Loads of Letters
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=650 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=t1letterblock vAlign=top align=left>RECOMMENDED WRITING STYLE: We recognize that each of you has the ability to make your own decisions about how to write your letters. NumbersUSA's opinion is that letters are more likely to be published and more likely to help our cause of dramatic immigration reductions if they are written in a temperate, self-controlled way that avoids name-calling and arguments based on race, religion or national origin. A strong use of a few facts, voting records, concise analysis and sometimes humor seems the best way to advance our arguments. We encourage specific criticism of open-border politicians and others, but caution against "in your face" rhetoric. Firm but civil argument tends to get the best results. You, of course, are free to disagree. We applaud all published letters that advocate for our immigration-reduction goals, but we may not disseminate those that move outside the tone that we encourage, a tone that many newspapers include in their own letters to the editor guidelines.
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Index:
Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald – 7/8
(1) D.A. King
The Southtown Star (Ill.) - 7/9
(2) Dave Gorak
The Post-Standard (N.Y.) – 7/9
(3) Clark Burdick
Los Angeles Times – 7/10
(4) Michael Scott
North County (Calif.) Times – 7/12
(5) Neil Turner
Albert Lea (Minn.) Tribune – 7/14
(6) Bill Bergen
Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph – 7/16
(7) Annette Cameron
New York Times – 7/17
(8) Tom Andres
Magic City (Me.) Morning Star – 7/18
(9) Jan Herron
(1)
Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald – 7/8
Local governments slow to comply with immigration law
Forum
By D.A. King
In December 2005, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Zogby poll showed about 80 percent of Georgians were fed up with the illegal immigration and illegal employment crisis here and wanted the state government to address the issue.
So the General Assembly did exactly that, and it was a heck of a fight.
In April 2006, state Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, was successful in having his very comprehensive reform bill, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act (Senate Bill 529), signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
At the time, no one - including Sen. Rogers and those who worked very hard to pass the bill - dreamed that the elected officials of virtually all of the state's local governments would fail to observe the "compliance" part of the title. But, at the one-year anniversary of the bill going into effect, that is exactly what has happened.
The bill requires that all local governments obtain a "memorandum of understanding" with the federal government to use a database called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system to screen applicants who have sworn they are in the U.S. lawfully and are eligible for "public benefits."
It isn't happening.
Of the 535 municipalities and 159 counties in the state, a June 23 list provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security shows that a grand total of nine entities - none in Northeast Georgia - are either enrolled in SAVE or have even applied for the system designed to verify that public benefits go to those who are eligible.
While the term "public benefits" brings to mind welfare and social benefits, according to the law, they also include all "professional licenses, or commercial licenses provided by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government."
Put a different way, besides not having obeyed the state law designed to require Georgia governments to comply with federal law, each time a Georgia city or county issues or renews a business or commercial license to an alien without obtaining a sworn affidavit of lawful presence in the U.S. from the applicant and then verifying that status using the SAVE program, that local government is in violation of the law.
When it comes to anything concerning illegal immigration and employment, there seems be a lot of that going around.
In a war on terror and with brave Border Patrol agents risking their lives to apprehend illegal border crossers from all over the world, the concept that we would reward those who elude our first line of defense with a license to do business here should be a matter of very focused attention by voters in the coming elections.
The thought that we must obey the law here will likely strike many as "extreme" - there is a lot of that going around as well.
Senate Bill 529 also requires all public employers - the state itself and local governments are employers - to use the no-cost federal "E-Verify" database to be sure that newly hired employees have legal immigration status and are eligible to work in our nation.
On that, the local governments are doing only a little better.
About 60 Georgia counties have not obtained authority to use E-Verify. When it comes to the Georgia municipalities, the numbers get even worse: The Atlanta Business Chronicle recently reported that "only about one-quarter of Georgia cities had signed up for the program."
One must wonder how many illegals are being paid with taxpayer funds because of the noncompliance.
Some contractors doing business with government also are required to use E-Verify and on July 1, many more came under the rule.
One can only imagine the howls were the same governments to refuse to enforce the laws that grant taxpayer-funded education and medical care to those who have no legal right to live or work in our vanishing republic - which is supposed to be based and operated on the rule of law.
Maybe we need to pass another law saying that our elected officials must obey the current law, and then hope that it is obeyed.
• D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society, which is opposed to illegal immigration and illegal employment. He lobbied in favor of the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act.
(2)
The Southtown Star (Ill.) - 7/9
Media biased about illegal immigration
Fran Eaton does a fine job in addressing the illegal alien crisis in Illinois with her column "State government's pandering to immigrants could be dangerous," June 25.
But nearly all the responsibility for this worsening problem rests with our inept federal government that has for years failed to enforce its own laws.
Now California is challenging federal law by "outlawing" workplace enforcement. Failure to enforce the law only breeds contempt for the law, just as amnesty breeds more illegal immigration.
Had Gov. Rod Blagojevich been arrested and seen on the news immediately after he signed into law the bill "prohibiting" use of any workplace verification, that would have sent a very powerful message. But the feds don't have the guts to do what they should be doing.
But there are two more elements of this crisis that cannot be overlooked.
First, the American taxpayer. Until more of us become active in the political process and demand our immigration laws be enforced to the hilt, nothing will change.
And why are many of us remaining silent on the issue? It's because we have been misinformed by a mainstream media, whose reporters and editors have failed miserably in their responsibility to their readers and viewers to present balanced coverage of the immigration dilemma.
I'm going to suggest to you that many "journalists" can't even spell "critical thinking," let alone apply it to their coverage of immigration. Virtually all immigration stories today are of the sob-sister variety that paint illegals as "victims" who are forced to live in the shadows.
As someone who spent nearly 30 years as a print journalist with the old Chicago Daily News and Crain's Chicago Business, I am ashamed of what has happened to the basic rules of fairness and balance in the news-gathering business as they pertain to immigration stories.
Finally, I disagree with the headline on Eaton's column. Pandering to illegal aliens is dangerous - period.
Dave Gorak
Executive director
Midwest Coalition to Reduce Immigration
LaValle, Wis.
(3)
The Post-Standard (N.Y.) – 7/9
Illegal immigrants cause lasting harm
To the Editor:
Allison Mountz (July 3) suggests "Citizens should protest harassment of immigrants," but it takes only a moment to realize that in her vocabulary, "immigrant" actually means "illegal alien."
"Illegal alien" is the official term in United States law for citizens of other countries who illegally enter the United States. In her support of these criminals and their perpetration of crime against all of us, she inflicts great harm, especially to those citizens who are most economically disadvantaged.
Unskilled workers (citizens) can't get decent-paying work because the illegal foreign workers undercut wages. This is great for the elite, but terrible for workers.
The illegal aliens live on the backs of the middle class. It costs the average United States taxpayer $1,800 per year just to fund the portion of social services going to illegal aliens. This doesn't count the extra costs of supporting forms and communications in languages other than English (primarily Spanish).
Other costs are incurred by increased medical costs, and bankrupt emergency rooms, resulting from illegal aliens using ERs as their outpatient clinics. Criminal gangs of illegal aliens have emerged in the United States. These are lasting social harms.
Overpopulation is the greatest threat to a sustainable U.S.A. through the rest of this century. We are the only developed country that is rapidly increasing in population; primarily through immigration, both legal and illegal.
This is having a negative impact on our environment by stressing our infrastructure due to rapid growth. Our society is being particularly strained by the presence of 23 million Hispanic illegal aliens (most accurate current estimate) in our country.
These illegal alien foreign workers are mostly high school dropouts who can't earn enough to support themselves. The average illegal alien household in the United States consumes $9,000 more dollars a year in public services than it contributes in taxes.
During this Independence Day, and leading up to the election this fall, keep in mind that this assault upon our sovereign nation, by a demographic and economic tsunami of illegal aliens, benefits only the corporate elite who want the cheap labor, and the socialists who benefit from a society of victims and dependents.
To this end, please ask your state Assembly member to support Bill 10593, which mandates that state and local law enforcement assist with federal immigration enforcement. This is the least we can do to protect the sovereign integrity of our nation.
Clark Burdick
Syracuse, N.Y.
(4)
Los Angeles Times – 7/10
A court date
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom may soon be facing a court appearance. His first offense is the surreptitious dumping of juvenile illegal immigrant cocaine dealers into local group homes in San Bernardino County; - for subsequent disappearance into the shadows.
I wonder if Newsom was also unaware of the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that "any person who encourages or induces an alien to reside in the United States knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such residence is in violation of law, shall be punished.
It’s my fondest hope to see Newsom appear in court.
Michael Scott
Glendora, Calif.
(5)
North County (Calif.) Times – 7/12
Imagine the shock and sadness on the faces of Obama, McCain and even Bob Barr, to wake up on the Fourth of July and bring up on their screens the NumbersUSA.com Assessment of the Presidential Candidates on Immigration Issues (NumbersUSA has over 650,000 members) and find that, on a topic that the vast majority of Americans favor no amnesty their assessments were abysmal or bad, while their opposing candidate, Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party, scored excellent.
Finally there is someone in this race who can give a majority of Americans a voice. To make matters worse for these North American Union/open borders-favoring presidential hopefuls, candidate Baldwin scored excellent on all 16 different points concerning immigration from no chain migration, to no birthright citizenship for those born of illegal aliens, to no sanctuary cities, to no driver's licenses for illegal aliens , while Obama and McCain were scoring from abysmal to poor to bad on almost all 16 points (with an occasional good thrown in obvious campaign-trail promises never meant to be honored). Read it and weep if you must. ...
Neil Turner
Carlsbad, Calif.
(6)
Albert Lea (Minn.) Tribune – 7/14
The U.S. is becoming nation of lawbreakers
The fact that someone threw a rock at the sign in the parade that was sponsored by the Minnesota Coalition for Immigration Reform and injured a woman was a tragedy but not the fault of MCIF, which was exercising its First Amendment rights. This is an example of juvenile delinquents who have no respect for the law and must be prosecuted for assault and battery. If the parade committee decides not to allow the sign next year, then the Constitution loses and the criminals win. The U.S. used to be a nation of laws, now it is a nation of lawbreakers.
Bill Bergen
Burnsville, Minn.
(7)
Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph – 7/16
Immigration taking toll on U.S. environment
There is an inconvenient truth that Congress is refusing to talk about; that is the impact of U.S. immigration policies on the degradation of our environment. Immigration is the largest factor contributing to the overpopulation of the United States.
Currently, the U.S. population is about 304 million. It is estimated that by 2050 the United States population will reach over a half billion. Our current immigration policies will be responsible for nearly 70 percent of the growth rate.
Our immigration rate is at the highest point in our nation's history. The United States' current immigration rate has soared to more than 2 million per year. This includes the 1.1 million legal immigrants and estimated 1 million illegal immigrants each year.
To put things in perspective, Congress has allowed today's immigration rate to be five times what it was during the Industrial Revolution. From 1870-1900, the United States had only 400,000 immigrants arriving per year.
Massive immigration rates have been a concern of environmentalists since the first Earth Day. The late Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wis., the founder of Earth Day, saw the relationship between high immigration and environmental degradation. Senator Nelson advocated major reductions in both legal and illegal immigration.
As sad as it is, there are 4 billion impoverished people who live on the earth that could benefit by moving to the U.S.
Unfortunately, bringing in millions of people has unintended consequences that are destructive, and it does nothing to empower nations to improve the welfare of their own citizens.
The 110th Congress has ignored the inconvenient truth about our high level of immigration into the United States. Unless Congress acts to change our country's immigration policies, the environment and quality of life for future generations will suffer.
U.S. Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes need to take responsibility for their actions and stop putting special-interest groups in front of the American people.
Annette Cameron
Nashua, N.H.
(8)
New York Times – 7/17
What a Real Immigration Victory Would Look Like
To the Editor:
Re “False Victory at the Border” (editorial, July 5):
You say, “The real victory will come when a repaired, well-patrolled border coincides with a repaired, well-run immigration system that requires undocumented workers to come forward and be legalized.”
No, the real victory will come when people stay in their home nations and apply for United States citizenship legally, respect then running both ways.
Tom Andres
Sonora, Calif.
(9)
Magic City (Me.) Morning Star – 7/18
EGOMEDIACS - 2008 Election
By Jan Herron
National politics is weird this year, with many trillion-dollar issues. But nobody wants to talk about the giraffe in the living room.
With the exception of a few - many in the political arena just can't bring themselves to address the illegal immigration issue. What's wrong with these politicians putting aside their pink-painted egos so their constituents can decide the topics they address? The American public seeks to become informed on the primary issue facing their nation, and they're asking to be heard.
I urge those running for office to get with the program. While the economy and energy are certainly exciting - it seems they hope to ignore the revitalized importance of illegal immigration as the #3 issue. We're losing our country to an invasion of foreign nationals, lead by La Raza, advocating the armed overthrow of our southwest states; it's time for those in Washington to do their part to save it.
For those politicians asleep at the wheel who have no idea that illegal immigration has become a listener-demanded topic, here's how to bring yourselves up to snuff: use your computer, do a Google search by entering "illegal immigration." You'll find literally thousands of news articles and commentary for educating yourselves.
Candidates and elected officials play a pathetically obvious game of hide-and-seek with "politically-incorrect" issues - fearing the label of "racist." Their refusal to even address the real issues will increase their current reputation of failing to be politically forthright. Folks, we're talking about the #3 issue facing this country. Those lawmakers in Washington must listen to and follow their customers. or they'll lose them.
Surprise, surprise; those worldly politicians will soon find that speaking out truthfully can be quite liberating.
The electorate is very sensitive as of late. Lack of respect for the hard work of these patriots gives "We-the-People" cause to conclude that the "writers" and "talkers" are as clueless as the political elite. At the end of the day, these so-called "traditional neocon and progressive reporters" only damage themselves with their attacks on concerned citizens.
Business as usual is offending the not-so-silent majority. Citizens who take the "politically correct" position on issues often have no other basis than hatred or envy of the Right. or a compulsion to shield those "power-drunk" elite with their pre-spun babble.
Most citizens know that biased newspapers and broadcast media control what passes for "government accountability," and have been betrayed by the news media too often in the past to trust them now. Collusion has raised its ugly head. As we learn of more "contracts" between "writers," "talkers" and "policiticians," what little credibility they have left continues to disappear.
Get a reality check, "writers" and "talkers," or you'll be displaced by new writers faster than an American, union-member construction worker loses his job to an illegal alien.
We must insist that "writers" and "talkers" continue to speak total truth. with public disclosure of the terminal corruption of so many government officials. It's time to expand the circle of truth, and continue to show everyone the terminal corruption of so many of our government officials - as well as many of their "writer" and "talker" buddies.
"Writers" and "talkers" beware; you may continue your efforts to beat down American citizens, but we will outlast you. because we have the truth on our side and we have the citizenry on our side. We've learned to use the technology of the Internet to learn what the "writers" and "talkers" won't discuss.
And all the while, the "writers" and "talkers" remain clueless; indeed, they never had it in the beginning. They are trained to be sluggish. Sluggish minds don't think outside the box; they think about making the box more comfortable. This principle is not difficult to grasp.
Political slugs never die; they only crawl out from beneath a new rock. Sometimes it's the same slugs from the same family, sometimes it's a "shirttail relative." But they're all "worms" nonetheless. Listeners have an effective means of dealing with "writers" and "talkers" who slant their coverage or conceal the facts: change the station.
Citizens recognize and resent their patronizing manner to their listeners. They hold them responsible for the political climate that promotes corruption, deceit, and injustice directed against honest citizens. We watch "writers" and "talkers" turn a blind eye while we're losing our country.
Wake up America! Sleeping Beauty wins the prince, but doesn't save the country. Open your eyes to the real and ever-present dangers that are lurking at our doorsteps. The knock at your door won't be the Avon Lady. Some "writers" and "talkers" are running short of time to diligently report what really happens when government undermines the WILL of Citizens. BEWARE as the critical mass continues to grow this election cycle more than ever.
© Copyright 2002-2008 by Magic City Morning Star
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