The Good 
The Bad
And the Ugly
Posted on 01/02/2005 9:45:35 PM PST by nanak
Dear Readers of Maine, I thought long and hard about this New Year. I thought carefully about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I thought about my beginnings, my experiences, and my life as it is now.
I write about immigration because of its impacts on my life, its impacts on my children’s future in America, and immigration impacts on all of America today.
Many of you never thought about immigration, and many of you still do not today. Numerous friends of mine still do not but more and more do. So I will begin my story with this.
Prior to 9-11, long prior to, I was a native Californian. I never planned on NOT remaining a native Californian. That is my roots, my home and where my heart still lies.
Many of you call Maine your home, with your family roots and where your heart lays. But the state of Maine, as you recognize her today, may not be the same Maine ten years from now. I have good reason to declare this to you all. I never dreamed that I would write the same words about Colorado, but I write them today.
I moved out of California, fleeing what was once a wonderful birthplace for myself and my two children. We all settled here in rural Colorado where I found, much to my astonishment, low car and home insurance rates. Wow, we had hit the jackpot. I found emergency rooms devoid of people. I found wonderful schools, with teachers that spent their time educating students who wanted to be in school, and I found families who took real pride in being called "American".
In 11 years of residing in Colorado, that has changed. Our car insurance rates have been driven up, slowly and insidiously, by the lack of insured and licensed drivers. Our homeowner’s insurance costs are driven up by population growth coupled with ensuing crime. Our emergency rooms are filled with families needing, seeking, free treatment for the common cold. And our public school education is being driven down yearly by a need to educate and communicate with students whose allegiance lies in other countries and not with America. We have students refuse to stand for our Pledge of Allegiance in our public schools. Not that I would force my children to say a pledge to another country while visiting their schools, but out of respect, I would require them to stand. These students in Colorado refuse to stand in our tax-paid public schools because they state, "We are not Americans." And they add; "We can come and go across the border because we have every right to do so." They do not have 'every right' but they are being given these rights, legal or not, in our country.
Many of my friends happen to be immigrants here. I applaud them and I respect them and perhaps more importantly, they are my friends. Many of my friends are citizens here by birth. Again, they are my friends. And my friends are impacted by allowed illegal immigration even when they are unaware of it. So are you.
One of my close friends moved her family to Florida last year. She is moving back to Colorado, not because she does not like Florida, she loves Florida. She is moving back due to unchecked immigration issues in Florida, even though she does not realize it. One of her children gets nosebleeds from allergies. A bloody nose is not a huge problem, unless you are a resident of Florida. You see, due to the "Large numbers", and I will quote her here, “of immigrants who carry illnesses that are blood-born", any child who bleeds during school is sent home. Immediately. For the remainder of the day. So my friend's child is missing so much school she has no choice but to relocate once again. Is she an anti-immigration activist friend? No. We talk about education, we talk about our families, we talk about our lives and we do not discuss immigration. Perhaps we should. Perhaps all of us should, so I will be the first to address it with you. As I said early on, this government action or non-action regarding our porous United States borders will impact Maine at some point in your future. It will impact you by population growth driven by fleeing residents of other states, or it will impact you by larger and larger numbers of drug availability in your schools. Perhaps it will impact you in several ways, but rest assured, it will impact Maine down the road.
I am sure most of you do not recognize this as a problem in Maine. I know Colorado residents looked at me as if I had stepped off of another planet when I first addressed immigration issues here. We had less than 100 English as a Second Language Learners in our schools in 1995. We have 2,300 now, and per our school district superintendent, the number is growing daily. Not weekly, not monthly, not yearly, but daily. My children are ‘not afforded’ much here. Each year, during the No Child Left Behind district accountability meetings I listen to my various school principal’s talk about the programs they are dropping, to put to use the .5 or 1.0 (one half day or full day) teachers in the Language Acquisition programs instead of standard classroom curriculum. Each year, we lose a little more that my children will need to become active, productive, members of our society education-wise. Each year the reported incidents of drug abuse rise a bit more in our schools, just as they do in yours.
I know drug use is climbing in Maine; I have followed the national trends and data supplied from our government. I know that almost all of your children’s marijuana supply is imported through Mexico and delivered to Maine through New York Dominican gangs and also drugs are 'imported' across the Canadian border. Almost all of Colorado’s illegal drug choices are delivered through our porous southern and northern borders on the West Coast.
So when do you say "enough" to your congressmen and your senators? These are the people who you employ, these congressmen and senators, who swear to serve you, the American citizens, while taking their oath of office while they hold their hand on a Bible.
Ladies and gentlemen of Maine, this issue really is here right now for you. You have the Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project putting pressure on your governor.
Understand that these Maine organizations are powerful coalitions. One man, who you will 'meet' shortly, is John Connors, your local LULAC Maine regional director. I was introduced to this local Maine resident when he emailed me following my column, “Are Congratulatory Notes in Order?” He contacted me along with many other wonderful people living in Maine.
Have a quick read, in part, for what resides with you in Maine. (Hint! Mr. Connors!) Then ask yourselves again, is this really what we envision for America’s future? For yours? For your family’s?
Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 15:44:06 EST Subject: We the people
Mr. Connors email: "We are also the people."
"There are many more people like me in Maine and the US they your kind."
"It makes my brown skin crawl to know that you live in Maine, we are here and we are growing and we are staying get over it boy."
PAZ jc (JConn10471@aol.com)
I won't "get over it" Mr. Connors, however, neither will I forget it.
In closing dear residents of Maine, I will leave you with the following thoughts.
“The Good” is the good in us all, the willingness to aid others, to open our hearts, to open our communities, and to open our country to others. Many of my friends would be unknown to me if we did not do this.
“The Bad” is the future for our country, and for our children if our politicians continue to put blinders on, do what pleases them, and not hear what the people who elect them request in our country.
“The Ugly” is what already resides here, in the lack of lawfullness, the lack of respect for America, and the lack of concern for American residents future.
Happy New Year to you all. May we now begin the healing process of what ails America.
Because United We Stand, and divided, we fall.
If you consider Tancredo a socialist, then you must know Bush is the bigger socialist.
>"The other day I told him to never address me again, because I can't debate someone so dishonest."<
-HA!...you closed borders folks are so closed minded!
</sarcasm] ;^D
I love Sam Adams quote, btw. I understand that was for the Tories who abandoned the coutry for Canada? We should be so lucky to have that happen today. I don't think Canada would be as welcoming as we are...
Thanks for the good pings lately, FRiend.
Here's what Hayworth has to say:
Hayworth: Omission of Vital Border Security Provisions In Intel Reform 'Scandalous, Unacceptable'
WASHINGTON- U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth of Arizona will vote against the intelligence reform bill intended to implement recommendations of the 9-11 Commission when the measure comes before the House for final approval later today.
In announcing his intention to oppose the bill, Rep. Hayworth issued the following statement:
"I asked supporters of this bill to explain why, in view of haunting evidence that America's porous border security system enabled 19 murderous Islamofascists to move around the country and get in position to kill nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11, were provisions stripped out of the final version of the intelligence reform bill that were specifically written to prevent that from happening again?
"The only response was that those concerns could be addressed next year.
"The potentially deadly absence of vital border security provisions in the intel reform legislation is scandalous and unacceptable and it is why I could not in good conscience support the bill."
http://hayworth.house.gov/
FITZ, I appreciate your posts. Can you tell me more about ALMO? Perhaps some way we can support a "good" candidate. I have a feeling I'm going to learn more about the Mexican government than I care to know.
I really like JD Hayworth.
Laura Ingraham has him on her show quite often.
Yes, I like JD alot. He wrote an op ed in AZ republic a few days ago, but I couldn't find it on his site or theirs and I don't think FR allows AZ republic posted anyway.
The Good The Bad
And the Ugly
Here's what one of our republican, conservative president has to say:
The following Teddy Roosevelt quotes can be found in Edmund Morris, The Rise Of Theodore Roosevelt Modern Library 2001)
"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism...The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin...would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities."
(Speech, New York, 1915)
http://www.presidentlincoln.com/Quote4.html
I'm not sure he's a good candidate --- I'm not sure any of those exist in Mexico. "They're" trying to paint him as some kind of Chavez/Castro kind of Communist --- but he's the current mayor of Mexico City and is the guy who brought in Guilliani to help do something about the high violent crime there. I've heard he's less pretentious in dress and lifestyle than most Mexican politicians. The PRD party represents the campesinos --- they say it's a leftist party --- but it wants job protections for the people who are being utterly destroyed in Mexico -- the farmers. They know there are farm subsidies in the USA --- and they figure if they are forced to compete with American farmers, they should have the same. PRD is anti-NAFTA --- and who can blame them after the destruction NAFTA has caused it's supporters --- tens of millions of Mexicans.
One thing too --- there are no Conservative political parties in Mexico --- not as we understand "Conservative". Nor are there "Republican" parties. All Mexico's political parties are leftist --- socialist or communist --- PAN included. They aren't like Democrats either --- you can be the most PRI party member and be opposed to abortion-on-demand, or the wacky-leftist ideals of our democrat party. You can be an ultra-socialist in Mexico and still be more like a Republican in certain moral values. You can't really compare --- because the USA and Mexico are extremely different in very many ways.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/nation/10370780.htm?1c
Some see Mexico City mayor's referendum as presidential posturing
Kind of an interesting article --- apparently the guys finds out what the Mexican people want --- let's them vote by phone. He dresses simply and drives an old Nissan --- pretty unusual for a Mexican politician.
BEWARE FROBL’s!!!
You are being sent this message because you have recently been stung by a FROBL.
That would be a Free Republic Open Border Lobbyist. Do not be concerned! Their stingers are so tiny it’s laughable. Which is what makes them so darn pesty and contrary.
They make a lot of noise, considering there are only about a dozen of them, and are really quite harmless, unless they are able to zap some unsuspecting victim who has wandered into “their territory”. Now “their territory seems to be, well, whatever they decide it is, usually any thread with people trying to present news about or discuss a solution to the illegal immigration crisis. Oh, they have radar!! And they’re fast.
They will use the excuse for this disruption as support for President Bush. President Bush would probably be ashamed of their “buzzing”. You will learn to recognize them and avoid their harassment. I didn’t say it’s easy!! No, you’ll want to swat them. That’s what they want, masochistic little buggers!
One is a lawyer, or believes he is. He will spout case by case (always irrelevant) his best Johnny Cochran babble.
Another likes to come in with a show; big color display, with EVERY post.
You’ll recognize a couple of these FROBL’s when you find, after being a patriotic, religious, conservative, self-reliant, first amendment type your entire life, that you are now a racist, xenophobic, idiot, undereducated moronic, lazy, Mexican/Bush hating Buchananite anti-semite isolationist. This one wants you to feel smaller than him. Don’t worry, it can’t be done.
One or two will defend making money off the hiring of illegals, avoiding taxes, minimum wage laws and what price his fellow citizens pay to subsidize his wealth.
Another one just bursts in briefly, fluttering her little wings to coach on one of her clan with a quick one liner to let you know she doesn’t like you, your opinion or source (no matter how conservative, reliable or factual it is). This one will remind you of her “seniority”. “Get it, Newbie??!!!!” Here’s where they show their true stripe, claiming to be compassionate to illegal border jumpers but proving how open minded they actually are when attacking a new poster.
But the worst are the two or three that will pretend to being “gentle”as if your IQ is just too low to comprehend anything about this issue.
It won’t matter if you’re living in a community that was a few years ago, “middle America” and now it is an illegal alien “camp” infested with crime, drugs, disease and despair.
It won’t matter if one of your family was killed by an illegal “ guest worker” even though illegal aliens now make up 1/3 of our incarceration rates.
It won’t matter when you tell them you are a college kid who can’t get hired because the foremen doesn’t speak English.
It won’t matter if you work for INS, Border patrol and try to make them understand the truth. They’ll call you a liar every time.
It won’t matter when you prove everything you say. So don’t even try. Tell someone who still has the ability to hear. They will appreciate it.
Tell your congressional representatives and the White House.
FROBL’s though they proclaim their superiority in every way over YOU, only have one vote, too.
GOD BLESS AMERICA.
And FreeRepublic
BTTT!!!!
>"So the problem is not the welfare state it is the Somalians. It is pathetic to see conservatives fighting for government scraps."<
I guarantee the people who dont like the Somalians taking the welfare checks, are the same who voted for Kerry this last election.
I foolishly rush headlong where angel fear to tread and ask...could you explain this?
they hate competition for government handouts
Did you say FROBLs?
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