domestic. He did not have the luxury of wondering whether George Tenet was right or wrong when he said that Iraq was in possession of WMD. His job was to protect American lives.

I am proud that our President is a man who was able to make the hard decision to invade Iraq. I am proud that George Bush is our President, and that he is doing the job we elected him to do.
Regardless of how you would like to spin history, every single person of power in the United States came to the same conclusion as our President, and wholeheartedly supported the invasion of Iraq.

There was no lie, there was no deception, and those who continue to spout that we are in Iraq due to ‘a lie’ or that the war is ‘illegal’ are simply denying the state of the world at that time.

The International Day of the Workers

Yesterday was the day of the… oops, hold on, let me check my records, …. ok right, the day of the “International Worker”. So, around the nation, many of the workers who built this country, and who have proven themselves to be our most dedicated and hardest workers, took the day off. See, undocumented aliens have now made this their own holiday to express their dislike of our slow legislative process.
Our legislative process is slow, because it hasn’t given them the amnesty that they tried to blackmail us into providing them last year on May 1st. Here in Topeka, a group of about fifty people met outside the South Steps of the State Capitol Building to show their unity in demanding comprehensive immigration reform.
This gathering was very peaceful, and I must admit that I was moved by the speeches some of the speakers gave, however, I then thought to myself that the goal of this rally is to ‘forgive’ those who have knowingly and willingly violated our laws. They are asking us to show compassion and sympathy for their plight, and to help us reunite their families.
I also started considering the fact that our country currently provides legal immigration to our country to over 1.3 million people every year, more than the combined total of every single other country on this planet.
Then I considered the fact that these people pleading for amnesty have not submitted themselves to any type of check, whether a criminal check or a physical check, and we have absolutely no idea who we are actually dealing with.
I heard Dr. Jim McCullough quote the “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..” as engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty, and realized that at the least, those tired, and poor people who passed through Ellis Island at least had the courtesy and respect to ask permission first, and to let us know they were here.
These same legal immigrants who passed through Ellis Island also came with the idea that they were coming to America to be Americans! They didn’t show up and insist on being called Irish-Americans, French-Americans, and no, they didn’t even insist on being called European-Americans. They showed up to be Americans.
Ronald Reagan once said: “You can go to live in Turkey, but you can’t become a Turk. You can go to live in Japan, but you cannot become Japanese – or Germany or France – but anyone from any corner of the world can come to America and become an American.”
Though the majority of these undocumented resident aliens are simply people looking to better their life and to support their family, they are also people who have shown their backs to the law, and have decided to do whatever it takes to force their way into a country that is not theirs.
They have decided that they will not be Americans, but rather, they will be a hyphenated American. They say that they want to learn English, yet not even half of the people at the rally yesterday would admit they spoke English.
They ask for our sympathy, but then call us racist for insisting on following the law.
We are all in agreement, both those that are want an amnesty and those who don’t, that we do need a comprehensive immigration reform, however, the desire to forgive and forget that these people have committed criminal acts simply to be here, is simply a slap in the face to those who patiently wait years to come here the legal way.
But let’s address the real problems. Let’s address those employers that actively promote the act of illegal immigration. Let’s address those employers that use and abuse the human rights of these illegal immigrants. Let’s take away the incentive for employers to break the law, placing over a million people each year in danger of their own life, attempting to enter a country where they will only face hardship and discrimination (for their illegal acts).
Our government needs to act, and it needs to act now. They need to be fair, and they need to place the blame where it is deserved. The future of not just America is at stake, but also the future of our neighbors to the South.

Marching for their Amnesty!

Once again, ‘immigrants’ are protesting in an attempt to persuade our government to provide a general amnesty. Unfortunately, as immigrants are those who enter our country legally, these criminals must be referred to by more accurate titles, such as ‘criminals’ or ‘illegally resident aliens’.
The most appropriate and non-offensive term available, especially for those who don’t like referring to criminal activity as ‘illegal’, is ‘undocumented resident alien’.
An interesting point to ponder however, is those millions of people who are here illegally, but who many seem to claim it is their ‘right’ to be here? How can you plead for amnesty if you are not guilty of a crime? If amnesty itself means forgiveness of a crime? Anyway, I digress.
I have finally decided that I may have gone about how to handle these good, honest, hard-working citizens (3 lies in 4 words, cool). Rather than enforcing our immigration laws, maybe we should permit these invaders of our country to remain and provide them amnesty for their violation of our sovereign law. But, to gain their amnesty, we require that they must also prove that they have been working performing honest work while here.
They should show how they were making a living without using false documents (a felony), identity theft (a felony), tax evasion (another felony) or drug trafficking (yet another felony). They should also be made to identify who they were working for, and explain how they were able to ‘trick’ that company into believing they were eligible to work, and into hiring them.
Since these are all ‘honest’ and ‘good’ people (despite being criminals), we shouldn’t expect to find many who have committed these felonious acts. Should we?
How about those who have committed fraud to obtain state/federal benefits? Having a child, yet not reporting your full income to ensure your child’s eligibility for housing assistance, food stamps, wic, etc.... This is illegal. It is also a federal offense. AMERICANS go to jail for it if done intentionally.
Of course, I would be willing to bet that by eliminating those illegal aliens who have committed these types of crimes, the number eligible for amnesty would drop significantly, possibly by as much as 95%. I don’t have any statistics to back this up, however, as of yet, I have not been able to determine how a person who is not authorized to work, can exist in our country without violating any other laws.
So why don’t we simply make it a requirement that illegal aliens must prove their existence, and how they did it without committing a variety of felonies, and then we might be able to start to talk amnesty.

Democracy is never free

Let the people vote! With all of the options for presidential candidates, it is only appropriate to allow our citizens to make their own selections as to who is best to represent our views to the world.
However, many legislators believe that a primary is ‘too expensive’ and that we Kansans are ‘not important’ enough to merit holding primary elections for the 2008 presidential race. We’ve thrown $40 million (so far) in cost overruns (I believe $173 million in total more or less) on rebuilding the state capitol, yet we cannot afford $2 million for our people to vote. Talk about pinching a penny while the dollars run out the door.
The alternative is to allow the political parties to decide who the candidate will be? Regardless of whom is chosen, people will be offended. On the Republican side, will Brownback get the nod because he is the home state candidate? Or will we give the nod to Giuliani? Romney the Mormon? or maybe McCain?
What do legislators such as Tom Sawyer of Wichita have against a primary? Is it that he, a member of the Democratic party does not believe in democracy? Maybe he should change his affiliation to the “undemocratic” party instead.
If you can afford nearly $200 million to refurbish the capitol building, isn’t it worth it to spend $2 million to confirm the democracy that defines the reason that building even exists? Why don’t you want to see democracy in action? I’ve never heard a Congressmen fretting over a ‘mere’ $2 million before... so why now?
Keep your eyes on our congress, and let them know that you want to stand up for democracy, not on the selection of the elitists currently running the parties.

Driver's Licenses for Illegal Aliens?

A friend of mine was visiting from the wonderful state of Nebraska, and he told me that Nebraska is currently debating the provision to provide some type of license, valid only for insurance and driving, to undocumented aliens. My eyebrows raised in wonder and then disgust as I rapidly ran through the history of mistruths and lies that proponents of this type of action typically make.

You usually hear about those people who are driving without insurance because they aren’t eligible without a license. You hear about those who cause a traffic accident, then flee as they are scared of being deported. Of course, this is all the ‘convenient’ version of the truth designed to convince listeners that these criminals, who are in our country in violation of the law, and who defraud our government of millions (billions?) each year, who steal the identities of others, and whose simple goal in life is to make as much money in as little time as possible. So why should I now believe that these criminals will actually purchase and maintain insurance on a car? But this is beside the point.

Illegal aliens can already obtain their own drivers license, valid in all 50 states and throughout the world, without breaking any laws to do it! Have you ever heard of an international drivers license?

The theory is simple, obtain a drivers license in your home country, submit the appropriate paperwork, and they send you a document that permits you to drive legally in nearly every other country of the world. This document is only valid outside of your home country, and requires that the licensed person possess a legal and valid drivers license from that country.
Why are we, as a people, allowing our US Congress and our state legislatures to bend us over backwards to reward the criminal behavior of these millions of invaders? Is it our duty and responsibility as citizens to coddle law-breakers?

The law is the law, and it seems that our politicians are the ones who have decided that the will of the people doesn’t count any more. Unfortunately, this is not a local phenomena, it is a nationwide phenomena. We the people, need to stand up for law enforcement, and tell them that we have had enough.

If enough people yell, maybe our representatives will start to listen again? Or will they continue to ignore the voice of the people?

Our Men in Blue!

We very rarely praise our men in blue. They put their lives on the line every day without knowing when a routine traffic stop will erupt in a fusillade of bullets, or when an outraged spouse will emerge brandishing a shotgun when they respond to a domestic disturbance.

We argue giving them a pittance of a pay raise. We debate their right to free speech. We angrily point our fingers when the rare bad apple gets caught with their hand ‘in the till’.

One fact we often forget, is that our men in blue are all volunteers. They accept the danger, they accept the pay, they accept the criticism, and they accept the toll their job takes on their families, all for the thankless task of keeping us safe.

Imagine the men in blue in Iraq. Whether gathering in their headquarters, manning a checkpoint, or responding to a call, imagine how they feel as they wonder when they will be hit yet again by a chlorine truck bomb. Imagine the thrill of life they enjoy being one of the top targets of al-Qaeda terrorists.

Why are they targeted? Because it is these men in blue who will eventually bring the peace in Iraq. Politicians may set the rules, but the men in blue enforce them. The imams may talk peace, but it is the men in blue who act to bring it about.

The US Military is there to help, but the Iraqi men in blue are those constantly manning the front lines. And they also are volunteers.

They are not conscripts forced into serving at the pleasure of a dictator. They are not peons made to follow their masters bidding. They are men trying to make a country safe for its people.
They need our help. Will we turn our back on them as the democratic congress wants to do? Let them ‘sink or swim’ on their own? Or will we stand beside them and let them know that we are a country faithful to our promises, and that we will be faithful to those who are fighting to earn their countries freedom.

President Bush’s ‘troop surge’ is working. Even the most liberal pundits in the world of the press are beginning to report on the growing areas of peace throughout areas that were previously too dangerous to enter.

The Iraqi people are starting to feel safe. People fill the newly reopened coffee shops, the newly reopened book stores, and yes, even the newly reopened amusement park in Baghdad.
Is our job in Iraq complete? Not yet. Will the killing stop? Once again, not yet. But things are looking up. Baghdad and the citizens of Iraq deserve every chance they can get. Like the Jews realizing their freedom as they walked out of the death camps of Germany, the Iraqi citizens are finally smelling the wonderful aroma of freedom.

Only 16% voted!

In the most recent election, only 16% of our electorate voted. Maybe it was because it was ‘just’ for the city council, or ‘just’ for the school board. However, these are some of the most important elections to vote in.

Let’s look at some things that are happening in school these days:
- 13-Year-Old Arrested In School For Writing On Desk
- Substitute teacher put clothespins on kids’ lips
- Fla. student who mooned teacher sues
- Principal admits throwing excrement (on a child)
- Mother Defends Student Charged With Terrorism
- Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims

These are some headlines that I have found in just the last couple of days. Is this what we expect in our schools? From our students AND our teachers? Are our schools there to provide daycare, or are they there to teach? Have we made our teachers jobs impossible?

So far, this has not turned into a major issue in Topeka (well, there were those bus issues last year, and the missing funds....), but how long will it be if 84% of our registered voters turn their backs on our children by not voting? What does it say about our city when 84% of the voters in the city don’t care enough about the city to ‘have their say’?

Maybe it is better to have low turnout. Because that means that a go-getting candidate who wants to take over power stands a good chance if he/she can simply assist 200 people who normally don’t vote, to vote. That difference would have swung nearly every election result this year the opposite way.

Now, I ask you. Did YOU vote? If not, WHY didn’t you vote? Is it because you don’t care about the City of Topeka? Or you don’t care about our students? Or is it a flaw in our voting system that simply makes you not want to utilize it?

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...