Sometimes Democracy works

The Immigration Bill failed today...and is dead for at least a year or two.

Just a few weeks ago this was a bill negotiated in private and guaranteed to become law. It was drafted by Teddy Kennedy and our great Republican (?) Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham, and strongly supported by George Bush and the White House. We were told that it was a significant improvement over the present situation, and it was "the best we could do". We were told it would move through Congress fast, and they said "trust us, it is a good bill". No review of the details, no committee reviews, no financial reviews of the cost to the American public - just "trust us". And some of the floor votes on this bill were made even before the final version was written!

The American people did not buy it.


Shortly after debate started and votes were scheduled in the Senate the people started asking questions...the more information that came out about this bill, the worse it looked, and then a silent revolution started. We do not riot in the streets, fly Mexican flags, or cry "racism"... it's not our style. We do what a democracy is supposed to do - let our Representatives and Senators know that if they don't follow the will of their constituents, they will lose their job.

This bill was stupid, a waste of time, and could lead to a "cleaning of the house" in Washington. It's good that George Bush does not have to run for re-election...if he did, his fate would be the same as his fathers. What a disappointment he has been. And this whole exercise showed how out of touch with the people Congress is on this issue.

Here are some of the highlights of the bill that failed:

- 12 million people would have been 'legal" within 24 hours, after a background check. It takes 90+ days to get a passport now, and the government tried to convince us they could check the background of 12 million people within 24 hours after they register. These 12 million would have been eligible to bring in additional family members increasing the "new legal immigrant" total to 20-30 million people depending on whose estimates you believe.

- These new "legal" immigrants would not only get access to social benefits, but even "in state" tuition rights to our colleges. Which means that if an "American" wanted to go to an out-of-state college, he or she would pay a higher tuition than an illegal immigrant.

- These new "legals' would have access to legal representation if they needed it, paid for by the American people.

- Illegal convicted felons would not be deported, and could have easily become legal. If a gang member signed a document that he or she would no longer be involved with gang activities, they would become legal. What would you do if you were a gang member?

I could go on, but this is just a snapshot of this crazy bill...but you the public came alive. Our family personally wrote over 20 letters to Senators and Representatives...not angry letters, just explaining our position and also pointing out that many of our Democratic friends felt the same. This was a bipartisan bill, and it had significant bipartisan opposition.

So we won this round, but it is just the start...in the end, all we citizens have is our vote, so even those that are not politically active need to think about the future. We have a lot to do to get this country back on track, and security is the most important thing. This bill should have been a security bill - close the borders first and stop the influx, then figure out who is in the country illegally, and then deal with those folks in an orderly fashion. The USA is still a country of immigrants, but let's do it the right way.

Congratulations to the American people.`

We are not a "Mosaic"

The latest "politically correct" spin by the liberal society in this country is that the USA has become a "Mosaic"...defined as a blend of people from around the world that speak different languages, have different cultures, and we should respect and accommodate them. I read recently that some school administrators have even discouraged teachers from using the well known term "Melting Pot", as it may sound discriminatory.

Europe is a mosaic, we are not. As a businessman I traveled throughout Europe for more than 30 years. What is interesting is that the European "mosaic" society of many languages uses English as their official business language. Throughout our history, the USA has been known as, and proud to be, a "melting pot". Here is Websters definition of that term:

Melting Pot: noun: A place where a variety of races, cultures, or individuals assimilate into a cohesive whole.

Note the key words: "assimilate into a cohesive whole". The USA has always been a place where people could come to escape repression, religious persecution, political persecution, and join a society that was a melting pot of people that wanted a better life, the freedom to pursue their dreams, and become part of something much larger than a mosaic society...known as "The American Dream".

The "mosaic" dream is a country that speaks all languages and everyone lives somewhat isolated within their own culture . That is not the United States of America. We are Americans, we speak English, and immigrants came here to escape, live a life of freedom, and to "assimilate into a cohesive whole". Our national language is English, if you want to speak another language why did you come here? This is not discrimination, it is who we are...our ancestors came here speaking other languages, but when they came here they spoke English (or tried to), and were proud to do it. My wife tells the story of her grandparents arriving here in the early 1900's from Norway and refusing to allow their children to speak anything but English in their home, "If you want to be an American, you will learn the language". It seems to be the opposite now...in fact we even educate immigrant children in their native language,"to respect their culture".

So when you hear the term "mosaic", it may sound better than "melting pot", but it is code for - lets print voting ballots in many different languages , print all government forms in other languages, teach in other languages..."to accommodate and respect other cultures". The tragic aspect of this is that when children are isolated from "English only" teaching, and encouraged to speak their own language, they become second class citizens with no hope of achieving the American dream. Without being fluent in our "national " language they are destined to live a life without much of a future, and quite often requiring government assistance.

In 1963 Martin Luther King made his famous "I have a dream" speech, as he preached for equal opportunities for African Americans and their desire to live the American dream.

I have a dream also. I dream that some day I will phone my bank, and instead of the recording saying, "Dial 1 for English", I will hear; "This bank only does business in English, the national language of the United States of America. If you wish to conduct business in another language, please visit one of our local branches and bring an interpreter with you that can convert your native language into English. We look forward to assisting you and welcome to America. Have a nice day".

It's Amnesty

Well...how do I write this without sounding like a bigot.

The new proposed immigration bill is apparently a "bipartisan" agreement between Congress and the White House. The 12 million "undocumented aliens" (code for illegal immigrants) in this country would immediately become "legal", and if they chose to, would get a path to legalization along with their families - (an estimated additional 6-8 million). Each "illegal" (let's give them the proper description) would get a "Z Visa" which would give them a green card + welfare benefits, college tuition benefits, social security benefits, medicare benefits....I could go on. And if someday they wanted to become a citizen, they would have to pay a fine and make a "touchdown" trip back to their country of origin. But why would they want to become a citizen when they get all the benefits by just being "legal"?

It's not the intent of this blog to debate the details of this proposed 1000 page new law. On the contrary the situation is simple as I see it. These people came here illegally....why should anyone be rewarded for breaking the law. I have heard several conservative Senators say "It was the best we could do, and politics require compromise to get things done". Bull sh--. Any way you slice it, it is amnesty.

It is estimated that 60% of the 12 million are high school dropouts, and if you believe the statistics, each illegal immigrant costs this country $19,000 per year in health benefits, welfare, education expenses, etc. You do the math.

The proponents assure us this bill includes a strong provision for border security - 300 miles of new fencing (what happened to the 700 miles that was approved last year). A fence will help, it did in my home town of San Diego, but eventually the millions in Mexico will find a way to a better life here. And let's not even talk about security from people that want to kill us.

This country simply cannot keep absorbing millions of new residents, especially those that cannot pay their own way or even speak our language. The social security and medicare systems are already broken and those of us with children know that our children and grandchildren will have a future financial burden that doesn't add up. And that is before the addition of 15-20 million new "citizens" that will be mostly poor and not only straining, but maybe even "breaking" our way of life.

I predict we are reaching a boiling point in this country. Maybe the citizens will finally rise up and stop things...elect new Representatives and Senators. And of course with the Democrats promise of free benefits for everyone, the end result of this bill could be a one party system here, with tax rate of 75% just to pay the bills.

The bottom line is simple, these people are here illegally and that's the end of it. Secure our borders - then figure out how to solve the problem with these 12 million people, and give those folks that are "legally standing in line" first shot at the American dream.