This last week or so has once again reintroduced us to the concept of illegal aliens. If you prefer to call the undocumented workers be my guest , but no matter how you express it that facts remain that they are here illegally.
Now before you tune me out or decide which way I am leaning before reading this whole thing, let me give you some background.
I am the son of what would be by definition an illegal alien. He came here when Cuba was taken over by Castro and his choices were boiled down to two, leave or be killed.
In those days any Cuban who came ,legally or not, were allowed to stay in this country because sending them back was a death sentence. Soon he met my mother and I was born.
Here is the catch though. My father never became a legal citizen of this country until about 15 years ago. He thought that because he had a ssn and drivers license and because no one came after him that he was OK just as things were. Well he was wrong.
Immigration came after him in the 90's because President Clinton had decided that Cubans were not going to get a free pass anymore. My father had spent time in prison, so they decided that he would either have to prove that he had been in this country for all the years that he he claimed or he was going to get deported back to Cuba, which still would have been a death sentence for him. My brother and I had to show birth certificates and our mother had to show both her marriage and divorce papers to prove that he had been here but even after all that proof was in he still had to wait in house arrest for a couple of years before his case was settled and he was allowed to stay. I was in no danger nor was my brother because we were born here, but can you imagine what that would have done to my father had they sent him back to Cuba.
So fast forward to today or at least in the last few years. Since 9/11 I have had to prove that I was born here more often then I can shake a stick at. I don't look Hispanic or at least not completely and ,as anyone who knows me can attest, I really don't know that much about the culture either, but none the less this is who I am.
For my friends in the North East and particularly Vermont I have had to prove my status as an American citizen more often there, than I ever have down here in the South West where they are dealing with the illegal issues. Maybe somethings have changed and their are thousands of Canadians crossing the border....
People here have taken one look at me and decided that I didn't look illegal, so they would just look at my drivers license and call it good. Even getting my Iraq Vet plates I didn't have to prove anything. In New England I had to make several trips back and forth to get my birth certificate and my discharge papers and my SSN card. This is what my reality was like in New England. I sort of expected it here but it hasn't happened so who is it that is really harder on Illegals? Just saying...
So what does this have to do with Arizona or illegals? I am tired of everyone bellyaching about people who are here illegally having to prove that they belong here. My father had to do it, and I have had to do it more times then I can count and yet there are many who feel that these people are above our laws and don't need to obey them? Why is that? Is there more going on then meets the eye?
After 9/11 we heard a lot about securing the borders and everyone was united that we had to do "Something" about the borders and yet nothing has been done about it.And when a State finally decides to do something about it people have a cow. Whats wrong with this picture? Maybe there was something bogus about 9/11? Again just sayin...
First of all I understand why people would want to come here any way they can, there are jobs that Americans won't do that are available and living here in even the worst of conditions tends to be a lot better then in the countries that they have came from. I have been to some of them , so I know. So my issue is not with those that want to be here and work.My issue is with those who in one breath will say we need to do "Something" about the border but then sit back on there hands and do nothing.
Could it be that the real issue isn't border security, but the votes that the politicians can gain by prolonging this argument? Republicans can count on the big agri - farms for support as long as there is an ample supply of cheap labor and the democrats, if they can get them all amnesty, will have that many more votes to keep them in power. This has nothing to do with the the illegals who are being exploited by both parties, it is about who is going to control the government for the foreseeable future. DC does not care about the people in Arizona or Texas or where ever. They don't care about the illegals either, they only "care" when it will get them an extra vote or two.
So what would I suggest then? Simple; Take those that are here working and help them become legal, these are the kinds of people that we want in this country. Take all the criminals and send them back to where they came from and then secure our borders properly. If we can keep track of cows, we can certainly figure out who's who.
Then we need to re do an Ellis Island kind of thing in the south and perhaps make it easier for those who want to come here, those that have jobs or family here to come legally. If they refuse to work deport them. If they commit crimes deport them. But if they are here and they are working and paying taxes and being good members of society then let them stay, these are the kinds of people that America needs. All of us,with the exception of the Native Americans, are descendants of both legal and illegal aliens. If you ask the a fore mentioned American natives, all of us would be illegal, so consider wisely.
Maybe my views are too simple, but that why I call this Simple minded sense.
Semper Fi
Ignacio
Friday, April 30, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Free Speech Sedition?
Today's blog is about something that I don't hear a whole lot of concern over.With the economy being in the mess that it's in and your average American just trying to make ends meet not much else is being talked about. But as I have been watching the news over the last week or so, particularly since tax day, I have noticed a trend in the MSM to subtly but clearly attack the tenets of free speech.
It has been an amazing thing to watch and truly admirable in it's subtlety. If you ever wanted to learn how to do things in such a way as to not get caught you should watch the journalists of today.
Over the past week I have listened as various news organizations have spoken about everything from the Tea Party, to various commentators around the country ,and the theme has been the same. Anger to sedition. One individual even went so far as to accuse Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin of actually committing sedition by speaking against the Obama administration and or calling it a "Regime". They have compared the various groups who protested against the current health care mess in D.C.to KKK and Nazi skin heads, incredible.
It is truly amazing to me that we have come to a point in America that if you disagree with the current people in office, that you can be labeled a racist and come close to being accused of sedition. Where was all this when everyone,including me, was protesting against the things that "W" was doing? O there were some people who tried to say that we were not being patriotic, but we were never accused of sedition.
When Cindy Shehan was spending her weekends in Texas protesting everything that Bush did, do you know what his response was? "She has the right to do so " that's it. In fact if there was one thing that drove most republicans crazy is that he never spoke up to defend himself let alone accuse people of sedition. What a difference a few years make.
I personally do not care for anything that the Obama administration has done, but does that make me seditious or am I just expressing my right to free speech and the freedom of the press?
I realize that my blog will never have the impact of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh,so I am no real threat but does that really matter? They are simply using their God given right of free speech that is guaranteed in the constitution.
Someone once said to me, that words have consequences and as such we should be careful, and I do agree with that sentiment, but that still doesn't mean that you should be censored because you happen to disagree with whats politically correct at the moment.I don't like skinheads or Neo Nazi's but our rights to free speech guarantee them the right to speak and it gives me the right to speak against them.Politics are no different, if I disagree with what is going on I am constitutionally guaranteed the right to speak my mind. I have spoken out against things in every administration since Ronald Reagan , does that mean I hate my country? Is that somehow suggesting that I want to overthrow the government? No! It simply means that I am exercising my right and DUTY as an American citizen to disagree with whatever policy or law that is being debated. No sedition, just free speech.
I should also point out something rather obvious (to me anyhow) to the MSM, right now you are politically correct, what is going to happen to you when the tables are turned and you are suddenly out of favor? When that time comes, and it will if things are not changed, you will suddenly discover that you are no longer wanted or needed and then where will you be? I'll tell you where: you will be sitting in a prison cell with the very same people that YOU accused of sedition.
So there it is. If I am a seditionist then I guess you can send the black helicopters to come and get me, because as long as there is breath in my body and as long as I disagree with a policy or an administration I am going to exercise my right to free speech and I urge you to do the same.
Semper Fi,
Ignacio
It has been an amazing thing to watch and truly admirable in it's subtlety. If you ever wanted to learn how to do things in such a way as to not get caught you should watch the journalists of today.
Over the past week I have listened as various news organizations have spoken about everything from the Tea Party, to various commentators around the country ,and the theme has been the same. Anger to sedition. One individual even went so far as to accuse Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin of actually committing sedition by speaking against the Obama administration and or calling it a "Regime". They have compared the various groups who protested against the current health care mess in D.C.to KKK and Nazi skin heads, incredible.
It is truly amazing to me that we have come to a point in America that if you disagree with the current people in office, that you can be labeled a racist and come close to being accused of sedition. Where was all this when everyone,including me, was protesting against the things that "W" was doing? O there were some people who tried to say that we were not being patriotic, but we were never accused of sedition.
When Cindy Shehan was spending her weekends in Texas protesting everything that Bush did, do you know what his response was? "She has the right to do so " that's it. In fact if there was one thing that drove most republicans crazy is that he never spoke up to defend himself let alone accuse people of sedition. What a difference a few years make.
I personally do not care for anything that the Obama administration has done, but does that make me seditious or am I just expressing my right to free speech and the freedom of the press?
I realize that my blog will never have the impact of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh,so I am no real threat but does that really matter? They are simply using their God given right of free speech that is guaranteed in the constitution.
Someone once said to me, that words have consequences and as such we should be careful, and I do agree with that sentiment, but that still doesn't mean that you should be censored because you happen to disagree with whats politically correct at the moment.I don't like skinheads or Neo Nazi's but our rights to free speech guarantee them the right to speak and it gives me the right to speak against them.Politics are no different, if I disagree with what is going on I am constitutionally guaranteed the right to speak my mind. I have spoken out against things in every administration since Ronald Reagan , does that mean I hate my country? Is that somehow suggesting that I want to overthrow the government? No! It simply means that I am exercising my right and DUTY as an American citizen to disagree with whatever policy or law that is being debated. No sedition, just free speech.
I should also point out something rather obvious (to me anyhow) to the MSM, right now you are politically correct, what is going to happen to you when the tables are turned and you are suddenly out of favor? When that time comes, and it will if things are not changed, you will suddenly discover that you are no longer wanted or needed and then where will you be? I'll tell you where: you will be sitting in a prison cell with the very same people that YOU accused of sedition.
So there it is. If I am a seditionist then I guess you can send the black helicopters to come and get me, because as long as there is breath in my body and as long as I disagree with a policy or an administration I am going to exercise my right to free speech and I urge you to do the same.
Semper Fi,
Ignacio
Monday, April 19, 2010
Tea Party
For the past several years I have been writing mostly about things of a religious nature and have tried to stay away from politics as much as possible. But then I started thinking about how much time I spend on the Internet looking at the news both from the mainstream media and alternate web sites and I thought that I might just put my two cents worth into the ring. I should warn you though that I am not politically correct in most of what I say. I will simply write as I see it and as long as your polite about a differing opinion I will respond in kind.
So today I am going to start this blog talking about the "Tea Party"
I have noticed a trend in the MSM(main stream media) to go out of their way to demonize the Tea Party and their associates to the point of absurdity. They have gone out of their way as well to try and make them loosely associated with various militias, filled with homo phobic, racist and white supremacists who's only issue is that their is a black man in the white house.
The reality is that these are patriotic, God loving Americans who disagree with the government taking over everything. They want less government and a government that actually uses the constitution for something more then wiping the backsides with.To suggest that it's just about taxes or who is in the White House is to purposely be ignorant of the people in the Tea Party movement. These are people from all walks of life, race ,creed or color. These are moms and dad's,grandparents, veterans and antiwar people. They are Christians , Jews and Muslims. They are people who have no belief in G-D at all. It is literally a very mixed bag of people who make up the very base of our country. The things that bring them together is really simple to understand. Less/smaller government and a return to the constitution.
The current round of imbeciles that are in the MSM are truly clueless as to who the people are that make up these various movements. So rather then take the time to do so (get to know them) and thus return some credibility back to journalism, they would rather just lie about us.
Why do they lie? Because they are afraid of all of us. A movement has started that they can't ignore nor can they influence and it frightens them.The truly sad part is that the journalists themselves either aren't aware or they don't care that they are being used and manipulated by the government and they won't have any real freedom again until the constitution is once again put into practice.
I am ,by political belief, a Libertarian. If you don't know what that is you can look it up on line and that will explain it pretty well. I want a smaller government and one that actually uses the constitution. I want to be left alone to live my life as I see fit and worship my G-D as I wish and I am all about you having that same right.
So lets start with the big one. "Angry over having a black man in the White House" in other words a racist. Nope that one won't work. A lot of the Tea Party people, at least the ones that I know,weren't big fans of George Bush and were usually found at just about any rally telling him to quit all his stupid stuff, like destroying our freedoms via the Patriot act and spying on Americans, never mind all the war protest. Just like the current administration Bush went ahead and did what he wanted to and to hell with the rest of us.So what's the difference between the two? Obama is doing the same thing. So while it was OK to slam on Bush and protest, it's not OK to protest Obama? You can scream about Bush and paint a Hitler moustache on him and thats all right, but if you do it to Obama, it's racist? I guess I have to hate everyone then. I am a half breed white man and Hispanic so obviously that makes me a racist, it couldn't possibly be that I disagree with current politics? Surely it must be that white blood in me...funny, Obama is half white too....so then that would make both of us racists, if I can be accused of it as a half breed, who doesn't like what he is doing, then surely the same can be said of him. Maybe it would be easier to explain this way; I don't like his politics and he doesn't like mine.How about we just toss the whole race thing out the window into the trash where it belongs.
What about being Homophobic? Again most of the people I know, believe in the philosophy, live and let live and really being Gay or not has nothing to do with the current mess in D.C. From a personal perspective my brother is married to a man in a state where it is legal to do so and they have a wonderful daughter as well.They are very loving to each other, and to their daughter, and I couldn't be more proud of him being my brother. Have I mentioned my cousin and her partner, or some of my friends?
So the Homophobic one doesn't work for me or my friends either.
I do fit into the "cling to my guns, my G-D, and my Bible" crowd but I am of the mind that if your not, that's OK and I am not going to put on Cammies and come sniping at you because you don't. But of course according to the current Government, I am a walking potential terrorist because I have fought in a war, that my government sent me out to fight in the first place. And even crazier is that Obama was going to end our war and bring everyone home, he wasn't going to be like his predecessor with endless war! We are still there. So if I speak out against that does that somehow make me a hater as well?
The list of things could go on, but I hope you get the point. Speaking up against the things that you disagree with in the government is your right and your duty and it is something that many Americans from days gone by fought to give you the right to do.
It's not about race, nor is it party affiliation, it's about returning this government back to what the founders intended it to be.
Semper FI,
Ignacio
So today I am going to start this blog talking about the "Tea Party"
I have noticed a trend in the MSM(main stream media) to go out of their way to demonize the Tea Party and their associates to the point of absurdity. They have gone out of their way as well to try and make them loosely associated with various militias, filled with homo phobic, racist and white supremacists who's only issue is that their is a black man in the white house.
The reality is that these are patriotic, God loving Americans who disagree with the government taking over everything. They want less government and a government that actually uses the constitution for something more then wiping the backsides with.To suggest that it's just about taxes or who is in the White House is to purposely be ignorant of the people in the Tea Party movement. These are people from all walks of life, race ,creed or color. These are moms and dad's,grandparents, veterans and antiwar people. They are Christians , Jews and Muslims. They are people who have no belief in G-D at all. It is literally a very mixed bag of people who make up the very base of our country. The things that bring them together is really simple to understand. Less/smaller government and a return to the constitution.
The current round of imbeciles that are in the MSM are truly clueless as to who the people are that make up these various movements. So rather then take the time to do so (get to know them) and thus return some credibility back to journalism, they would rather just lie about us.
Why do they lie? Because they are afraid of all of us. A movement has started that they can't ignore nor can they influence and it frightens them.The truly sad part is that the journalists themselves either aren't aware or they don't care that they are being used and manipulated by the government and they won't have any real freedom again until the constitution is once again put into practice.
I am ,by political belief, a Libertarian. If you don't know what that is you can look it up on line and that will explain it pretty well. I want a smaller government and one that actually uses the constitution. I want to be left alone to live my life as I see fit and worship my G-D as I wish and I am all about you having that same right.
So lets start with the big one. "Angry over having a black man in the White House" in other words a racist. Nope that one won't work. A lot of the Tea Party people, at least the ones that I know,weren't big fans of George Bush and were usually found at just about any rally telling him to quit all his stupid stuff, like destroying our freedoms via the Patriot act and spying on Americans, never mind all the war protest. Just like the current administration Bush went ahead and did what he wanted to and to hell with the rest of us.So what's the difference between the two? Obama is doing the same thing. So while it was OK to slam on Bush and protest, it's not OK to protest Obama? You can scream about Bush and paint a Hitler moustache on him and thats all right, but if you do it to Obama, it's racist? I guess I have to hate everyone then. I am a half breed white man and Hispanic so obviously that makes me a racist, it couldn't possibly be that I disagree with current politics? Surely it must be that white blood in me...funny, Obama is half white too....so then that would make both of us racists, if I can be accused of it as a half breed, who doesn't like what he is doing, then surely the same can be said of him. Maybe it would be easier to explain this way; I don't like his politics and he doesn't like mine.How about we just toss the whole race thing out the window into the trash where it belongs.
What about being Homophobic? Again most of the people I know, believe in the philosophy, live and let live and really being Gay or not has nothing to do with the current mess in D.C. From a personal perspective my brother is married to a man in a state where it is legal to do so and they have a wonderful daughter as well.They are very loving to each other, and to their daughter, and I couldn't be more proud of him being my brother. Have I mentioned my cousin and her partner, or some of my friends?
So the Homophobic one doesn't work for me or my friends either.
I do fit into the "cling to my guns, my G-D, and my Bible" crowd but I am of the mind that if your not, that's OK and I am not going to put on Cammies and come sniping at you because you don't. But of course according to the current Government, I am a walking potential terrorist because I have fought in a war, that my government sent me out to fight in the first place. And even crazier is that Obama was going to end our war and bring everyone home, he wasn't going to be like his predecessor with endless war! We are still there. So if I speak out against that does that somehow make me a hater as well?
The list of things could go on, but I hope you get the point. Speaking up against the things that you disagree with in the government is your right and your duty and it is something that many Americans from days gone by fought to give you the right to do.
It's not about race, nor is it party affiliation, it's about returning this government back to what the founders intended it to be.
Semper FI,
Ignacio
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