So true. Love and respect President Bush, but on this issue, he leaves me (and so many others) angry and frustrated, for, if he REALLY wanted to, he could staunch the flow of illegal alliens (almost) overnite. IMHO.
Posted on 06/08/2006 5:02:19 AM PDT by FerdieMurphy
Several years ago, when we found ourselves in the throes of the obscenity known as the second term of the Clinton administration, I found myself obsessing with the atrocities being perpetrated on the sovereignty of our republic and the safety of its citizens … obsessing to the point at which my concern interfered with my own everyday responsibilities and, sometimes, with my ability to obtain a good night’s sleep.
It was then that I stepped back and took stock, realizing just how little power to institute change we individual Americans have these days, as a result of the unprecedented power of the mass media (despite the dent in their omnipotence that the internet has provided), technological progress, laws that have been passed (‘Campaign Finance Reform’ chief among them) whose major focus is to silence the voice of the individual in the political process, the incredible power of special interest groups, and the general unconstitutional over-reaching power that the state now has in all of our lives and liberties.
It was then that I also recalled, and reflected upon, the words of the serenity prayer:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next."
... and then decided to attempt to re-shift my focus from frustration and anger with those in power who are virtually ‘beyond arm’s length’ from me, and, instead, speak and work, for the most part, within my own circle of family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers … and, where possible, beyond that, through the power of the written word.
As a result, I have spent the past approximately eight years sleeping better and knowing a renewed peace of mind.
Until now.
In some very disturbing ways, the state of our republic is even worse off than it was back in the late nineties. Back then, despite the overt anti-liberty, anti-sovereignty crimes and treasons committed or condoned by so many in power in Washington, there was always a major group of republican/independent leaders and lawmakers who were decrying the duplicity and decay. They were voicing outrage and concern, and seeking the eventual power to administer an antidote to negate the toxic effects of the Clinton administration’s crimes. Whether consciously or not, we conservatives clung to the hope that they would someday … and sooner rather than later … be successful.
In 2000 the clouds appeared to disperse, and the sun shone on our republic once again.
Fast forward six years and we conservatives are once again outraged by the behaviors of our leadership in Washington. Yet this time (at least in name only) that leadership is our own. So to whom, now, do we turn for the hope that springs from knowing that there are large numbers of people of like mind and purpose in our national government who are just as outraged as we?
Our southern border is being left open and vulnerable; undocumented foreigners are streaming into our country as a result. And our leadership in Washington remains relatively oblivious. Rather than look the evil in the eye, they are consumed with posturing, preening, preparing for the next election, spending what they don’t have, exhorting us to dig deeper into our pockets for the ‘greater good’, and daily authoring and promoting their latest innovative blueprints for cradle-to-grave socialism.
One senate Republican aide, gutsy enough to call a spade a spade, recently observed that ‘there is a paralyzing fear of the illegal-immigrant lobby’ in Washington. It matters not that the large majority of American citizens believes that illegal immigrants should not be offered any kind of amnesty, and that an even larger majority wants to erect a security fence along our southern border. Representative government appears to have given way to rule by special interest and the amassing of political power.
Passions run high when a perception of deep betrayal, injustice, and the instinct to survive are a part of the mix. And I don’t believe any informed conservative can cite a time in his life when all three were more a part of his daily thoughts and fears than they are now.
It would appear that those who still possess sufficient insight to comprehend that we are under an unprecedented attack by an malevolent invading army, and who exhibit sufficient courage to declare that those in ‘leadership’ positions in Washington who are doing nothing about it are betraying this republic, find themselves in a shrinking and ill-treated minority that is consistently smeared, called radical, alarmist, hostile to Latinos, and a myriad of other undeserved labels.
Prudence and tolerance, at all costs, is not called for in the current political climate. Courage is.
We patriots are not calling for a revolution. We are begging our leadership to lead, so as to avoid one. Criminals are streaming across our border. Eleven million of them are living among us and four thousand more are joining them each day … arrogantly demanding (and receiving) rights without responsibilities, staking out illegitimate claims to our homeland, looking at two-plus centuries of success and prosperity, built on the blood and sweat of those who came here with a respect for our laws and a willingness to shed their blood, and work from dawn to dusk … and the invaders are scheming to steal those hard-won successes and rewards, and to bring this republic to her knees in the process.
It’s parasitic. It’s wicked. It’s unjust.
We must exort our ‘leaders’ to stop the interminable, tread-water debates about how to deal with those illegal immigrants who have broken the law and are working in the U.S., and obtaining education, health care, court costs, legal representation, etc. at no cost, while the American taxpayer must pay obscenely burdensome taxes to obtain the same for his family. That criminal behavior and resultant inequity must be identified, acknowledged and corrected. But we face a much more pressing problem that needs to be solved now. And every day that you persist in political posturing simply serves to render the problem even more deadly. We must stop the flow of illegal immigrants. We must close our southern border.
Although unfair, and continually sapping our national fiscal strength, it’s not the illegals’ effect on our economy that is killing us. Dollars and cents are never the bottom line in a free society. Liberty and sovereignty are. And both precious entities are growing ever more precarious in America 2006.
If a deadly toxin is seeping into your house, in higher concentrations each day, do you sit in your livingroom debating among family members how you should attempt to neutralize its toxicity so as to avoid eventual death for you all? And do you quibble incessantly over who should have the power to make such decisions?
Or do you first locate, and seal up, the source of the leak?
I used to believe that the fact that our leadership in Washington would turn a blind eye to such a monumental threat to our liberty and sovereignty as the malignancy known as illegal immigration was the result of either incompetence or naiveté.
What has me once again losing sleep over the state of our republic is the hideous realization that incompetence and naiveté no longer provide a rational explanation for our leadership’s inaction … even enabling … of the border travesty.
It appears that the allegiance of much of American leadership at the highest levels rests in something other than the sovereignty of our republic and the safety of her people. Whether that alternative allegiance lies in a belief that the importance of illegals to the (mirage) robust American economy supersedes any threat to our sovereignty that their criminality poses …. or a belief that a world without borders is preferable to one in which each nation’s sovereignty is sacrosanct … is unclear.
But what is becoming abundantly clear is that America’s sovereignty is now under relentless attack from both within and without her borders. Thanks to politicians (both republican and democrat) without character or conscience, obsessively focused on cheap labor and more votes (read: the amassing of personal and ideological power), or openly advocating a globalist world order … and thanks, also, to media that hold in disdain the America that once was, working hand-in-hand with racist pressure groups … our republic sits on the brink of a terrible abyss from which, for the first time in our history, only the American citizen can pull her back.
...this time (at least in name only) that leadership is our own. So to whom, now, do we turn for the hope...
...they are consumed with posturing, preening, preparing for the next election, spending what they don’t have, exhorting us to dig deeper into our pockets for the ‘greater good’, and daily authoring and promoting their latest innovative blueprints for cradle-to-grave socialism.
But what is becoming abundantly clear is that America’s sovereignty is now under relentless attack from both within and without her borders.
Is there any FReeper who doesn't realize our country is in dire straits?
Something tragic will happen, REAL sad, and then the lawmakers will realize their is a problem. Here in Mexico, got a call from our friends, they got caught 3X trying to cross, and each time, tried again. Same people who get them across, run stolen American vehicles to sell in Mexico, She now has gone to apply for residence, she has prove she was in the country because of a baby born, FREE. They abandoned the baby here now in Mexico, staying with grandma, while they jump through the legal hurdles. First she gets her status of residence, and then calls for him, and they have applied for a passport for the New Jersey born baby. I guess they figured out how the system works. These are real LAW abiding people. They find out how the law works, and then they work it. The law says Catch and Release...
Is there any FReeper who doesn't realize our country is in dire straits?
Nice post! I'm in total agreement with you. The answer to your question is YES there are but, we're hoping for revelation.
I don't know about that, but there are plenty here that see nothing wrong with the invasion or the treachery that allows it to happen.
Wow, what kind of friends do you HAVE????????? Better get a better character of "friends".
So true. Love and respect President Bush, but on this issue, he leaves me (and so many others) angry and frustrated, for, if he REALLY wanted to, he could staunch the flow of illegal alliens (almost) overnite. IMHO.
Sadly, they'll find revelation, but it'll be when it becomes more difficult to function in America w/o knowing Spanish.
Excellent article BTW!!
Right on, sir. The disturbing part is that when it happens, and, it will IMO, (if the "leadership" does not change direction soon) the government will blame us. They will be amazed and bewildered that "it has gone this far" and declair that this "vigilantism" has to stop
One reason that skirmishes haven't broken out yet IMO is that the American people are basically law abiding and peaceful people and long suffering. Of course, there are the images of Waco still fresh in mind pointing out that there are killers in our own government who have no qualms about killing and destroying Americans...and there are those who would set the aformentioned killers loose.
The "peaceful" suggestion that I like is to bring the Army home from Korea. They have 50+ years experience at guarding borders. Guarding our own borders would be a piece of cake for them.
Where were these articles ten years ago when those of us who saw the threat were screaming bloody murder and called red necks. The thing that bothers me is that alot of the yups who now see the light were hiring the Mexicans and Salvadorians in the first place.
Funny, I never quite heard it this way... It was always, "... and the wisdom to bury the bodies of the people who really pissed me off."
Mark
It's both, along with otherwise well-intentioned desires to stave off a Communist revolution in Mexico and to deny China a foothold in Latin America, and a not-so-well-intentioned desire on the part of some politicians to keep laundered drug cartel campaign contributions flowing into their coffers.
It all adds up to many forces are aligning to support at least the maintenance of the status quo, and optimally an open border. For all the heat he takes on FR, Bush's plan is actually a moderate "go slow" option compared to what we are likely to end up with.
I'm still stunned that the Clinton team escaped total condemnation. The Waco wackos didn't deserve death at the direction of Reno.
Right on!
The South Koreans don't want us there and its costing taxpayers $$$ to keep them doing duty they could (and should) be doing here in protecting us.
There are times when some aspects of conspiracy theory seem to fit the circumstances. The following is part of a not very flattering review of Carroll Quigley's beached whale of a book 'Tragedy and Hope'.
We are left with the suggestion that the elite should continue to guide us in the same direction that we are traveling, but avoiding some of the monumental blunders that they have made in the past.
Quigley's version of history consists mostly of unquestioning repetition of propaganda. Quigley did a superficial job of analyzing history, and he is even worse at sociology. He touts Inclusive Diversity as our great strength and greatest gift. Perhaps he should have considered the aphorism, "Divide and conquer." The West, or any other empire, can only flourish when it concentrates on matters of common concern, not divisivness
Quigley does slightly better with economics and foreign policy, which are more in his area of expertise. He correctly observes that British and American "victories" in WWI and WWII resulted in the almost total destruction of international law. Quigley is in favor of the idea of continental blocs replacing national states. As globalization unfolds, Quigley exposes some of the hypocrisy and bungling, yet he inexplicably remains committed to the overall plan.
So, what is the point of all of this costly meddling? Quigley predicts success...and then failure. "We shall undoubtedly get a Universal Empire in which the U.S. will rule most of Western Civilization. This will be followed by a period of decay and ultimately by invasions and the total destruction of Western culture." Couldn't we save ourselves the trouble and just mind our own business?
Minding our own business is a concept based on the idea that the electorate is in control of the government, and that we have a choice. However, Quigley admits that international financiers influence and control governments. Quigley says that the internationalists, who prefer to remain in the background, should be known for their "valuable" contributions. What these contributions amount to is that they want world government, and they intend to cram it down everyone's throats.
As we slouch toward financial, industrial, and government monopoly the author reminds us of some of the casualties. "As economic enterprises have become larger and more tightly integrated into one another, the freedom, individualism, and initiative traditionally associated with the modern economy have to be sacrificed." Quigley acknowledges that in our future, "In general, there will be a very considerable modification of the areas and objectives of freedom in all societies of the world, with gradual reduction of numerous personal freedoms of the past."
To add to this loss of freedom, Quigley bemoans our loss of a spiritual mooring and suggests a return to the values of Christianity! His version of Christianity, of course. Still full of contradictions, Quigley cleaves to relativism rather than absolutes, approximations rather than final answers-not realizing that the adoption of these mindsets are what weakened the appeal of Christianity.
Finally, as we follow our present course, Quigley predicts an age of conflict characterized by class struggle, war, irrationality, and declining progress. Obviously, we're there now.
Rather than attack his sponsors, who are bringing us this New World Order, Quigley vents his frustration on the middle class. Quigley touts the moral superiority of both the rich and poor, but he asserts that the middle class consists of poorly-informed, neurotic, bourgeois, radical-right Republicans. Worst of all, they have Puritanical attitudes toward sex.
The many internal contradictions in this book indicate a confused mind or a shallow thinker. The author's history is mostly stale propaganda, spiced up with occasional pro-government cheerleading or tales of government boondoggles.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/094500110X/qid=1149775988/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-8476032-5818554?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
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