Illegal Immigration

The Age Issue In America: The Young Versus Baby Boomers And The Elderly

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It is becoming more evident that there is an age issue in America–between those under 45 and the Baby Boomers 46-64, and even those older than the Baby Boomers.

The Baby Boomers grew up in an era where cultural issues were very different than today. As children, most never knew anyone who was an immigrant, and for the white Baby Boomers, most did not know many people who were minority, or those who spoke foreign languages as a primary language.

Many also did not know gay people or have to deal with the issue of gay marriage, since marriage was only possible between a man and a woman.

Most Baby Boomers did not have to deal with affirmative action, and often did not associate or socialize with many people of minority status on a regular basis.

Interracial marriage was unusual, and marriages between people of different ethnic backgrounds were limited mostly to Jews marrying Italians or Italians, Polish and Irish white ethnics intermarrying. The whole concept of true racial and ethnic mix was rare.

Now we live in an era of young people associating with others who are of immigrant status, different racial and ethnic mixes, and gay, both at work and socially.

Therefore, those who are young tend to be more open minded and to be against those who attack illegal immigration, civil rights, and gay rights in a discriminatory manner! They are much more tolerant, as a group, than their parents or grandparents!

The good thing about this chasm is that the future lies with the young, and therefore as more become engaged in voting and participation in their country’s government, the odds of acceptance of immigrants, minorities and gay people being treated in a way that makes the nation proud, grows dramatically!

A multicultural America with a “live and let live” attitude toward people who are different in appearance, language, and even sexual preference is around the corner, even if now it is a major cultural conflict! The future is clear, but it might take a while for this to emerge, meanwhile adding tension to social division in America!

But the party that recognizes the future has a long range opportunity to succeed, and right now, it is evident that the Democrats are that party!

Public Opinion Polls And Arizona’s Illegal Immigration Law

Ronald 3 Comments

The Arizona illegal immigration legislation has become the topic of conversation all over America, and many Americans are blaming illegal immigration as the major reason for the problems this country faces.

This is, of course, tremendous exaggeration and scapegoating, and has no basis! Most people in this country illegally are law abiding citizens who work hard, pay their taxes, and stay away from the legal authorities, and just want a better life! A small percentage are involved in crime or drugs or gangs, and of course, must be pursued and dealt with to the full extent of the law!

But to scapegoat all Hispanics and Latinos, whether legal or illegal, is unacceptable in our democracy! And that is why the fact that many public opinion polls indicate that a vast majority of Americans support the Arizona law and want it expanded, it cannot be allowed to be pursued on the basis of those biased, emotional feelings promoted by fear and hysteria! 🙁

Let’s face the facts: If we were to ask Americans if they would prefer that African Americans NOT have equality, that there be no civil rights laws, that women be treated again as second class citizens, that gays be subject to prosecution for being what they are, that Catholics and Jews be the subject of persecution as in the past, and that labor be returned to harsh working conditions, it is very possible that many, if not a majority, would support such reversion! 🙁

But we cannot allow prejudice, discrimination, racism, narrow mindedness, ignorance, hysteria, panic and emotionalism to become the basis of denying ANYONE human rights! We are NOT going back to the past when many groups in America were mistreated and denied equality! Those days are over forever! 🙁

Florida Republican Gubernatorial Race: Is Florida To Go The Way Of Arizona? :(

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The Arizona illegal immigration law is having reverberations elsewhere, and is now affecting the race for the gubernatorial nomination of the Republican Party in Florida! 🙁

Republican Senate nominee Marco Rubio, himself a Cuban American, has denounced the legislation, as has former Governor Jeb Bush (whose wife is Mexican American), and Independent Governor Charlie Crist, who is running for the Senate. Democratic gubernatorial front runner Alex Sink and Democratic Senatorial front runner Kendrick Meek have also come out against it!

But now Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, who had no significant opposition until a few weeks ago, when wealthy entrepreneur Rick Scott started a television barrage against McCollum after announcing his last minute entry into the race, has come out in support of the Arizona law, due obviously to the fact that Scott had earlier endorsed the legislation!

Imagine this: The Republicans can certainly be seen as having the advantage in the Governorship race, based on Florida becoming more Republican steadily since the 1990s. Does this state with so many Hispanic and Latino residents, a large percentage of them illegal, really want to go down the same road as Arizona? And do we really want a possible future Governor who pushed for the payment to George Rekers of substantial payments to argue against gay adoption, in the only state that does not allow that, realizing that Rekers has now become involved in a gay sex scandal that was big news a few days ago? 🙁

Is Bill McCollum the man we want to represent Florida, to become the chief executive of the fourth largest state? Are we not entitled to a more open minded, tolerant chief executive?

Under the circumstances, let us hope that this man, who has a despicable record in public office, and has been defeated numerous times in seeking the governorship or senatorial nomination, be once again defeated by a multimillionaire, who has unlimited pockets of money to spend! Then, hopefully, this upstart, who thinks he can “buy” the job of Governor, can be shown as a man without experience who does not deserve the highest executive office in the state, and that it belongs with the state’s Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink, a woman of principle and convictions!

Major League Baseball And The 2011 All Star Game In Arizona: Move It!

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Thirty percent of major league baseball players are of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and with many of the other players being African American, it is time for major league baseball commissioner Bud Selig to listen to the growing demands that the 2011 Baseball All Star Game be moved from Phoenix, in protest of the discriminatory, racist, illegal immigration law signed into law a few weeks ago in the Grand Canyon State!

It is time for the players union also to announce that should Selig refuse to do the right thing, that all of the baseball players will boycott the game, forcing his hand!

This weekend, in Cincinnati, the second Civil Rights game is being held, with the St. Louis Cardinals playing the Cincinnati Reds, in celebration of diversity and recognition of the long struggle for equality in this country! The players will wear uniforms reminiscent of what was the attire in 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Just down the street from the stadium is the National Underground Railroad Museum and Freedom Center, which honors the struggle against slavery in the 19th century.

This is the right time and situation for Bud Selig and Major League Baseball to refuse to endorse racial and ethnic discrimination and prejudice, and punish Arizona for its outrageous violation of civil liberties and civil rights!

Economic Boycott Of Arizona Justified! Human Rights Cannot Be Denied!

Ronald 2 Comments

AN economic boycott of Arizona by cities, businesses, and individuals is justified to protest the outrageous, discriminatory law on illegal immigration that is scheduled to go into effect in three months!

Boycotts have worked in the past in the fight against segregation, and in the struggle for labor rights. It is essential that those who want Hispanics and Latinos, whether legal or illegal, to be treated with the same dignity that all Americans have a right to expect from their government, take part in this boycott. This means individuals who planned to vacation in Arizona need to cancel their plans in protest over what Arizona’s state government is perpetrating!

In the past, Arizona lost the Super Bowl because of refusal at the time to acknowledge a Martin Luther King holiday. Therefore, it is now appropriate for Major League Baseball to move the 2011 All Star Game, scheduled in Phoenix, elsewhere, particularly with about 30 percent of baseball players coming from Latin American heritage!

It may be true that illegal immigration is a major problem that needs to be addressed by the national government, but we must not see 12 million people as criminals and drug dealers! Small percentages of people coming from Latin America are involved in criminal activities, and that we must crack down upon with vigor! But there is no way to deport those who obey the law now, pay their taxes, work very hard, and just want the opportunity for the American dream! Tolerance and acceptance are the only answer, but with strict requirements that recognize these people can contribute to our society’s future after meeting their responsibilities and moving toward citizenship!

Even if, as shown in a new poll, a majority of Americans support the Arizona law, it cannot be accepted as legitimate, as it does not mean that what is popular is always right! Over the years, there were certainly many Americans who had no problem with racial segregation, but that was still not right and appropriate. Basic human rights are not based on popularity, but on ethics and morality! This is a question of civil rights, and racial profiling is unacceptable!

National Security Becomes Dominant Issue Again In Different Ways!

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In the midst of heated debates over health care and financial reform, that “800 Pound Gorilla”, National Security, has reared its ugly head in recent days!

Not only is the constantly emerging threat of a nuclear Iran becoming more worrisome, but three issues that have shown up in the past ten days add up to an alarming scenario.

First, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which caused the loss of eleven oil rig workers was upsetting, but now the reality is that since the spill cannot be controlled and is spreading to the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast, threatening wildlife, fishing, and beach communities long term, it is a frightening situation. It could be a total environmental, as well as economic, disaster for decades! And to top it off, there is some concern growing that the Gulf Stream could carry the oil spill around Florida’s Panhandle to create tremendous damage to the west coast, the Keys, and the east coast of Florida, and work its way up the Atlantic coast states, making the situation a national disaster of massive proportions hard to fully conceive! This situation is a tremendous threat to our national security, no matter how one tries to portray it in a better light, if that is possible! 🙁

Secondly, the protests against the immigration legislation in Arizona reflect the fears of many of racial profiling and civil liberties and civil rights violations. But at the same time, there is the reality of the porous 2,000 plus miles border between the United States and a very unstable neighboring nation, Mexico, which represents the danger of drug gangs and crime infesting our boundaries, and the reality of terrorists easily being able to cross our borders with impunity, at least in theory, if not reality!

And now, just last night, the shock of an SUV being parked in Times Square in New York City, loaded down with gasoline, propane tanks, and explosive devices that failed, fortunately, to detonate, makes us fully reminded of the fact that we cannot sit back and relax and think we are safe from internal and external threats of terrorism!

But how do we deal with these different aspects of our national security crisis, which makes us more aware than ever before since September 11, to the need to do everything to insure our safety?

How do we give our government at all levels enough authority and power to protect us, and yet not take away our Bill of Rights? 🙁

This is the challenge that may, in the long run of history, be a greater determinant as to the reputation of the administration of President Barack Obama, than health care or financial reform or Supreme Court appointments or anything else imaginable on the horizon!

Congressman Duncan Hunter, Jr. And The Constitution

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Freshman Congressman Duncan Hunter, Jr. of California, the son of his namesake who was a long term Congressman and a Presidential candidate in the Republican campaign of 2008, has outraged many with his proposal that children born of illegal immigrants be deported with their parents!

Hunter, who is the only combat veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars to be serving in the Congress, had a great advantage being elected to Congress, being the son of a famous father, and running to replace him in his seat. He is to be respected for his military commitment to his country, but on this specific issue, he is totally wrong!

The Constitution makes it clear that if someone is born within the territorial limits of the United States, he or she is a citizen of the United States, and cannot be deported!

Therefore, this kind of suggestion is counter productive, and only incites Tea Party Movement people and racial supremacists who are using the Arizona law to promote their anti Latino and Hispanic motivations!

Hunter should use his time in Congress, instead of dividing people and promoting hysteria and panic, to help arrive at a conclusion that is contributory toward a solution of the illegal immigration problem!

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Civil Liberties And Civil Rights: The New George Wallace In The Making?

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Maricopa Country, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio has long been the center of controversy in his approach to civil liberties and civil rights. Now he is pondering running for Governor of Arizona as a strong supporter of the recently enacted state illegal immigration law!

Arpaio has a tough image as a crime fighter in the Phoenix area, but has been accused of discrimination and civil rights abuses, which he brushes off.

His image as America’s toughest sheriff includes a recent raid which led to the arrest of 73 illegal immigrants; housing prisoners in tents, and making them wear pink underwear; and feeding them on less than a dollar a day!

Arpaio has faced charges of abusive practices by the Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union without being very upset about it.

Were he to run for Governor, it would further incite the issue of illegal immigration, and it is certain that were he to win the office, the issue would become much more confrontational than even the signing of the recent legislation by present Governor Jan Brewer!

With Arpaio’s approach and attitude of defying the federal government, he would be to Latinos and Hispanics what Governor George Wallace of Alabama was to African Americans and civil rights in the tumultuous decade of the 1960s! 🙁

John McCain: Sarah Palin, Oil Drilling, Illegal Immigration, And Charlie Crist!

Ronald 3 Comments

Senator John McCain of Arizona has really lost ALL credibility on anything he has said or done since the beginning of his presidential campaign in 2008!

When Obama was inaugurated, McCain promised cooperation with the new President, but has proceeded to be totally destructive of unity, and demonstrated absolutely no sense of principle!

It was his independence and principled stands that made McCain so appealing to many liberals and progressives during the Bush Administration!

But then he selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate during his Presidential campaign, and unleashed this unqualified woman on this nation, and we cannot rid ourselves of her presence on our political scene! Will we ever be able to forgive McCain for this? 🙁

Then he backed oil drilling during his campaign, promoting “Drill, Baby, Drill”, after years of advocating environmentalism and being against off shore oil drilling in the Gulf states region. Now in the midst of the Gulf Oil disaster, he looks totally terrible!

McCain promoted a reasonable immigration bill, also backed by Ted Kennedy and President Bush, but now he has backed the discriminatory, unconstitutional Arizona law, in a desperate attempt to save his seat in the Senate!

McCain has also showed no loyalty to his “friends” who helped to make him the GOP nominee for President in 2008, specifically Florida Governor Charlie Crist. Without Crist”s support, it is likely that Mitt Romney would have won Florida, and might have been the Republican choice for the Presidency in 2008.

One wonders how John McCain can sleep at night, having given us the “gift” of Sarah Palin, abandoned his views on oil drilling and illegal immigration, and betraying Charlie Crist! All of this makes him look much worse in history, and it would be very appropriate if his actions lead to his defeat for another Senate term.

John McCain once was a “Profile in Courage”, but NO MORE! 🙁

Arizona : A State Gone Mad!

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Sadly, Arizona has become the loony state, surpassing other states which had developed terrible images in recent decades, including Mississippi and Alabama in the 1960s on racial issues, and Florida and California in the early years of the new century on political issues!

In the last seven months, the Arizona legislature passed a law allowing those with concealed weapons permits to bring their guns into bars and restaurants! They are further loosening up gun restrictions, becoming the haven for gun rights fanatics! 🙁

Arizona has voted to repeal health care for poor children, and is pursuing a lawsuit against the Health Care Reform law passed by Congress last month!

Attempts to tighten abortion restrictions are on the road to passage, and yet a bill to deny aid to welfare recipients if they own a car or have cable television, smoke, or consume alcohol, is being considered as well! One can understand the tobacco and alcohol matters, but owning a car or having cable should be a negative? 🙁

Also, Arizona is considering a requirement that all presidential candidates must prove their citizenship if they wish to be placed on the Presidential ballot for the 2012 election, a direct swipe at Barack Obama and a salute to the “Birthers”, who still contend that Obama was not born in the United States! Can one imagine that Obama’s name might be not allowed on the 2012 ballot over such a ridiculous, crazy view of conspiracy theorists? 🙁

Now, there is outrage around the country against the new law that makes it a state crime to be an illegal immigrant in Arizona, and requires law enforcement officials to demand documents from anyone they suspect to be in the country illegally, placing an extra burden on police officers and other law enforcement agencies!

A boycott movement against Arizona is starting, which could seriously hurt the state’s economy and tourism. With the All Star Game in baseball due in Phoenix next year, there could be a decision to move the game, much like the Super Bowl being moved in the mid 1980s, when Arizona refused to agree to a Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday when all other states went along with it. The state suffered economic and tourism loss then, and it will likely occur again!

If Arizona can successfully impose this law on all people living in or visiting the state, then it will spread like wildfire to other states that have a record of discrimination, particularly the South!

Already, there are discussions of such laws in Texas and Florida, and the only thing that will stop it is federal intervention, including a possible lawsuit by the Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder.

The Republican party nationally wants to avoid this topic and exploit it, but Barack Obama will need to be a “profile in courage” and confront this situation, which in many respects is similar to what President Eisenhower faced in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, and President Kennedy faced in Mississippi in 1962 and Alabama in 1963.

The age of discrimination based upon race or ethnicity or nationality cannot be permitted to be practiced in any state, without a strong reaction by the federal government, whether conservatives and Republicans like it or not! 🙁