Oh Dear! I misspoke!

That is the trouble with talking about Immigration. Like any complex issue, painting with a broad stroke is likely to put a little whitewash the innocent victim. I said the problem was not Illegal Immigrants, but rather Legal Immigrants.

What I meant by that, and what I should have said was,

"The problem is a failed immigration system. "

What kind of country allows a foreign country to build a manufacturing facility and then staff it with people from the home country. Can Toyota build a plant then put up "little Japan right outside the gates?" I think not.. I hope not. Yet when we are talking about neighbors from the south it happens all the time. People legally in this country with a green card, brought in to work in a plant, while people who live with a mile of it are on state unemployment.

Please understand that there are thousands, even hundreds of thousands of people who immigrate from Europe and South America and Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras for legitimate reasons and become citizen-track Americans. These people need not carry the label immigrant. they are American Citizens.

Such is the problem with painting with a broad brush. Usually when we are talking about the Immigrant problem in Alabama we are talking Hispanic. In New York it is Asian, 40 years ago it was Irish. It has been in the past English, German, Italian, Irish, African, Chinese, Japanese, even Jewish as an immigrant group.

Arizona is absolute right. Something has to be done to stop the lawlessness that flows from the south. I think maybe we are blind to the fact that an invasion of another kind is happening in Arizona. An invasion that may require a military response.

About the new registration law in Arizona. I support it. If only to avoid a military occupation of Arizona. American history is filled with events that required drastic measures. However the Supreme Court seldom asks me about these things. Thus I promise you the law will be overturned before a single arrest is made.

______________________________________________

Oyey-oyey-oyey .. News reports indicate that the Gulf Oil Spill was miscalculated. Instead of 1000 barrels a day, then 5000 barrels a day, now the estimate is 75,000 barrels. - Three and a half million gallons a day.. Oh and the automatic manufacture of huge amounts of deadly Methane Hydrate massing around the spill.

Write it off and Blow it up! Do it Now!

Immigration, Arizona, and the Illegals.

"And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Rev 13:17-18


We are going to wade in some deep and murky water today gentle reader. To answer the question put to me -"What do you think about Illegal Immigration?"

My friend has a tag on his email that says something to the effect of

" What part of Illegal in Illegal immigrant don't you understand?".

I agree.

Sort of.

Just like I agree that we should all not cheat on our taxes and we should always obey the speed limits and we should always yield to the flashing turn signal on the driver in front.

Illegal border crossing is a problem. A huge problem. If a person can smuggle in a baby they can smuggle in a weapon of mass destruction. A nuclear or chemical device. Even a modified biological like a variation of deadly E-Coli on your lettuce. Preventing this from happening is the job of our nations highest military commander-n-chief.

And it is not being done.

We will have to wait until there is an explosion or people die to get excited about it.

But there is another side of the coin. The poor, the tired, the huddled masses. Mostly the poor that are legally imported by some ruthless manufacturer or chicken processor who wants to bring in cheap labor to keep the price of chicken soup or tomatoes low and take your job opportunities.

Actually the foreign burden on our health care system is largely Legal Immigrants. The jobs that are lost are largely the Legal Immigrants. The illegals don't get food stamps, or medicaid. They can't get a drivers license. If they work in a job that deducts social security or state taxes they don't apply for a refund. They don't get earned income tax credit.

This, I am afraid, is the dirty little secret. That Illegal immigrants actually make money for the State. So the elected leaders don't want to "find' them.

Then there is the third side to this coin. The idea that we can somehow check for legal status with "papers". I assure you that a criminal who can make a $20 bill can make papers as well. The only proven alternative is a national database of DNA (and this has been proposed) for citizens and a smartcard ID system that can take a blood or cheek swab on the spot.

That makes me nervous. Not the ID system so much. The people in D.C. who would be in charge of the information. That makes me very nervous.

<666>

Official Song of the State of Arizona

Come to this land of sunshine
To this land where life is young.
Where the wide, wide world is waiting,
The songs that will now be sung.
Where the golden sun is flaming
Into warm, white shining day,
And the sons of men are blazing
Their priceless right of way.

chorus

Come stand beside the rivers
Within our valley broad.
Stand here with heads uncovered,
In the presence of our God!
While all around, about us
The brave, unconquered band,
As guardians and landmarks
The giant mountains stand.

chorus

Not alone for gold and silver
Is Arizona great.
But with graves of heroes sleeping,
All the land is consecrate!
O, come and live beside us
However far ye roam
Come and help us build up temples
And name those temples "home."

chorus

Sing the song that's in your hearts
Sing of the great Southwest,
Thank God, for Arizona
In splendid sunshine dressed.
For thy beauty and thy grandeur,
For thy regal robes so sheen
We hail thee Arizona
Our Goddess and our queen.


Arizona
Written by Margaret Rowe Clifford

My friends at the Alabama Eagle Forum (http://www.alabamaeagle.org/) have asked me to answer a series of questions about where I stand on certain issues. I thought my reader(s) might be interested in my response.

What follows is the first of Five Sections on Immigration, State Government, Sanctity of Life, Education Issues, and Property rights. This is part 5.

Education Issues

Q. 1 Parents have a fundamental right and responsibility to direct the education of their children. Their right to review instructional materials and records of their children is mandated by federal No Child Left Behind Act. Schools should therefore be required to get prior informed consent from parents before they can conduct privacy invasive surveys, physical or psychological exams or provide immunizations, medications or referrals.

A. Again.. Yes,

If you change the wording of the question to include "responsible" before parent in the first line. Irresponsible parents are another matter. No responsible parent would send a child to school with TB or AIDS or any disease that would endanger the remaining children in the school. I am opposed to privacy invasive surveys. I am in favor of physical exams for the safety of the group.

Q. 2 Parents must have the opportunity to exempt their children from questionable methodology curricula, classes or surveys that are offensive to their religion or values.

A. No. Add the word "responsible" before parents and remove "or values" and I am on board. "Values" might include Satanism for all I know.

Q. 3 Alabama is one of only 11 states that do not allow charter schools. I support giving the parents the option of charter schools.

A. Yes.
I am particularly interested in Montessori Charter Schools for PreK and K. I believe that parents must have the right to allow their children to attend any private schools they choose (at the parents expense). Charter schools must meet the minimum standards required by state schools with regard to teacher background checks and education requirements.

Q. 4 Alabama has a law (16-40A-1 ) Requiring abstinence -based education whenever drugs, alcohol or sex instruction is included in public schools curricula. It further requires that if homosexuality is covered the schools must teach that it is illegal, unhealthy, and unacceptable. This law must be enforced.

A. Yes
Obey the law or change it. The purpose of this chapter (http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/alcode/16/40A/16-40A-1) is to find a way within the public school system to reduce pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse and promote healthy life long marriage. To imply that it is involves anything else is to read the law out of context.

Q. 5 No political campaigning should be allowed by school personnel in schools.

A. Yes.
In my opinion this question needs some expansion. Employees of a State institution must have protection of their constitutional right to seek public office without fear of retribution. In many situations (as I am in) my opponent may come on campus, shake hands, hand out cards and seek votes. As a state employee I am not allowed the same.

Q. 6. Teachers should be allowed the academic freedom to teach the full range of scientific evidence in regard to origins without fear of reprisal.

A. Yes.

Academic freedom is absolute or nonexistent.