31 October 2007

a Hillary slip-up at the end of the debate?

Guess I missed the moment of the debate last night by turning off the television when I did. The moment dealt with a debate question where she seemed to agree with giving illegal aliens a special drivers license as Gov. Spritzer of New York is suggesting and the immediately flip-flopping when the other candidates, Dodd especially, jumped all over her.

I've seen the video. It does appear as a flip-flop. I'm not sure she was prepared for it. But I think there is a bigger, underlying question that needs addressing and it's not about her alleged flip-flopping.

The question is the entire issue of immigration. I know, I know. It's been a major issue for most of the last year, but I'm not really sure where it actually comes from or where it is headed.

The right always needs a boogey man to insure its continued existence based on what they perceive as platform, read reason for being here. They have to have a group to sharpen their teeth and call for alarms - the commie pinkos, the queers, the Latinos. There answer for dealing with everyone who they consider to be an outsider is always, "Get rid of them. Put them in camps or kick them out."

This always reminds me of the first time I visited Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation. It is in the shadows, literally, of Notre Dame Cathedral, at the tip of Ile de la France. From this point over 200,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps during WWII.

At the memorial, you go down a narrow stair case into a cement room with quotations from very famous people dealing with humanity. There are niches around the room, but the centerpiece of the memorial is a long narrow room set off by bars that contains 200,000 lighted crystals, one for every Jew deported by the Nazis to concentration camps.

Holocast Memorial Paris.JPG


I frequently have this image because the debate on illegal immigrants appears more in line with "get rid of them" rather than coming up with a solution to integrate them.

There are only the two options - deportation or integration. To get rid of them is the one, IMO, that is not only impossible, but also un-American. [wouldn't Joe McCarthy be proud?]

Can you imagine the amount of time, manpower, and money it would take to "deport" the millions who are here illegally? A total waste. Can I mention the void it would leave in the workforce of this country.

Can you imagine the massive concentration camps with illegals waiting for deportation? The US did this during WWII with Japanese-Americans and it was shameful.

Can you imagine anything more un-American than rounding up aliens in raids similar to the Gestapo simply because they are not from here? I mean, come on, the entire nation is made up of aliens. All of us, even the original Native-American tribes, are immigrants to this land.

I, for a long time, resented the fact that my grandparents came to the US in the legal way ascribed by law and the illegals did not. I do agree that everyone should be here legally, but one has to look at the logistics and the repercussions. They are too grand to imagine let alone put into practice.

The most important thing to realize is the contribution that illegals are giving to the country. I don't believe in the argument that they are doing the jobs that White and African-Americans aren't willing to do. When my grandparents came to the US, they took the s*** jobs just like any other minority did and worked from there. Latinos, let's face it, that's really who people are referring to as illegals, are adding to the overall prosperity in the country and they are doing what everyone else in the country is doing - making a better life for themselves and their children.

So, a drivers license? I was hit by a Latino who had no no insurance let alone a drivers license. It cost me money, my deductible, and my insurance, even though I was at a complete stop and had only had one other claim in my entire life from a car theft the company dropped me. [I can never recommend Farmer's Insurance because of this.] The kid was arrested; he was released; and he disappeared. I got over it.

Maybe, if he had that immigrant drivers license things might have been different. At the very least, we would have a better idea of who and how many people are here. As far as outright amnesty and making them immediate citizens? I don't think it would be fair, but what's being done now isn't working and the recommendations being made so far are not realistic.

just someone, please, do something. we don't need boogey men. we do need a return to the dream that is America.

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