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How to Address the Issue of Illegal Immigration

7/31/2010

2 Comments

 
All too often, those pushing for changes in immigration policy have complained that Congress has not done its job by enacting meaningful reform.  But if people just want to say “Deport them all” without offering a solution as to how to keep them from getting here or for identifying them or for adjusting to an economy that no longer includes them, why should Congress listen?

We can do better.  We need only remember that a good discussion in not a one-way street.  There are reasonable questions we can ask and there are answers to these questions.

First, we should identify the problem(s) we have with illegal immigration.  I frequently hear that illegal immigrants use taxpayer money and contribute to overpopulation.  Others say that they take jobs that people here legally could have and contribute to a decrease in wages.

Second, we should consider the benefits of illegal immigration.  Some say they perform jobs (like picking grapes in triple-digit heat) that no one here legally would do.  They also accept less pay for their work than others and in doing so they keep prices of many products down.

We must also ask ourselves whether we have truly identified the entire problem.  Discussion of this issue usually focuses upon those who immigrate from south of our border.  But studies have shown that about 30 percent of illegal immigrants come from elsewhere.  Will our new policy on immigration pay much attention to those from Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, etc.?

At this point, we should weigh the difference that changes in the law or the enforcement of the law would make as compared to the current situation.

For example, if successful enforcement of illegal immigration policies (i.e. few illegal immigrants around) means we pay twice as much for certain grocery items, we pay more at restaurants and wait longer for medical care, will we still support it?

Also, to what extent are we willing to change laws to obtain successful enforcement?  If it means building a huge wall between us and Mexico, or allowing state officials to approach people based on the color of their skin to inquire about documentation status or allowing Homeland Security agents to raid businesses without cause, will we still support it?

And we should acknowledge the consequences of keeping the policy the same, or of repeating the 1986 “reform” which had the effect of granting amnesty to millions of people here illegally.  That law was supposed to take care of this problem.  If we try amnesty again, or even grant immigrants a path to citizenship, how can we be certain we will not continue to grant amnesty?

There are many sides to this debate and it may take time to hammer out a law that addresses the most important concerns.  The bottom line to better debate is this: if you have a complaint, provide a solution.  Tell us you understand the consequences and are prepared to live with them.  By doing so, you will have taken our society a long way toward becoming a fair and just place to live.

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Blame for City of Bell Salary Fiasco Belongs to Residents

7/23/2010

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You want to start throwing stones at the City of Bell (California) for changing its charter to allow outrageous salaries for its council members?  OK, but first let me say this:

The City did nothing illegal when it amended its charter in 2005.  It simply changed its status from “general law” to “charter law.”  This change allowed them to ignore the limits that the state places upon the salaries of members of a city council.

How did they make this change?

They asked the voters.  And, in a city of 40,000 people, a grand total of 336 voters showed up to vote, according to today’s edition of the Los Angeles Times.

Some have pointed out that the ballot, which contained only the vote on whether to become a charter city, made no mention of city council salaries.  That is true.  But did the voters who bothered to show up really believe that something put on the ballot would have no effect if it passed?

The voters should have done a little homework.  Were there no lawyers among them who understand the difference between a general law city and a charter law one?  The distinction allows a charter city to make many of its own rules.

A check on Wikipedia would have told them: “A city organized under a charter may choose different systems, including the ‘strong mayor’ or ‘city manager’ forms of government.”

I would call the Bell system a “strong city council” form of government, but the point is that with a little diligence, some of the voters reading their sample ballots could have sensed some big changes.  Apparently, no one did much about it because the initiative passed.

Now, about those who did not vote.  How many of them have shown up recently to Bell City Council meetings to protest this outrage?  Maybe some of these non-voters will start voting now that they see the consequences of elections.  But shame on those who sat the election out and who now cry about it.

And what about the whopping city manager and police chief salaries?  It is not at all surprising that those who got their hands in the trough fed a few of those who might otherwise have complained about the city council salaries.  Corruption feeds corruption, but this happens when people do not watch those who govern them.

Now the people of Bell have a mess on their hands.  They have pushed the council to fire the same people they fed big salaries to.  The consequence will be that people across the state will have to pay, in part, for their big pensions.

Cast stones at whomever you want.  But if you don’t pay attention to the people whom you have allowed others to serve you, one of the stones will come back and hit you.

The author is a city government employee in the State of California.

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Communication Gap between Reagan Republicans and Democrats Resolved!

7/20/2010

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In his book, Secrecy and Privilege, Robert Parry quotes the late Keith Fuller, general manager of Associated Press, as saying:

""I think a nation is crying, "Enough.'  A nation is saying, "We don't really believe that criminal rights should take precedence over the rights of victims.  We don't believe that the union of Adam and Bruce is really the same as Adam and Eve in the eyes of Creation.  We don't believe that people should cash welfare checks and spend them on booze and narcotics"but most of all, we're sick of your self-perpetuating, burdening bureaucracy weighing ever more heavily on our backs." (205)

Fuller was a big supporter of Ronald Reagan for President in 1980 when he made this statement.  Over the years, I have heard similar things said by Republicans who try to explain Democratic ideas.  It is bad enough that they, like Fuller, claim to speak on behalf of the "nation" or the "people."

But what is worse is that they mischaracterize some points of view and flat out distort others.  So I made a dialogue between this kind of Republican and me.

"We don't really believe that criminal rights should take precedence over the rights of victims."

That's funny.  Neither do I and neither does anyone else I know.

Maybe you are talking about the rights of defendants.  I believe that a person is innocent unless proven guilty and deserves the rights guaranteed under the Constitution, such as the right not to be a witness against themselves, the right to counsel, the right to due process, etc.

If you want the rights of victims to take precedence over these rights, first ask yourself how you would feel if you were put under arrest.

"We don't believe the union of Adam and Bruce is really the same as Adam and Eve in the eyes of Creation."

You probably have a different concept of creation than I do.  That's OK.  But what is not OK is a society where my wife and I have the right to marry one another and two other people are not allowed that right.

And please do not give me a "slippery slope" argument that if we allow same-sex marriage, we will wind up allowing people to marry animals or any other absurdity.  The movement to allow same-sex marriage simply would allow two people of the same sex the same rights as a man and a woman.

"We don't believe that people should cash welfare checks and spend them on booze and narcotics."

I don't believe this, either.  However, it is not what you say, but what you imply.

Some people simply cannot work.  Other people have trouble finding work.  Still others would rather take a welfare check than work.  And some of those on welfare do abuse drugs, including alcohol.

But how do we monitor those on welfare so they do not engage in this kind of behavior?  Do you want to add more bureaucrats to check on them?  (Just asking!)

"But most of all, we're sick of your self-perpetuating, burdening bureaucracy weighing ever more heavily on our backs."

I assume you are talking about the government.  I've got news for you: have you ever been to a typical corporation?  They have a bureaucracy, too.  You don't apply for a job at Costco by going to the Customer Complaint line, do you?

It sounds like you are saying that you want the government off your back.  What, exactly, does our government force you to do?  Pay your taxes, serve on jury duty and"it used to force men to submit to the draft.

If you don't like what your government is doing, remember that most government is local.  Go tell your city council what you think about regulations, taxes, fees, etc.

Oh yeah, there would be a problem if you want fewer bureaucrats: no one would be there to listen to you tell them what you are sick of!
2 Comments

How the Game of Football Can Teach Us about Fighting for 9/11 Truth

7/18/2010

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You will find this chapter in Dean T. Hartwell's upcoming book A Fan's Folklore: Six Seasons of Triumph, Tragedy and Tough Luck out NOW!

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United States History 101 Taught by the Republicans

7/14/2010

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Typically, history is written by the winners.  But the Republicans often like to write history for us, anyway.  Here is what a Republican might say about the following, which will be worth remembering if they get back into power:

President Carter: They say he was weak on foreign policy, especially in Afghanistan, where the Soviet Union invaded in 1979 and in Iran, where United States embassy workers were taken hostage by followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini the same year.
President Reagan: - He was tough in foreign policy.  Other nations were afraid of him.
Fact check: Reagan continued Carter's Afghanistan policy by using the CIA to support the anti-communists there.  Reagan secretly sold weapons to Iran in the hopes of getting back hostages held by pro-Iranian forces in Lebanon.

Tax cuts: They say that tax cuts, GOP-style, are good for our economy.
Fact check: The wealthy certainly benefited from Reagan and George W. Bush tax cuts.  However, they have contributed to the budget deficit and debt which the Republicans now decide they don't like.  It should also be noted that the economy improved after President Clinton RAISED taxes in 1993.

President Clinton: They say he lied under oath and that he deserved to be impeached and should have been removed from office.
Fact check: Clinton lied under oath at a deposition for which he was a party.  That is not a crime.  The Constitution calls for impeachment for "Treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors."  There was no impeachable offense.

2000 Election: They say that Al Gore kept on trying to change the outcome of an election that he lost.
Fact check: Al Gore was entitled under Florida law to an automatic recount by machine and subsequently a hand recount (at his expense) of any county or counties he wanted.  He never got either request completed because of the federal courts, who had no business intervening.

Iraq War: They say George W. Bush told the truth about our need to go to war against Iraq.
Fact check: The Downing Street Memo, minutes of a meeting held by British ministers, indicate that Bush committed to go to war and justify it by "fixing the facts around the policy."

This is what I have learned from Republicans: that it is OK to lie as long as troops have already been sent in support of the lie; that it is OK to change the law to prove that a Democrat broke it; that the federal government is useless unless it can help fix an election for a Republican; that tax cuts are the answer even before the question is asked; and if someone plays a tough guy in the movies, he must be tough in real life.
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The United States Should Stop Trading Its Kingdom for a Castle

7/4/2010

1 Comment

 
Shortly before the 1980 presidential election, Ronald Reagan and his advisors asked themselves what they were willing to do to win.  The polls were even and the election could go either way between President Carter and him.

The campaign ultimately interfered with President Carter’s foreign policy by offering weapons to Iran in exchange for a delay in the release of United States hostages held there.  He further compromised us by making a similar deal in the mid-1980s which became known as the Iran-Contra affair.  It has become apparent that these two transactions were connected by the same people and the same pathetic judgment.

The Reagan campaign probably justified the interference as justified because they thought we needed a new president.  Many historians have glossed over this event or even suggested that it did not happen despite evidence brought forward by author Robert Parry, National Security Council member Gary Sick, Reagan campaign and White House staffer Barbara Honegger and others.

What we ultimately received for Reagan’s victory was a sell-out of what we need the most in our nation: free and fair elections, one foreign policy at a time and the integrity of those who lead us.  More trickery in other elections has followed, including in the two George W. Bush “elections” in 2000 and 2004.

By accepting these unethical decisions, we have bought into an analogy called “a kingdom for a castle.”  We have given up our values and who we truly are (the kingdom) in order to save our selfish desires and wants (the castle).

Since the Reagan debacle, we have not done any better.  Consider these recent decisions by our leaders:

We have allowed drilling for oil in our oceans because we want profit.
But we allowed the risk of polluting the waters, the fish and the beaches in exchange.
Are the extra profits that valuable?  Did we need the oil that much?

We have allowed torture of “terrorists” because we want information from them.
But we have sold out whatever claim we had to the moral high ground in world affairs.
Was the information that valuable?  Or even reliable?

We have sent our troops overseas to fight the “War against Terrorism.”
But we have lost so many of their lives in wars we could not even win.
Do we have to fight this “war”?  Are we in fact the real terrorists?

Our history becomes us.  And history does not speak well of us at this time.

Still, it is not too late for the United States to make better decisions.  It will take an embrace of a morality that says we should do what is right regardless of the rewards or punishments involved.  The consequence is that our nation will retain as its kingdom an integrity that will be worth living in.

1 Comment

What Do You Mean I Am Ruining YOUR Country?

7/1/2010

1 Comment

 
If I could simply have an adequate opportunity to respond to some of the things people say to me, I would feel a lot better about the society in which we live.  But until that happens, I will have to use the Internet to tell the people who make the following comments to think twice:

We need less government.
Yeah, I bet we do.  Until we get robbed and need a police officer.  Until our neighbor says our land is really theirs and we need an independent person to decide.  Until the factories fill the air with filth we cannot breath and we need air quality standards enforced.  Until the friend of an in-law is failing to pay his taxes and we need the IRS to make sure we don't have to pick up the tab.  If you never need the government, you probably do not have any problems to worry about, anyway.

Taxes are too high.
Does anyone ever say that taxes are TOO LOW?  How much is too much?  Nothing?  If we did not pay any taxes, we could not pay for the government, through its agents, to assist us when we need it (see above).  We cannot receive something for nothing anywhere else in society, so we have no reason to believe that our government works for free.

The United States is a Christian nation.
Where did this idea come from?  It certainly appears nowhere in the Constitution, the basis of our legal system and the very place one would look to find such an idea.  The Constitution also fails to mention the words "God," "Jesus Christ" or "Christianity" even a single time.  The Constitution instead forbids the establishment of any religion.  The Founders, most of whom were not Christians, made sure to write that in.  And while it is true that a majority of people in the United States identify themselves as Christians, a majority does not necessarily speak for the whole group.  A majority of people in the United States are white-skinned, but would anyone call the United States a "white nation."  I don't think so.

Our public schools are bad.
Am I the only person who believes he received a good public education?  I can only speak of my experience, where my teachers taught me to read, write, do math and sometimes to even think for myself.  Some of my classes were crowded, but that is a symptom of overpopulation more than it is of poor education.  My early schooling was not well integrated, but that is a problem of the enforcement of housing laws, the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws and the availability of schooling and jobs for the parents.  My public schooling gave me the chance to move on to higher education, for which I am grateful.  I am sure there are bad public schools, but hearsay talk of a poor school system does not sway me from my first-hand experiences.

There is a liberal bias in the media.
Where is it and how powerful can it possibly be?  Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush were elected twice each.  Surely a powerful liberal media would have stopped them.  While it is true that many reporters identify themselves as liberals and/or Democrats, they have to answer to publishers who typically do not share these views and who have the final say in what gets published or shown on television.  Powerful corporations own most of the media and as corporations have the primary focus of making money, they do not have much of an interest in presenting a liberal agenda that is based upon human rights, equality and fighting global warming unless it can somehow make profits.

So if people continue to say this type of nonsense, I will just have to ask what they mean by what they say.  Maybe they just mean that they heard it from the right-wing talk show hosts, who are protected by the government with free-speech rights when they tell us how bad the schools and media are.
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