Not so ‘Free Republic’: The Shot Heard Around the Net

The Conservative Voice ^ | Feb 11, 2005 | by William Gheen, President, Americans for Legal Immigration PAC

[TexasCowboy]

Good to see you weighing in on this, C.

This is now a dead issue with me.
With people like Jackalope Breeder gone and people like bayourod and CJ still posting, I can see the handwriting on the wall.

I'm not going to beat my head against that proverbial brick wall.

[Willie Green]

Not that you probably care but I'm going to have to reassess my opinion of you. I had you pegged all wrong.

Actually, having read your previous post, I'm very appreciative of this follow-up. Many others seldom take the time to reassess their opinions when they come across additional information. They just keep flaming away as if they never read what I wrote, or worse, intentionally spin and misinterpret it. Thank-you for remaining open-minded and considerate.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"You see. This is a perfect example of liberal thinking. You have labeled me, without any proof whatsoever, someone who wants to mine the border and shoot people. I have never said that."

The fact that I was responding to your unfounded statement that I liked millions puring across the borders illegally prompted that response.

But I guess you can prove that I like illegal immigration...right?

I'll wait.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

Good morning to you all, and to anyone wanting to chime in to this which I am about to post.

Yesterday and today have been the only times since joining where I have been in fear of losing my membership. Please, someone help me to understand this thread.

Personally, I am of the position that illegal immigration is wrong. My belief, is that if you are breaking one of our laws in America, then something negative should result to hopefully inflict enough pain so that lawbreaking will be less likely in the future. In my household as a parent, the same system applies. If my children willfully disobey, then a negative consequence will result.

Having been a psychology major in college, early on in my studies, all students learned about the methods of positive and negative reinforcement and how they can be used. Rewarding a behavior encourages it; negatively affecting a behavior discourages it. In my opinion, this is why welfare never worked. It rewarded bad behaviors, and did not encourage trying to do better or self-improvement. An easy way to teach my youngest child to hit her sister, would have been to give her a small pack of m-n-ms for each time she whacked her sister. I do not own a dog, but many people I know do own one. Some of these folks chose to use positive reinforcement to teach their dogs to perform certain behaviors and/or to learn to do some tricks. Every time their dogs do or did something desirable, the dogs received a treat of some kind. If the doggie soiled inside the home, some used negative reinforcement such as a firm reprimand to deter further incidents.

Regardless of what the Pope, my senators, my parents, my husband and/or my President believe, I believe that immigration is a privilege and not a birthright. There is a legal process in the United States for non-citizens to apply to become an American. I support it wholeheartedly as the U.S. is a beautiful place of opportunity in which to live. I believe that no one should be allowed to "cut" in line, either. Wait in line, just like everyone else following the rules. Kids shouldn't get away with this in school. People shouldn't do this at amusement parks waiting to ride a roller coaster. Immigrants shouldn't do this to other immigrants.

All this aside, I have supported President Bush and the Republicans 100%. I have not criticized President Bush at all - for anything that he believes. Through my eyes, President Bush is a man of conviction and a man of God. I have trusted him implicitly in all of his decisions...even those regarding immigration. I haven't an ounce of doubt that he loves this country and wants to protect it and that he makes every decision to do the right thing before God. And while I do not know the President personally and cannot read his mind to see his larger understanding of his plan regarding illegal immigration in the United States, I go to sleep at night feeling that the President is on top of everything on my behalf.

I am a team player, which is why I cannot stand to hear people criticizing our President and the Bush Administration. I cannot stand to listen to Democrats and the loudmouths of Hollywood making accusations, pointing fingers, and constantly criticizing those who are leading this nation! I get angry when individual soldiers decide they don't want to play by the rules of their military "team." I am intolerant of Michael Moore making a movie about how rotten he thinks our President and nation are. We all have free speech, but shouldn't common decency standards be addressed somewhere and sometime? Shouldn't there be a time when folks need to "zip it" ... for the TEAM?

I am so incredibly proud and honored to be a FReeper and to be a part of this team, however I am needing a bit of clarity and advice regarding the topic of this thread. I do not want to be banned, so I am asking for your thoughts. Is my FReeper page something that is deemed unacceptable? Am I a candidate for the chopping block? And regarding the current FR Poll...please, tell me that how we vote is not an indicator of those who would be banned.

Thank you for your time.

:)

[FITZ]

I believe in sovereignty quite a bit. A little control over our immigration and the Mexicans overthrow their corrupt government on their own. Without our help.

Castro is quite safe and sound with all the Cubans living in Miami --- an elderly sickly man unable to be toppled from power no matter how bad he's done.

[Politicalmom]

I have been called all sorts of names on FR because I am against illegal immigrants. I don't care what color they are.

I have been called a Bush basher, (I am critical of him on TWO issues.)I have been called a racist, been told I can't be a conservative or a Rebublican, and must be a Buchanan voter. It is really annoying.

I think applying for worker permits from their homes is a great compromise. It must be joined by removal of all welfare benefits and free medical care, abolishing anchor babies, and severe punishment of employers who hire illegals. Employers must be able to verify documents somehow, as it is unfair to disallow questions about documentation and then punish those who accept fraudulent documents.

That is a proposal I would support, not rewarding lawbreakers with amnesty, which is what allowing them to apply here would be.

[freeangel]

FWIW, I love your post and your homepage. I can't imagine they would get you in trouble. For the most part, as long as one doesn't spew hate here, one is free to discuss most issues.

[HighFlier]

Also please show me the quote where Reagan said that a new berlin wall be built as you propose and are pushing for.

Wasn't the Berlin Wall supposed to keep people in?

Strange to equate what is suggested here as a "Berlin Wall".

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

Thank you for the reply. :) I am *very* interested in your opinions.

[adam_az]

"You don't seriously think that we should blow the feet and legs off of men, women and children sneaking across the border to try and get a better lives for themselves, do you? "

Think of it as a deterrent.

If no one crosses, then no one will get blown up.

[Willie Green]

Here's a bombshell...I've never advocated an invasion of Cuba.

Some of us are not surprised by that at all.

[Not A Snowbird]

I don't believe having an anti-illegal immigration stance will get you into any trouble here. What got folks in trouble is how they went about expressing their viewpoint. Debate is fine, but some folks went way over the line of civility.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Illegals do contribute to Social Security, even if it's a little bit. It doesn't come close to what they take out though in comparison to the overall taxes paid in and the health care, schooling and the rest they consume.

The problem with Mexican totalization as it's being considered is not how it looks on paper but what it'll eventually turn into, especially with any guest worker plan.

In only a matter of years if not months politicians will be calling for illegals and guest workers who do manage to go home to receive benefits too, out of "fairness". Happens everytime and we can expect that here as well.

All that will bankrupt Social Security, a program designed for retired Americans, not everyone else around the world.

[Dog Gone]

Give it up, adam. We are NOT going to mine the border, and your continued call for it is asinine.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Reality is that we are dependent upon them now and will become more dependent upon them in the future.

If every single illegal alien went home tomorrow this economy would hum along as it always has. The country is prospering not because of illegals but in spite of them.

[wardaddy]

Me:I am not in favor of a dramatic change in the demographics of this nation from ANYWHERE

StayTrue: You are implying racial quotas on immigration and/or racial quotas on births by citizens. This thread is about maintaining civility. I must say that the logical conclusion to this comment is that your comment smacks of racism. Whites have been the majority in the US for a long time. As the majority, whites have made mistakes in the past by not treating others as equals (slavery, jim crow laws, extermitating the indians, japanese internment, etc.). You and a whole bunch of others are afraid of what will happen when whites are in the minority. You are afraid that others may do unto you what you have done onto them. Seriously, I don't think there will be "payback". US society is evolving past that.

This post by staytrue advocates what many here advocate but unlike staytrue lack the balls to say. They want the predominate culture here to become a minority. Sounds like Ward Churchill.

Now why am I a racist to oppose that while they are not a racist to support it?

This sort of PC drivel is encouraged on a conservative forum including bashing whites for all our "mistakes" in creating the best country on earth.

The only logical conclusion I can draw (to quote) is that the foxes are now running the henhouse here.

BTW: just for your info stayfool, I have done my own personal contributing to the dilution of the mistake making white majority here by your reverse-racism parameters....twice in fact....how racist of me..maybe you'd care to ask my daughters how they feel about their daddy pendejo.

Was that civil enough?...Spanish....you can speak it can't you Mr Multicultural....I can and Portugese and Italian too....how racist of me to be quad-lingual...completely closed to cultural notions I am, viado.

PS: If you don't think there is ever payback then you don't pay much attention. My hometown is living payback for "white mistakes" and they are running it in the ground. Guess I'm a racist to point that out...but wait...it's not their fault it's whites fault. They made them incompetent and corrupt. Hell, whitey is responsible for everything...."he" is the only capable soul around. All the other groups by your measure shouldn't be expected to live up to the standards you desire of the evil white man.

That sounds like you don't think anyone is as capable as whites. So are you guilty of paternalistic passive racism towards minorities (like my daughters) and reverse racism towards whites like me? Sure "smacks" like it homeo. BTW...my use of the word from "anywhere" must have gone right over your pointed head in your zeal to go racist and preen for your congregation.

[Vicomte13]

Yes, it is a deterrent.
On the same order as the summary executions carried out by traffic police in China for drivers who exceed the speed limits by a certain amount or who disobey the officers orders. They did break the law, after all

The branding with hot irons on the foreheads of all convicts of all crimes would also be a deterrent.

Mandatory blinding in one eye would certainly be a deterrent to cheating on tests in high schools.

So would mining the border to maim border jumpers.

They're all deterrents, and all of those deterrents are unworthy of a Christian country.

[Sofa King]

Let's test this:

I oppose President Bush's guest worker program.

[Willie Green]

If I'm not mistaken, threads are limited to 65,535 replies. (2^16 - 1)

My guess is the record has to be held by either the Hobbit Hole or Freeple threads in "Chat". Nobody really knows what they talk about in there, but it looks like they've maxed out the limit dozens of times over. It's really pretty scarey when you stop to think about it.

[yarddog]

Some awful good points there.