Posted on 09/26/2003 10:12:37 AM PDT by Theodore R.
One Reporter's Opinion: Our Own Paul Revere George Putnam Friday, Sept. 26, 2003 It is this reporter's opinion that certified American heroes are few and far between. One of my own present-day heroes is the man referred to as the "Guardian of the Gates," Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. Tom is the outspoken guardian of America's borders. He puts his ALL on the line in battling against the illegal alien invasion of the United States.
Recently, Tom said, "Osama bin Laden could shave off his beard, land in Canada, call himself 'Omar the Tentmaker,' come on in and – without identification – be allowed into Canada."
This former schoolteacher, state legislator and appointee in President Reagan's "Renewal of America" challenged the White House with fighting words. He said: "Perhaps the White House is finally getting the message. It's about time they realize that the people of this country justifiably feel that the U.S. border is a sieve. It poses a real threat to our security, and ignoring this fact represents the most egregious evidence that the federal government is shirking its responsibility to the people of this nation."
The congressman boldly accused Bush of pandering to Hispanic voters and Mexican President Vicente Fox by offering amnesty to certain illegal aliens. Bush adviser Karl Rove exploded with an infamous 40-minute phone call in which he actually stated to Tancredo, "Don't ever darken the doorway of the White House again!"
Tancredo also recalls that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was giving a briefing and was asked why he had not used the military to help defend and protect the borders. Ridge responded, "There are political and cultural reasons why we can't do that."
"Not acceptable!" said Tancredo, "I want an explanation of these cultural and historical reasons why we can't protect our nation's borders." No wonder Tancredo says the INS needs to be completely dismantled and rebuilt.
Tancredo was told he would pay a price for his patriotic stands on behalf of the sovereignty of America. He was warned that his battle against the illegal alien invasion would have its cost. He proved his adversaries wrong when he won 2-to-1 over the opposition in his last election.
Apparently only the people understand what is happening to America – that the illegals are moving by droves into the Southwest states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Utah and Nevada. The Mexicans call these seven states Aztlan, the territory ceded to the U.S. by Mexico as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848.
This reporter has been in this battle for the past 30-40 years. I recall that in 1955 Henry Cisneros, future Clinton appointee as housing and urban development secretary, told a Hispanic audience, "As goes the Latino population will go the state of California, and as goes the state of California will go the United States of America."
Later Mario Obledo, chairman of the California Coalition of Hispanic Organizations, said: "We're going to take back all the political institutions in California. The Hispanics are going to be the majority of the state. Anyone who doesn't like it should leave! They ought to go back to Europe."
I recall that newly elected Mexican President Vicente Fox championed the complete dissolution of all borders in the Western Hemisphere. Said Fox, "When we think of 2025, there is not going to be a border between the United States and Mexico." The Mexican president apparently knew what he was talking about.
The Census Bureau recently reported that Mexicans are now the largest minority group in the U.S., with a population of close to 40 million – accounting for half of the country's population growth in the two years after the 2000 census was taken. According to a poll by Zogby International, 58 percent of the Mexican population believes the Southwest territory of the U.S. rightfully belongs to Mexico and 57 percent of the Mexican population believes they should have the right to enter the U.S. without permission.
On March 12, 2002, the House of Representatives, with the encouragement of the Bush administration, confronted the American people with a vote of 275 to 137 to allow aliens who enter the country illegally or whose visas have expired to apply for legal-immigrant status without returning to their countries of origin to do so. Only at the insistence of the bill's major opponent did the House decide to record the vote. That man was Rep. Tom Tancredo.
One can only ask, are we making a choice between politics and patriotism or is it a trade-off – the Democrats want the votes, the Republicans want the cheap labor? Sadly, the illegal alien invasion will continue despite the efforts of heroes like Congressman Tom Tancredo, our own Paul Revere.
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The legendary George Putnam is 89 years young and a veteran of 69 years as a reporter, broadcaster and commentator ... and is still going strong. George is part of the all-star line-up of Southern California's KPLS Radio – Hot Talk AM 830. Click here for George's complete bio
A lone political voice in the wilderness, I'm sure he's paying a political price for his stand. Colorado should be proud of him.
Indeed, the very industry that gave California most of its glamour has all but vanished, leaving behind little more than office towers and historical studio buildings filled with administrative functionaries. What other industries might depart the state? Rather, we should ask what industries have to stay here.
Fortunately, agriculture, the foundation of the state's wealth, will top the list. Mining, fishing, forestry, and their secondary processes would round out those basic endeavors that are intimately tied into the physical geography. The military is well entrenched here, but bases have been known to close. Government has been a major employer, but will be affected by an ever shrinking tax base as industry moves out. Public sector cutbacks are inevitable, as are higher taxes, which will cause more businesses to leave, in a truly vicious circle. Californians Are Fleeing The Golden State At An Alarming Rate
Dr. Victor Davis Hanson teaches classics at California State University, Fresno, one of the 23 campuses in the California State University system. He says when he grew up in the nearby San Joaquin Valley, the majority of the population were Mexican immigrants who had become Americans and who made a genuine effort to become "acculturated" and to assimilate into mainstream American society.
Hanson believes that type of immigration established a healthy pattern for all concerned. "When people came from Mexico in numbers that were smaller and would allow greater chance for assimilation -- along with legalities so that they didn't live in the shadows of society -- they were less likely to be exploited by employers, they were more likely to vote, and they were more likely to learn English," he says.
But now, the professor says, thanks to uncontrolled immigration, the region's population is composed mostly of illegal aliens who live in separate communities, isolated from mainstreaming influences. California Scholar Says Most 'New Immigrants' Fail to Assimilate
In one month, in one state, a motor vehicles department gave out 41 driver's licenses to people assuming the identities of the dead.
California's head of homeland security thought there were safeguards to prevent that kind of identity theft. If all this leaves you feeling even more uneasy about the law passed this month giving undocumented immigrants the right to have drivers' licenses, it should. I see dead people . . . driving
And finding 'busy work' by invading every corner of our lives.
You are added.
Yep, but I'd like the names of those making him pay for his patriotism. Or is it quicker to list who's NOT attempting to make him pay?
If and when America goes the way of Rome, at least Tancredo will have a clear conscience. TT should borrow a line from the movie "Wall Street", which goes something like: "I don't go to bed with no whores and I don't wake up with any...I don't know how you do it."
And if Osama could make it into the United States, which wouldn't be very difficult considering our porous borders, he could go to one of several states that are giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens, and he could then use his driver's license to board a commercial airplane packed with lots of Americans and lots of fuel. The United States - land of opportunity!
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