Illegal Immigration Reform: Americans HAVE to Be America’s First Priority

By brett | Published June 23, 2011

On a list of hot button and polarizing topics, there aren’t many that can top our nation’s problem with illegal immigration. The mere mention of any type of immigration reform can excite the masses in an instant. It’s baffling to this humble observer how political our nation’s finances, way of life and security has become. No matter the way you decide to dice it, illegal immigration is a bigger problem that the Left is willing to cede to the opposition or public. Maybe not so much cede as to admit to the increasing impact it’s having on our nation. So, for a moment and if you have them, put aside that it’s instantly a race or any other derogatory issue that’s typically thrown into an argument to quiet any reason from becoming audible. There are real problems facing our country. And the walls are appearing to close in faster than we can figure out any semblance of a solution.
I really can’t see that President Obama and his administration have made one valid effort to curb the tide of illegal immigration at all. The words have been there. But not the actions. How can you sue a state for enforcing your rule and then reward a sanctuary city who doesn’t? Seriously? How does this remotely pass the smell test? I think what gets lost is what’s said by politicians and what’s not said. As a whole, I think America is okay with immigration. What they don’t like and are adamant about drastically changing is ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. It’s strange how when you put the stress on the right word, you feel different. The operative word is and always should be illegal.
To just glance at the financial impact illegal immigration has on our country, you’d see that it’s overwhelming once placed into context . According to a July 2010 report by FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform) http://www.fairus.org/site/DocServer/USCostStudy_2010.pdf?docID=4921, illegal immigration costs America and, ultimately, the American taxpayer $113 billion. What a staggering amount. Most of that is placed upon the local and state governments to foot. Not an in depth analysis but some quick stats that deserve to be mentioned. On the federal level, $2.1 billion is spent on education, $4.6 billion on welfare benefits and almost $6 million on medical. But the biggest total of federal expenditures for illegal immigration is law enforcement at $8.7 billion. And yet, nothing has deterred the influx of illegals into the United States.
In a time of budget cuts and near austerity measures, the topic of education seems to be on most people’s mind. While the federal government is responsible for just over the $2 million, the states pour out over $50 million. With California, New York and Texas accounting for almost half ($19million). Really? The burden of the states seems insurmountable simply because the government refuses to follow, enforce and ALLOW the states to enforce the law of the land.
To understand the burden of the problem, here are the figures of how much the cost of illegal immigration has on state budgets and increasing deficits. New Jersey has a projected budget deficit of $10 million with Texas having one around $13.5 million. The estimated cost for the education due to lack of enforcement is $2.2 million and $5.1 million, respectively. That’s over a third of Texas’ red ink. But the clear winner of the cost is California. With that state headed for inevitable financial collapse, $9.2 million of their $28 million deficit goes to the education of non- residents.
These are absurd figures, to say the least. The American taxpayer continues to finance a policy that has a bark worse than its bite. To offer full disclosure and add fuel to the liberal fire, American citizens BORN to illegal immigrants account for about 65% of the 4.7 million students factored into the report. But to include these children is fair. Due to the fact that, if there was better enforcement , that number would, theoretically, be considerably lower. At a time when education is more important than ever, the President and Washington’s lawmakers have a duty to put our children’s future first, as well as ours.
On almost the opposite end of that spectrum, the cost of law enforcement (or lack thereof) is the largest chunk our government shells out every year for illegal immigration. At $8.7 million, the burden of the taxpayers is 27% of the total monies paid out for this problem. Once you factor in the state and local responsibility, the amount skyrockets to an estimated $194 billion. To gauge how much just $1 billion can be, let’s say that you were given said $1 billion dollars on your eighteenth birthday. The only stipulation being that you place it in a non-interest bearing account or in an oversized walk-in closet. You could spend almost $44,000 a day, EVERY day, and never run out of money. Even if you lived to be 80 years old. More than half a billion dollars are spent on a problem that, I feel, is not as complicated to solve as it may seem.
Again, enforcement by the federal government is as close to non-existent as you can get. Allowing the states to see results from their efforts is the key. Yet due to political and liberal reasons, their hands are tied. Regardless of the money spend to curb our problem, illegal immigrants are consistently detained, deported or even released, BACK INTO OUR COMMUNITIES, only to return back to the jails they so easily left. Of course, the most famous is the debate in Arizona. Since the bill was passed in the State Legislature and signed into law by the governor, there have been more than a handful of states that have either passed a similar bill or have one on the table. Why can’t the President and His Affable Deputy Holder heed what has become a common solution among the states of the Union.
Wanting immigration reform is not about excluding. To me, it’s actually about inclusion. The including of the American people. ALL of the American citizens. I understand the argument that we’re a country of immigrants. Yada Yada. I buy it. But there is a legal and right way to go about including the immigrants that want to enjoy our freedom and republic. We are still the greatest country in the history of the world. Our way of life is unprecedented in the annals of man. And to be able to maintain our order and democracy, we have to have a solid and decidedly certain course of action to make this happen. The solution? Completely close the border and bottleneck the entries to ensure what is right and just happens. Period.
If this article gets around and some bleeding heart dissenters trickle in (which is exactly what I want), I will get an earful about how it’s discriminatory, fear mongering and, generally, American hating tenets of the conservative answer. But, in all the reasons I can think of, I believe that there is really only one that needs acknowledging.
This one point should drive home the point of my whole solution. I’m reminded of a program I watched on PBS’ Frontline about the history of AIDS. Dr. Don Francis was one of the brilliant doctors who discovered the deadly virus. He was lobbying for more funds for research and treatment from the CDC in January of 1983. They refused to acknowledge the growing problem and the rapid acceleration of the epidemic. One of the arguments against a blood test? Yep. Too discriminatory and panic inducing. His story goes that he finally stood up , pounded his fist on the table and demanded to know how many lives had to be lost before they would listen and move toward solution. So here’s my fist pounding on that table. How many American lives have to be sacrificed before the Obama Administration and the Liberal minions will see that we have to put Americans and their safety first. Period. Hands down. Aside from the financial weight placed upon the Americans, the lives that have been the collateral damage of this conflict should be as minimal as possible. Is that really a whole lot to ask? There is no dollar amount that can or should be placed on the death of a loved one. Regardless of whose feeling get hurt or feathers get ruffled. There is absolutely no reason that we, as a nation, should be okay with ONE SINGLE CITIZEN being slaughtered or killed simply because of what Lady Liberty says on her pedestal just south of where the World Trade Centers once stood in New York Harbor. (give me tired, your weak…)
Just in the past year or so, the news has been peppered with sad stories of innocent lives being thrown on the slab. All for the sake of harmony with the Mexican government. From the numerous border guards, the nun who was run over by a twice deported illegal immigrant to the husband whose wife this past October swore he was killed by Mexican criminals at Falcon Lake along the Texas/Mexico border. Only to be scrutinized as if she was the criminal. How long was it before the government, ON BOTH SIDES, divulged that, in fact, he was? Wasn’t it the current Mexican President Felipe Calderon that called the Arizona law “troublesome’? All the while, his government levies fines and forces deportation for its immigration problems. He seems to be invoking Castro and the Muriel Boat Lift to Miami in the early ‘80’s. Castro was more than happy to unload his criminals. Obama won’t even go along with Calderon on a tit for tat even basis. There have even been reports that al Qaeda is using the U.S.’s lax border security to get in the country to continue their Fatwa. FBI Director Robert Mueller testified that this trend is becoming an increasing trouble spot. The borders have to be closed or, at least, left only slightly ajar.
While closing the borders and administering tighter entrance controls will only partly solve the fiscal issue, the crime that comes along with that should be the main reason for more diligent enforcement. I’ve read the argument that there is no more crime with illegals that there is with the native-born and legal immigrant population. You know what?? I will let them have that point even though I disagree. (27% of all federal inmates are illegal immigrants.) If you could reduce that number, why wouldn’t you? Why does making the process better and more controlled a bad thing? If you’re legal, why wouldn’t you want to prove it? One hundred pennies will continue to make a dollar. You have to start somewhere. I will tell you why I think. Politics. Re-election. Maintaining the current administration’s forge towards a more socialist state. You have to take notice, pay attention to what is happening and correlate the timing. Just like the uncanny coincidence of the killing of Osama bin Laden and this morning’s capture of the leading mob figure on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, Whitey Bulger, the immigration debate and the population it’s most connected is as essential as anything at his re-election.
Hispanics are one of the fastest growing demographic groups here in the United States. They represent more and more of the voting population in key areas during an election cycle. Just like wooing the life draining unions, Democrats and Obama are counting on this particular percentage to assist in carrying them back to complete prominence. Like many politicians and world leaders before him, Obama is a great orator. He knows the hot button to push and the right issues to highlight to get the crowd in a frenzy. He has a mission.
I’m not sure if the country will ever control its borders adequately or successfully. But closing the border until a more secure and less flawed system is in place is the answer for now. We have to put us first. Regardless. Like the cliché’ goes, we have to love, care and believe in ourselves before we can embrace others.
Until next time…..

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Anthony Weiner: Fallible….but a Democratic Leader

By brett | Published June 7, 2011

I had been trying to narrow down a topic for this week’s post and had narrowed it down to a few. One of the ones I had been leaning towards was a thought I had about what I think I want in a leader. Whether it be in management, politic, sports idols or whatever it is that requires someone to step up and be that beacon of guidance we all look for from time to time. But also, what it is that we do when someone we have entrusted with so much simply shows what he is: human. So yesterday’s revelation by New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is the reason I’ve decided on today’s post. While this may startle both side of the fence when it comes to those that tend to side with me and them that don’t, I feel that those rushing to judge the congressman and call for his outright resignation should take a moment and breath.
There is not a whole lot that I particularly like or enjoy about when it comes to Congressman Weiner. On the list of people I want to see in charge, he stenciled closer to the bottom than the top. So for all those that may think this is a dramatic shift in what I feel is right and good for our country, just wait a split second. That’s not what this is about. He annoys me to no end. Zero doubt about it. This is about how we view our leaders…..in my opinion. Weiner was wrong. Cut and dried. No way around it. He’s evoked the whole double standard debate that rages every time a politician gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar. And when he emulated the ever moral Billy Clinton, he only added to his problems. (Think index finger extended, making things clear routine) Though it was Mark Twain who wrote, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt”, it’s been my uncle who seems to remind me of that, more often than not, after a lively debate between to the two us. And that’s 100% what A to the T to the H to the ONY should have done after the news of his sexting and lewd photos surfaced. But, he didn’t and as he tried to scramble for cover, he only dug his hole even deeper….but not his grave. And he should refrain from resigning.

Weiner has been representing the 9th New York Congressional District since 1999. And while he has never been remotely approached by a Republican challenger (In 2006, he ran unopposed), he apparently has the backing of his constituents. I don’t agree with his policies or his staunch Democratic agenda. But, I respect the fact that he does not back down. He believes in what he believes in and rarely waivers. He is not afraid to fight for what he wants. I am an avid Fox News Channel watcher and I have seen him many, many times on taking barbs and jabs from everyone in the debate. He has every right, every single time to turn town their requests that he join a debate. He chooses not to. He’s loud, brash, obnoxious and a pit bull all at the same time. You have to have all viewpoints represented. So, like or despise him, that’s integrity. From a professional standpoint. I do tend to believe in the Republican way of thinking. At the same time, I don’t believe in a lack of checks and balances. I’ll admit a while after Bush first took office and there was a Republican Congress as well as a Conservative Court, I was uneasy. I don’t believe in absolute power. Absolute power corrupts…absolutely.
That being said, Weiner and his backers should take this as an opportunity. I think the bigger question is not when will he finally resign but how will he emerge from this. He can take this incident and the regret that he feels and harness it into an even stronger front for his policies and agenda. This is not condoning anything he’s done. But in a society full of options and temptations, who are we to judge?? The proof will be in how he forges forward tomorrow. I applaud him for not stepping down. Our country needs leaders that will not go with the grain and he is incessant on being the squeaky wheel. He represents the district in New York to which I have very close ties. And, I will tell you, it is very much a working class area. I have seen firsthand the hard work that goes into living in that area. They need an outspoken politician like Weiner. I just hope he is, in the end, who he says he is. I wish him luck.
Which brings me to the real meat of what I want to say. None of us are perfect. None. And if you say you are, you’re only lying to yourself. And when it comes to leaders, we should not cast stones. They are people just like us. Mistakes are inevitable. To me, it is how you approach everything after that blunder. And when it comes to someone to lead me into whatever, I want to know that he’s made mistakes. I need to be reassured that he has experience in defeat and regret. Not to justify mine but to see how they handle themselves after that miscue. One need look no further than football for what I’m trying to say. Brett Favre was one of the greatest quarterbacks that have played the game. Honest. He holds the record for most touchdowns in a career: 497. On the flip side, he also holds the record for most interceptions in a career: 317. To put that into perspective, Peyton Manning is third in TD passes lifetime with 366. If you didn’t know anything about football except that interceptions were bad, you pick Neil O’Donnell (second lifetime in lowest interception percentage) over Brett Favre. (Ask any Steeler fan how much they enjoyed his time at Three Rivers.) But, in truth, you’d pick Favre. He failed…a lot. But, as you can see, he trotted back out onto the field after that turnover with a renewed sense of resolve to make up for that mistake. He’s a proven winner. That’s who I want to see in my corner.
Infidelity, corruption, they’re not good. In fact, they’re appalling. But, they happen. Those things aren’t isolated to the Democratic side of the aisle, either. And I don’t want my congressman or president chasing every intern that smiles and laughs at their jokes. But, if it does happen, we have to realize that if we continue to hold those to a standard we ourselves may have a tough time with that we may pass on a great leader once the dust clears. We have to see how they hold themselves and walk amongst those screaming for their demise once they wake the next day. See if they can rise above the lack of sane judgment that has befallen them. Surge forward with a new sense of purpose. Throughout the ages, we’ve endured scandals beyond our belief. We cannot be that naïve. There’s no denying it. But it doesn’t change the fact the majority of those in power will continue to strive for what’s best for those they represent. If we want our leaders to be citizens among citizens, then we have to offer forgiveness and a chance at redemption. Anthony Weiner was, by anyone’s account, wrong. There’s no other way to dice it. And I wouldn’t lose a lick of sleep if he doesn’t get re-elected next time around. But for his policy making. For the hard working citizens that believe in him, he deserves a second chance. Here’s to him making the most of it….

Until next time…….

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Why Is There So Much Ado About One Election????

By brett | Published May 26, 2011

I’ve been reading about this Congressional Election in New York’s 26th District. It’s being lauded as a turning of the tide. How things are changing in America!! The Republicans have lied enough!! Seriously? Do politicians really think that we, as common, everyday Americans, are really that ignorant to the rhetoric on BOTH sides of the aisle? An article, in the Huffington Post by New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, seems to think that, with this one race in the most heavily Republican district in New York, which the American voters, as a whole, have awoken from the November drunk. Dazed and confused for the past 6 months, there is finally a hope for the replenishing of sanity in this great country of ours. (Please add a condescending, sarcastic tone, if you haven’t already to this) She says that with this one election that we have seen the light and are no longer buying into the Republican way of doing things. Wow.
I just don’t get how transparent politicians truly are. There was a massive swing last November when the House changed hands in favor of the Republicans. How do the Democrats explain that one?? You had historically Democratic seats replaced with brand new politicians in Virginia. In Cincinnati, you had a one term Democratic congressman replaced by the former 7-term Republican that he REPLACED. This election is absolutely no different that the elections of November 2010. “It’s the truth, coming home to roost”, she says. What exactly does that mean?? It’s like now, 50 years after his death, everyone wants to be Malcolm X. Every time there’s a change, on either side of the political spectrum, the other side thinks that America has finally gotten it right. That being said, this is what I heard when I read the article:
“Dear America, while I appreciate your dedication to seeing that America survives the next 200 years and our Republic remains intact, I see that sometimes we don’t always make the right choice. It seems in November you mistakenly voted on emotion and your inability to distinguish scare tactics from fact. It’s kind of like all of you misguided new Republican voting citizens went grocery shopping when you were hungry. And we all know how unnecessary our choices are in that scenario. But, it’s okay. That’s the beauty of Democracy in Action. We all have slipups. I’m just glad you returned from the Dark Side. I know it’s hard to make those decisions on your own. That’s why your government is willing to gently “urge” in the right direction. Again, thank you for your renewed support…….And don’t mind that figure behind the curtain.”
The reality is that until we all make a concerted effort to be better informed, the government officials will continue to give us the illusion that we’re capable, decision making adults but, in actuality, treating us like incapacitated children. They do not trust us to vote the right way. There has never been a side admit that they have let the American people down and a change in a different direction was needed.
This is a problem with both sides. No one wants to admit the real truth here: NEITHER SIDE HAS THE ANSWER. No one. Ms. Maloney says that the election was about Social Security and Medicare. That’s a fair assessment. Retirement scares a lot of people. And it’s one of those hot button topics. But, she stresses that people 55 years and younger today would pay $6400 a year under the Ryan Plan. But, it’s only an analysis. Not fact. There’s also an analysis that if Social Security continues to be ran the ways it’s currently being handled, it’ll been completely insolvent by 20 so and so. That problem’s been proliferated by BOTH sides. (And of course, to ensure she gets livens the hostility on her side, she throws in the ‘big tax breaks for oil’ bumper sticker in there for good measure. Now…exactly what does THAT have to do with our need for a better Medicare solution??? Oh, that’s right…I keep forgetting. Tax those greedy RICH oil companies until we can rein in our unwillingness to be fiscally responsible. Got it. See my last post for more on the oil tax breaks) No one really knows what’s going happen, when it’s going to happen or HOW it’s going to happen. It’s all speculation. And for a politician to blame scare tactics on party or the other is purely a scare tactic in, and of, itself. The whole political spectrum and policy is based on a poll here or a ‘non-partisan’ panel there. They have to use scare tactics on both sides or they’ll never get elected.
The truth here is that there’s a whole lot broke and not a swinging person IN CHARGE that knows what to do. There hasn’t been a successful policy implemented to help the economy since this whole mess started. That being said, I would think that our “Democracy” would welcome the fact that one party isn’t in control of two of the three branches of government. You can’t have one party with free reign for their agenda. Are you kidding me?? In the end, this one election does not, in any way, represent which way America’s thinking is headed or has came back to. It just goes along with what America is about: Sometimes change is needed…..even if it is to shock us back to life.

Until next time……

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