Free Republic

Siegfried X says I am a pacifist - that’s pretty funny considering I grew up on the West Side...I enjoy a good fight.

Given that however, I believe in smart foreign policy. I love our troops so much that I want them to return to the safety of our borders as quickly as possible...I have friends there, and I understand what they are going through - and they are all displeased with our policies (they are hardcore Republicans by the way, though I think that is changing).

I don’t understand how constitutionality is an issue. Congress NEVER declared war as required in Article I, Section 8, clause 11; period. Furthermore our goals and objectives were long abandoned; where is Osama and his cohorts? He is the only reason we should be there and we squandered every opportunity to get him.

Our nation is falling apart and we are on the verge of complete economic collapse, illegal immigration is still a major problem and all anyone can talk about is more spending.

Bring the troops home now. Defend our borders from illegals AND terrorists...the one main job Congress has completely failed. Keep our Navy active and well equipped. Spend money on missile defense and screw any country that has a problem with that.

I am about America. 234 years ago our country’s citizens chose to die on their own feet rather than live on their knees...and that’s what others need to do for themselves...that’s when their Liberty will be appreciated, and earned.

China is about to win an economic war without firing a single shot. We need to get things under control here before we become a destitute nation.

Pacifist? No way...I am fighting for our lives...

Siegfried, with fairness given to the candidate, me, I think you should know where I stand on illegal immigration, just so we are clear:

Secure Borders – I am in favor of securing our borders. The ease with which immigrants can slip across our borders is an international joke and our economic system certainly cannot handle the overload. But our system cannot handle another overgrown, inefficient bureaucratic department either. We are spending hundreds of billions of dollars per year around the world via our military budget, and this creates a plethora of problems. Subsidizing other countries’ social programs by providing a military for them is not right for American taxpayers to endure, and since we have this budget established already, I would like to see our troops at home defending our own borders rather than those of other nations.

Amnesty – I am completely opposed to amnesty.

Language Barriers – The diversity of Americans is what makes us the great “melting-pot” of the world and has allowed culture to flourish amongst us. But it is important that we have a common bond when it comes to politics and the public at large, and agreeing to use the English Language as our official language is paramount to the stability of our governmental operations.

Enforce Our Laws – Our existing laws needs to be clarified; there exists too much ambiguity. More importantly we have to deal with illegal immigrants properly when they are found, and, ultimately, the officials that refuse to deal with them in the manners prescribed by law. As recently as August, 2010, the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) refused to deport any “non-violent” illegal immigrants. This policy by ICE means de facto amnesty, which is unacceptable. Those responsible for this direction, no matter what level, should be removed from office and replaced with officials whose interests lie with the American people. Finally, we have to clean-up our process for dealing with immigrants remaining here beyond their visa limits.

States’ Rights and the Constitution – When the federal government fails to enforce its laws I fully support the rights of states to legislate their own laws to fill the void. The cost of illegal immigration is immense on taxpayers, but it is significantly more costly at a state than federal level and states should be allowed to protect themselves. However, I would never support any legislation, federal or otherwise, that supersedes our due process of law, particularly the 4th Amendment in our Bill of Rights.

Economics – The cost of securing our borders and properly acquiring, detaining, deporting illegal immigrants will be very expensive if we want the process to be anywhere near effective. As stated earlier, I do support using already appropriated funds via our military to assist with the process, but we also have to be realistic. We’ve always been the land of opportunity for those who want to work and the land of freedom for those who are oppressed, and nobody wants that to change. But in order for the U.S. to ultimately be successful at controlling illegal immigration, it is imperative that we also attack the source of the problem: social services that encourage immigrants to join our ranks looking for government handouts. Americans are the most generous people in the world and have always been willing to help out when people find themselves in a tight spot by giving to charities and churches…it is our welfare system that must be fixed. By way of the government’s central banking monopoly, they have systematically provided great wealth to the Big-Banksters and have slowly eroded the American dream for the rest of us. Central banking also allows politicians to act as if they are benevolent by providing various social services at taxpayer expense. And as time goes on, what little money we have continues to decline in value while great sums of money continue to be created for the corporate conglomerates that lobby for special favors. When central banking is eliminated…and it must be in order to fix a whole slew of other problems in this country…illegal immigration will become a non-issue as people will only join our ranks with the intent of surviving on their own rather than relying on free services.