Arizona and the Immigration Debate

(The following is a post I made on MSNBC in response to a story about the current Arizona immigration law. I literally read every comment on the site prior to writing my response. The issue is obviously a hot-button topic, because many comments were filled with anger and resentment on either side of the issue.)

In its simplest, The Federal Govt. has failed to properly confront the problem; so The State of Arizona is exercising its State Constitutional RIGHT to address the issue of ILLEGAL Immigration.

Special Interest groups have flooded the media with propagandized statements about the Unconstitutionality of the law; and the media in turn splash image after image of sad looking illegals in an attempt to sway public opinion. Special Interest groups be damned if they side with people who have sidestepped the legal requirements toward citizenship.

President George Washington, one of our Founding Fathers said, "Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals." The Arizona law, passed by consent of the people, is indeed being trampled on by individuals and Special Interest Groups who seek to impose their personal will upon the majority of the citizenry. How, in any conceivable logic, can these individuals be granted such power?

The current problem exists not because of Obama, but because of President Ronald Reagan giving blanket amnesty to some 2.5 million illegals in the mid-eighties simply because no one was willing to properly confront the issue at that time. With his amnesty proclamation, the proverbial floodgates were thrown wide open, and the current immigration problem we have today was begun.

All the citizens of this country are asking is that anyone entering this country do so having used the proper legal channels, and go through the citizenship process as currently mandated by Federal Law. Anyone who screams "human rights!" in defense of those people who fail to enter legally, does not truly support the wishes of the citizens of the United States, nor the laws that govern us all.

What price do we, as a nation, pay if the problem of illegal immigration is either ignored, or swept aside in favor of "rights" that non-citizens have in this country? What possible outcome exists that benefits Americans if our public infrastructure is bankrupted by the growing tide of illegal immigration? Benjamin Franklin, another of our Founding Fathers stated, "Even peace may be purchased at too high a price." In this case, what is the price for peace if our nation's leaders turn a blind eye to, or our courts allow for the "rights" of non-citizens to prevail?

However you feel about this issue, no matter which camp you're in, the very basics of the immigration issue are about what is legal, according to US law, and what is illegal. That's it. Anyone screaming anything more than this basic definition is efforting a personal agenda.

Another Apology

I must offer an apology to my readers once again. My entries on this blog have been few and far between once again. My only defense is that, it is a reflection of how I have been feeling.

Writing on my other blog is easy when I'm simply giving info. When I have to be more journalistic (as on this blog), then it takes more mental energy than I've been able to muster up from day to day.

Hang in there with me. I've got lots of things rattling around in my head than need discussing; and I'll get to them as I feel up to it. In the mean time, please feel free to send your questions or thoughts (through the 'Comments' link) about current events. I'll answer them either there, or as a blog in and of itself.

Until then, I send my very best to each and every one of you.

Thank You.

ScottW

Civil Rights for Air Travelers?

I have a real issue with the Transportation Security Administration.


The TSA, created out of the fear mongering by Gee Dubya Bushie and Henchmen following the 2001 attacks in NY, DC and Pennsylvania, are ratcheting up the ante in its ongoing attack on the Bill of Rights with its installation of full body scanners in airports around the country.


An article in the Wall Street Journal is the latest in a number of media pieces that are seeking to stir up the citizenry of the United States to stand up to the TSA for its blatant supposition that every person flying has a terrorist agenda. Basically, we are guilty until proven innocent.




If I don't want a body scan, I am required to do a pat-down as if I were a criminal. What about my civil rights? Why am I being treated like a criminal without the slightest bit of evidence? Treat everyone like criminals in the name of paranoid safety concerns? It's happening right now; and most citizens don't think twice about it. Next thing you know, cars traveling across the country will be stopped at every state border crossing.

I say that the citizens of the United States start a write-in campaign to their Congressional leaders to demand a basic restructuring of the TSA (if not a complete elimination) so that they are better at identifying real threats to our airline safety, instead of targeting six year olds whose name inexplicably somehow winds up on a terror watch list; or an eight year old cub scout who also is identified as a terrorist.

Yeah...great job TSA! Way to protect us from marauding six year olds! You guys are really on the ball!

In the mean time, they force humiliating searches and pat-downs on Americans who want nothing more than to get to their intended destinations with as little hassle as possible.

Where is the ACLU in all of this? They should be screaming "Injustice!" So far, I haven't read a single reference to their involvement in the stripping of air travelers' civil rights. Why Not? The ACLU will fight vehemently for individuals whose rights are being so trampled on that they seek to enforce their personal will and thinking upon the entire country (that's another blog all together!); but they won't stand up for the majority of citizens? What's up with that? So I ask again, why isn't the ACLU all over this?

Please-- write your Senator! Write your Representative! Tell them to stop the stampeding of our civil rights! If you don't stand up and speak, nothing will ever get done about this!