Why do we fear the: "ILLEGALS"?

There has been a lot of talk over the past couple years, and most recently this year, about Illegal aliens. Now, I have my beliefs why they are here (America's entitlement system) and why they won't stop coming (No end to America's entitlement system). And while I believe this (And they aren't coming because THEY want entitlements, but because Americans already getting entitlements) I will save this whole (correct) theory for another post.

When I read all of these news articles and watch the media coverage on television, and see Lou Dobbs' face get all red over the thought of more ILLEGALS slipping past our borders every day, I sit back and ask...why are you upset? Now, one answer (and one I AGREE with) is that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes, but use the services our tax dollars provide, such as education, police and fire protection, and hospitals. They get to enjoy government services, tax-free. This argument is the only one that is legitimate and is a real concern. So, shouldn't then we take all the illegal immigrants and make them legal so they start paying the taxes and not draining our society's tax dollars. OH WAIT...DON'T START GIVING AWAY AMNESTY...THESE PEOPLE HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME!!!!

What crime? Yes, some are criminals that come over, like plenty of Americans, and they should not be allowed to stay and become citizens. But the only other crime is walking across a border without going through America's system. We must remember that MANY Americans got here today, because someone in our family did the same thing. Today's times have changed, our country has grown to over 300 million people and we have a constant fear of terrorism, so the policies of the past cannot be used today. But, what we must focus on, is what we are calling "illegal" like it's rape or murder, while it is something that many of our relatives did in the past; however, what they did was far worse ( see: taking land from the natives and killing many in the process, i.e. "trail of tears"). So, my point is that no huge crime has been committed, other than crossing a line without going through the proper channels.

Even though I suggest the crime committed is not big, I will not advocate an open border policy. I do believe, because of the threats to and size of America, that the country cannot allow anyone and everyone in. Again, in this post I do not want to debate how to fix the border crossing problem (I have a solution, though). The focus must be on why we are so afraid of the ILLEGALS. Since taxes cannot be the reason, because we can easily grant everyone here citizenship and sign them up to pay...there is a deeper problem. I also don't think its terrorism, since the vast amount of ILLEGALS are not criminals. It can't be a strain on the economy, because without these ILLEGALS, you will see a true strain on the economy. The real fear is the different language and cultural customs.

Americans do not want America to lose its identity. The identity comes mostly from European heritage, and a lot of that from England. There are plenty of exceptions, Midwest has Scandinavian influences, Florida has Spanish, Louisiana has French, Southwest has ILLEGALS, err Mexican, Africans through the slave trade, etc. But, Americans see themselves as living an "American" lifestyle and doing it through English. However, I am here to say that accepting these ILLEGALS does not mean America will lose this identity. Over the past several hundred years, Americans have come from all types of cultures and backgrounds, and because of that, America's identity has constantly evolved. If the ILLEGALS ever become legal, it would not turn America into Mexico. Almost all Americans will still speak English, most ILLEGALS will learn to speak English and use it every day. It won't change America drastically.

Look at Europe, and one can see the various languages spoken, between the various countries, but also within the countries. In Switzerland, there are three very different languages spoken in three different regions alone. That does not include the various dialect differences.

The reason I bring up this issue at all, since it won't fix the real problem of allowing non-Americans to cross the border without any documentation, it eliminates the underlying issue of why Americans are prone to not want the current ILLEGALS to stay and the fear of more coming. Politicians are guilty of facilitating and nurturing this fear to gain votes. I probably look at this from a different view than most. My wife's family are all LEGAL immigrants to America. They speak a different language (Spanish). Yet, while they still speak that language at times to each other, they are all productive parts of our society and speak ENGLISH every day. They are actually better than most Americans (they are Americans, now), because they actually know another language. If we lived in Europe, most of us probably would speak at least two languages, if not more. So, this fear comes down to American laziness (See future blog on real reason we have illegal immigration) and the fear of change. Well, I am here to say...the change will not be very big, it will be for the better and maybe, just maybe Americans will gain a little bit from it. One could only hope.

Drought, what Drought?

You may want to sit down for this, but...Georgia is in a severe drought. Many may think this is impossible, since most think of Georgia as on the East Coast (except Miss. South Carolina) in an area that gets plenty of rainfall. Actually, most years Georgia does get plenty of rainfall, but like every region in the world (and with a climate that IS changing, regardless whether you think God or Man is causing such changes), Georgia is susceptible to droughts.

Right now, the Georgia Congressional team is demanding that President Bush declare certain counties in North and Central Georgia in states of emergency. While these regions may be in a state of emergency, since their water sources are drying up by the day (I personally saw Lake Lanier last weekend, and to those thinking it just has a lot of beach front land...that beach should be under water)...people must understand that the blame rests on state officials, not Bush (this time) or other states. The easy target right now is the Army Corps of Engineers. The claim: They are needlessly dumping and wasting billions of gallons of water into rivers for some mussels and fish. Who should come first, humans or fish?

I have to give it to Gov. Sonny Purdue and the other lackeys that run the State of Georgia. It's a compelling argument, and I of course would vote for the fish, because who cares about a bunch of Georgians...right? Regardless of what I think, almost everyone would surely side with the people in this drought, even if you have a soft spot for the environment, and not the endangered fish and mussels (except me and the Sierra Club), so its a great PR move by Sonny. But, before I jump onto this "bandwagon of hate" towards the Engineers, Alabama, Florida, the fish and mussels...maybe we should ask, why are we in this situation?

Well, A) there has been a real lack of rain. This one is hard to correct, because the Earth has normal and abnormal cycles that can cause this phenomenon, which are largely out of our immediate control; B) there is no true water conservation plan for Georgia and Atlanta, which could help in a long-term drought; and C) the Army Corps of Engineers keeps dumping water from the lake reservoirs into rivers down to Alabama, Florida and the Gulf.

So, while Gov. Purdue and team like to blame C on this, it's actually B...their own fault. Last legislative term, the Georgia legislature wouldn't pass into law, a statute that would require all old homes when sold to go to low flow shower heads. Now, one argument is that this infringes on property rights, privacy rights, etc. I am a huge fan of property rights, but I also need water from the same source that LeRoy next door is using. So, if LeRoy decides to leave his shower on for 30 minutes not using a low flow shower head...he is taking a lot of the water I and every other person may need. If LeRoy's actions didn't affect me, I would be in support of his property rights and privacy rights (although water consumption is hardly protected by privacy rights). But, it does affect me, and it affects every other Georgian in the Atlanta area. So, why couldn't the legislature pass such an easy law, which would not cost the homeowner very much, yet in the long-run save millions upon millions of gallons of water?

I could go on and on about what Georgia politicians have not done towards conserving the State's water. Their neighbor to the south, Florida, actually has extensive water management plans, and has had them for years. While Georgia also likes to blame Florida for stealing their water, Florida at least has had a plan in place to conserve water, although it may not be perfect. So, instead of blaming everyone short of God for causing this drought, the Georgia politicians need to get their lazy butts up, look in the mirror, realize they are at fault and actually make water conservation plans for Georgia and Atlanta...because a city of 5 million people is not going to disappear.

Evil, Insane or Both?

Ann Coulter is at it again, and she honestly gives all Christians and Republicans a bad name. Recently, she said that Jews needed to be "perfected". While I think that Ann likes to see her name in the paper, no matter how it gets there...I do think she believes a lot of what she says. If she doesn't believe it, she is more pathetic than I originally thought. But, for now, I think she is pure evil.

The thing is, I think lots of people are evil in their own way. For instance, I think Hillary Clinton gives out death stares. I believe electricity could flow from her eyes and hands, like in Star Wars, if she had to use it and it wouldn't cost her the White House. She may have even used her death stare on people before (See Whitewater). However, Hillary keeps the evil power in check. Ann, scares me, because if she ever got any real power, she could be the female version of Hitler. I know I am not the first to compare her to that man, but her latest comment proves that she is either one of the most evil people alive (See Hitler, Stalin) or one of the biggest idiots.

What scares me though, isn't so much about Ann, because one day she will get whats coming to her or just go away, but that there are many other Americans that think like she does. They hate others for being different than them. I question, how did they become this way? Was it their parents, their towns, or is it in their genetics? While we live in a society constantly on high alert for terrorism, we have our own "home grown" terrorists living right. They are the Ann Coulters of America and they hate because you aren't like them.

While she and they, do not use explosive materials getting their point across (at least not yet or very often) like most terrorists...they use explosive language that can do just as much damage to the individual and society as a whole. As a kid, I honestly thought the Ann Coulter's of the world existed only in a history book. It's sad that she proves to everyone, that evil is alive and well and prospering in America. And, while we will always have to live with evil in this world, its a shame that she associates herself with a religion and political party. Ann is NOT a Christian, because no true Christian would harbor such hate. Ann is no Republican, because no true Republican would hate their fellow citizen so much. Ann shows that she is no better than the Islamic terrorists. Hopefully, one day, she will either change her ways or go away, because I'm tired of listening.

Got Government?

Why is Big Government not working? It's not big enough! That, I assume, is Hillary's thoughts. She recently came out with her new "economic blueprint" and its just insane, well, if you agree that the U.S. should be built around capitalism and not socialism. One of the worst parts is her energy plan, which includes "allowing" oil companies to either invest in alternative energy or to place some of their profits into a government "fund". If this fund is anything like social security, that means it could be used for anything...maybe even to give people more entitlements, such as Hillary's plan of giving every child born in America 5,000 dollars for college (Another ridiculous idea, since it would cost billions and be practically worthless by the time that kid actually goes to college 18 years later). Hillary's plan is just crazy talk. I am all for investing in alternative energy, in fact, I think oil companies and other energy companies would be plain stupid if they didn't see that oil and coal will one day run out or be too expensive to extract. Plus, with this huge push for ec0-friendly products, they could make a killing in the long run. But, for the government to say you HAVE to invest in this or you HAVE to give it to the well spending Federal Government, is just typical Big Government.

Hillary also wants to set up another 50 billion fund to strengthen unions, create "affordable" health care, fix the mortgage crisis and create a balanced budget. Well, it appears Hillary is on her way to balancing the budget, right? Her way of balancing the budget is MORE government spending and MORE taxes. Where is this 50 billion going to come from? Where is the money going to come from for her universal health care? Well, its going to come from repealing tax cuts (a.k.a. a tax increase) and by taxing corporations. No wonder corporations are moving overseas. But in the end, it will have to mean even more tax increases.

However, the worst item in there is the strengthening of unions. When unions developed many years ago...there was a crucial need for them. Workers were in horrible conditions, the hours were long, and the pay was a joke. Today, union workers are often overpaid, under worked and the unions often protect the worst workers. Additionally, the companies and professions that have unions generally struggle to make any sort of great economic and technological advancements. Look at the American auto companies...they are drowning in debt and produce horrible cars...they have unions. The railroads, do we see any reliable high speed trains running all across the country? Nope. Airline industry, well, we all saw what happened after 9-11 and what's happening today. Unionized workers are overpaid and under worked, period. If they want to make more money, they should have to work longer hours, not less or develop a skill set worthy of such an increase. However, it's great that Hillary wants to tax us more, take more of our hard earned dollars, to ensure that these unions get more money protecting the bad.

The bottom line, Hillary is not her Husband. For those who are going to vote for her, because they think it could be another four or eight years of economic prosperity, such as that enjoyed during the Clinton era...think again. Her taxes and big government schemes will only suffocate the American economy. Yet she is the run away favorite for the Democratic primary.

One Christian Nation Under God

So, James Dobson has come out and said that conservative Christians needed to support a candidate for President that supports a strict social conservative agenda, you know the..."pro-family" sort. Thanks Jimbo. Now things are so much clearer and I know exactly who I need to elect (that's Hillary, right?). Does anyone else see anything wrong with a man of faith telling you who to vote for, for President? I mean, does he have God's cell number and calls to get political advice everyday? Honestly, and maybe I am wrong...I thought people were supposed to go to church to learn about God and to try and live a better life. I thought the President, at least 99% of the time, dealt with issues such as wars, foreign policy, maybe botching wars, domestic spending, the economy, making illegal immigration worse, etc. But, according to James, the President is commander in chief AND the U.S. Pope.

Now, I love how they lump strict social conservatism with "pro-family". Obviously, Democrats, Independents and moderate Republicans couldn't raise a child if their lives depended on it. It's a fact, all of those kids die. So, Jimmy won't let that one go, nor anything dealing with "family", such as gay marriage, pre-marital sex, etc. Jim wants to know exactly what is happening in your bedroom at night and he wants to film it. Oh no, of course not for his own viewing pleasure, but to prove what you are doing is immoral and to save you from it. (Jim, you need to give back those tapes.)

One of the many problems with America today, is that religion being thrown into the political landscape like Roy Scheider was scooping chum for ole Bruce (a.k.a. Jaws). I mean, presidential candidates are now even declaring that this is a Christian Nation (Oh McCain, sometimes you talk a little too straight). Now, while I do agree that this country was founded by Christians, we also forget they wanted religious freedom. Back then, that may have meant something a little different than today, but the overall principle remains true...people should be able to express themselves through their religion, as long as it does not HURT anyone else.

If anything, James sounds a little like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, except somehow Mahmoud has been able to solve the gay issue, because not one lives in Iran anymore (Jimmy, don't get any ideas, now). The hypocrisy of James Dobson's battle cry, is that I am sure he was one of the first to declare war with Iraq, and probably wants to wipe Iran off the map. Yet, he and his cohorts share many of the same strict social conservative views as Islamic nations and their leaders. So, my question is: would you want to live in an nation with a social regime that mimics an Islamic nation, but just substitute the word Islamic for Christian?

What James preaches is not what Christianity is about. James needs to stop being a politico pig, and go back teaching Christians how to be more accepting, peaceful, caring and giving, rather than focusing on just a few very narrow issues, which a few have nothing to do with life or death or hurting anyone at all. And while abortion does not fall into that category, there is another way to end it rather than becoming a political pig...and that is trying to educate people on safe sex (oh wait, that is not allowed either...we have to pretend people only have sex when married). Oh well, I tried...I know nothing will change from the Dobson camp...I just hope people see him for the fraud he is and pick a President because they are a leader and can run the many complicated details of this nation, not for their extreme religious beliefs. That's why I'm voting for Sam Brownback