Let Your Voice Be Heard

Call your representatives and senators and let them know what you think while you still can.



There is a program going on in my nephew's and niece's school that is seeking to socialize every child with a bunch of ill-conceived psychobabble. The teachers are being forced to take instructional time away from class - EVERY class - to teach this rubbish.

If the teachers don't hang the posters for this initiative they can be fired. If they don't lead the class in the song and hand motions for the initiative they can be fired. ALL of the children are being forced to participate. Any child refusing to participate - even if they merely refuse to do the hand motions MUST be sent to the principal's office. If the teacher doesn't send them to the office the teacher can be fired. Complaints are met with reminders that there are plenty of people who would love to have the teacher's job.

This is the kind of crap that our government is trying to force on us. This is not the way America does things! It is the way the Nazis did things and the way that the Soviets and Chinese did things. If we don't learn to stand up and say, "NO!" then they will keep on pushing until they take every last ounce of freedom and dignity left to us.

But will we be courageous enough to be the first one to stand up and say no? Will we be courageous enough to join the others who have stood up against tyranny and suffer the consequences? Are we willing to pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor? If we hang together, we won't have to hang separately. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!!!

Ignorance Isn't Bliss

My favorite columnist, Cal Thomas has written an article reporting on the national results of the latest Intercollegiate Studies Institute civics test:

For the third straight year, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) has found that a large number of Americans cannot pass a basic 33-question civic literacy test on their country's history and institutions. The multiple-choice questions ask about the inalienable rights mentioned in the Declaration of Independence (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness), the name of Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1933 series of government programs (The New Deal) and the three branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial). No, I didn't peek at the answers. I received a good education.

The random sample of 2,508 American adults, ranging from those without high school diplomas, to people with advanced degrees, revealed a minimal difference in civic literacy between the uneducated and the highly educated. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed could identify Paula Abdul as one of the judges on "American Idol," but only 21 percent were able to recognize a phrase from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. I had to memorize that speech in high school. What are they memorizing now?

This article is a must read. And you should also take the time to go to the ICI website and take the test for yourself. I scored 87.88, missing 4 out of the 33 questions, but learned something that I didn't know in the process of taking the test. I was hoping for an A, and if I'd gone with my instincts on two of the questions I would have gotten it. The scary thing is just how bad Americans do on this test across the board. What is even scarier is that the elected officials who took the test did WORSE than the national average.

It's no wonder that we're in the state that we are. God help us.

Sonnet XIII

On The American Election 2008 - A Sonnet To My King
By Jonathan D. Eller

My God, Your wisdom far exceeds my own,
And I draw comfort from this very thing.
For by Your great omnipotence You've shown
That You determine president and king.
Yes, You know all men's hearts - this fact is true -
And render unto them a payment just,
Rewarding men and nations what is due.
Lord, in Your goodness I have learned to trust.
Your discipline is sorrowful for sure -
Your wrath and blows seem ever so severe -
But chastisement is sent to make us pure,
And by its cleansing helps us to draw near.
My God, this nation's nothing without Thee.
Please cleanse our hearts and truly make us free.

November 5, 2008

Calling The Low Down Varmint Out...

A voice of reason has appeared from an unexpected place. Czech President Vaclav Klaus has challenged alleged global warming 'expert' Al Gore to a debate about global warming. Not surprisingly, Gore isn't willing to intelligently discuss the evidence for or against global climate change or its possible causes. (Perhaps he is unable to do so?)

Klaus said, "It could be even true that we are now at a stage where mere facts, reason and truths are powerless in the face of the global warming propaganda." Ahh, Joseph Goebbels and Adolph Hitler would be so proud!

The Czech President has recently written a book that questions the true motive of the climate change propagandists titled, Blue Planet in Green Shackles - What Is Endangered: Climate or Freedom? Klaus says that the thing most endangered is basic human freedoms and prosperity.

Klaus compares the tactics and aims of the environmental alarmists to the tactics used by the communists in his country during his lifetime.

"Like their (communist) predecessors, they will be certain that they have the right to sacrifice man and his freedom to make their idea reality," he said. "In the past, it was in the name of the Marxists or of the proletariat - this time, in the name of the planet," he added. Klaus said a free market should be used to address environmental concerns and said he opposed as unrealistic regulations or greenhouse gas capping systems designed to reduce the impact of climate change....

Klaus alleged that the global warming was being championed by scientists and other environmentalists whose careers and funding requires selling the public on global warming. "It is in the hands of climatologists and other related scientists who are highly motivated to look in one direction only," Klaus said.

Sound familiar? It is basically the same thing said by the founder of the Weather Channel months ago.

I have said many times (even in the midst of last summer's blistering heat) that I do not believe that any permanent global warming is taking place. I believe that any heating trends can be more easily explained by solar radiation patterns than by carbon emissions. This seems evident to me from a comparison of the amount of "greenhouse gas" emitted into the atmosphere by humans as compared to that given off by nature itself. A single volcanic eruption contains many times more "greenhouse gas" than all of mankind's pollution combined. Thus, you will have a hard time convincing me that any warming (or cooling) trends are being caused by man's usage of carbon.

But lets suppose, just for the sake of argument, that these Chicken Littles were right. Let's consider how life would be if the environazis got their way and took us back to the Stone Age. Even then it would seem that there isn't any feasible way for humans to avoid carbon-based environmental impact. Humans need heat to survive. Anything below 98° F and we start needing some supplemental heat. And there are precious few places on planet earth that are 98° F night and day year round. (Thank God!)

Clothing can allow us to take that number down much lower, but manufacturing clothing in a modern society requires machinery, machinery requires electricity, and the most common source of electricity is combustion. Of course we could go back to using animal skins for clothing, but the environmentalists won't like that either.

There is also the problem of cooking food. Even vegetarians typically cook their food. And if we were to use animal skins for clothing, wouldn't it be wasteful to kill an animal just for its skin? (Seems like I have heard that argument somewhere before....) Thus, if you are going to eat yon mastodon, you'd best have a way cook it. Once again, combustion is going to be required.

Then there's the problem of shelter. Last time I checked there weren't that many habitable caves in the North Carolina Piedmont. That means we are going to have to figure out some place to stay. Well, we can go back to animal skins. (I can hear the animal rights folk howling even now....) There is also lots of nice red mud around here, but to make mud into brick requires baking it - more carbon. We could cut down trees to make cabins, but that reduces the number of trees which help to remove the carbon from the air. It would seem in our environmental Utopia that shelter may be a problem.

There is another problem that we have learned about too: animal flatulence. All those cows are farting the place up and pushing us towards global catastrophe. I guess it is good that all those cowboys nearly wiped out the bison herds back at the turn of the century. Millions of gassy buffalo would have probably pushed us over the edge.

I suppose that many who have read my rants against global warming might assume that I don't care about the environment. Nothing could be further from the truth. I care very much about it. My problem with most environmental issues is that they tend to tilt at windmills.

The issue of global warming is a hoax. It isn't an issue, but is something that is being greedily exploited to further other ends. Al Gore is exploiting "global warming" to put himself in the limelight and assuage his wounded ego after being rejected by the American people. He also, by the way, is exploiting it to make himself filthy, stinking rich through his investments in these "green" companies.

Politicians are exploiting it to line their pockets with bribes from companies that will benefit from new regulations and from those that would be hurt by new regulations. They are also using "global warming" to line their pockets with revenue from bogus carbon offset programs. And of course, let us not forget that it gives them a leverage point to obtain power over the people, exploiting this lie to induce people to give up their freedoms and prosperity.

Finally, environmentalists are exploiting "global warming" to make some marginal gains toward their agendas, and "scientists" are exploiting it to bilk grant money from various governments. These reasons are why I so vigorously oppose "global warming."

There are plenty of legitimate environmental concerns with real-world practical solutions. Pollution is a huge problem. It is clear that air quality has suffered as our cities have grown. Some progress has been made at reducing automobile emissions, but why don't we push on and see if we can't break away from petroleum and find a cleaner alternative? It will take some time, but if we can put a hunk of metal on Mars we should be able to collectively figure out a way to tell the gas companies bye-bye.

Why do we allow companies to dump their waste into our rivers? We should use the same policy with manufacturers worldwide that Momma did: "If you make the mess clean it up." Companies should have to have waste mitigation plans before they are allowed to manufacture the first widget. Would it be more expensive? Yes, it would. But I'd be willing to bet that manufacturers would find a better way to do it if they were forced to. Once they had discovered that way I'd be willing to bet that the prices could come down. (Whether they would or not is a different rant for a different post!) But what about the countries that wouldn't adhere to that standard?!! Don't trade with them. DUH!

Or perhaps on a more personal level, why do we allow people to litter? (This includes throwing cigarette butts out of cars, by the way.)

Why do we allow companies to use packaging materials that are not environmentally friendly? Why are we so addicted to plastics when glass, paper, and metal are much more easily recycled?

There are also water quality issues that are being raised by the irresponsible development taking place throughout the country. In North Carolina these practices threaten to destroy the state's only native trout. (Indeed, Brook Trout are threatened throughout their native range along the entire Appalachian Range from Georgia to Maine.)

All of these issues would be much easier to fix than "global warming." (Especially if it turns out that this purported climate change is being caused by the sun!)

North Carolina's Wildlife Commission has done a stellar job in reclaiming severely damaged river ecosystems. With the work that they have done they have begun to see very encouraging results in the resurgence of threatened flora and fauna. Their re-introduction of deer and turkeys have been wildly successful, and I have hope for the successful reintroduction of the red wolf and elk. It would be wonderful to see these animals thriving in our land again. (Although they will create their own problems too as we have seen with the invasion of coyotes.) I have also seen surprisingly quick results from the size and creel limits imposed on many saltwater fish species. There seem to be far more fish available in just a few short years following the introduction of these limits.

My point is that the real environmental problems facing our world can be dealt with successfully when they are approached with intelligence and TRUE scientific inquiry instead of the junk being passed off as science by so many. There are plenty of resources in our world to allow us to take advantage of them if we will be wise about it and not succumb to greed. It is high time that we start using our own brains and questioning why so many "scientists" are afraid of debate on issues like climate change and evolution. It is time that we stop giving these people money to perpetuate their lies. We cannot keep accepting that what "they" say is true. Too often it isn't. The money that will be wasted on "preventing" global warming would be much better used addressing real problems.

A Quickie...

Man, I wish I had time to post a long update tonight, but this is going to have to be a fly-by.

I checked my garden today and everything is coming up nicely. Most things are just starting to poke their heads through the dirt, but I hope to have stuff up high enough to be able to take pictures early next week.

Had a good practice with the Jazz Band tonight. We just kind of jammed for a while. It was fun. We have a small gig tomorrow night at South Rowan High School for the Drama Club fundraiser. We also have a gig coming up on June 6. That will be here before you know it. Still, if you are looking for a good one to come down for, our Dixie's Farmers' Day gig should be a good one to plan for.

This weekend I'm heading out with a couple fraternity brothers and their families to Lake Chatuge for some fishing and catching up. I'm not exactly sure how things will go. I'm the only single going with three families with kids. Yay. I am sure that it will be fun, but I am a true hermit at heart, and four days of tip-toeing around 12-13 other people will have me most ready to return to my little hermitage. There are pluses and minuses to single life! Hopefully I will find a nice fishing hole with some trout. I haven't caught any of those since I was a kid.

Tomorrow I'll be slammed. I have some mowing to do, and would really like to finish putting out my garden before Friday's rain arrives. (Thank God that we are getting rain regularly this year!) There is also a family dinner and I have already mentioned the gig. On top of that I need to go to the bank, the grocery store, do some food prep and pack. Perhaps I won't sleep... That should make me nice and sociable!

Well, if I don't get to update again before I leave. Have a great Memorial Day, and in the midst of your celebrations take some time to remember the men and women who have laid down their lives to give us the freedoms that we so often take for granted.

Now Please Honor Our Nation By Standing and Removing Your Hats...

Dang! Them gals can sing!

Vote Day

Well, today is my chance to take part in the electoral process. I never dreamed May would get here so soon, and I certainly never thought that Senator Clinton would still be doggedly hanging in there. I hope she wins today.

I know that this must be shocking for anyone who has read my blog at all. In earlier days I didn't conceal my disdain for the Clintons. I am trying to be nicer these days. I doubt that Hillary can win the nomination, but I hope that she hangs in there until August to force Senator Obama to spend his resources fighting her instead of Senator McCain.

My support certainly doesn't indicate that I approve of anything that Senator Clinton stands for or that I believe ANYTHING that she has to say. It is more that I distrust Obama even more than I do her. Say what he will about his connection to Wright and Wright's church, I fully believe that he gives assent to all of those audacious things that Wright has been saying. Obama has distanced himself from Wright because it is politically expedient to do so.

Senator Obama is an amazing orator. I have heard some of his speeches and they are breath-taking, but his content is as whack as the ideas coming out of his church. He acts as if the American public will just believe that he is America's messiah without paying attention to any of the things that he supports. He may be a messiah to the left, but God help us if he comes into office.

Actually, God help us if either one comes into office, but at least if Hillary were to win (God forbid) I think that she has sense enough to realize that some things are necessary - even if she pretends they aren't. For example, I think Senator Clinton at least realizes that there may some merit to having a military presence strategically located in the Middle East. I don't think Senator Obama does.

Please don't think that this is about race with me. I wouldn't care if he was purple if he was on board with my make-or-break issues. There are quite a few non-white people that I would be glad to support for the Presidency if they mounted a competitive campaign. One that comes immediately to mind is the former congressman from Oklahoma, J. C. Watts, Jr. I would also consider supporting Alan Keyes if he ever made a concerted run at the White House.

I had actually thought about switching parties so I could vote between the two of them, but it is too late now. I'll just have to leave it in God's hands. (Which is where I was going to have to leave it anyway!)

One of the wonderful things about this internet age in which we live is that it is much easier to get information about candidates. Any candidate with the sense to put up a website can easily get his message out there for his potential constituency to read about it. This is especially helpful in the lesser-publicized races that don't attract the media coverage that the others do. There is really no excuse to go to the polls ignorant.

So even though the Republican nomination is sealed, I'm still going to vote. Hope you will too!

And Then There Were Two

So, Mitt Romney has gracefully bowed out of the Presidential race. I saw that coming before Super Tuesday. So that leaves McCain, Huckabee, and Paul - two candidates (one whole and two halves.) By the time the North Carolina primaries hit in May, there won't be any point going to the polls. It will have been settled long before then.

My prediction? McCain and Obama. Hillary is in deep trouble. I doubt that she can make it to the end of March. She'll never beat Obama between here and the convention without having him killed. (And I wouldn't put it past her. By the way, when does her Senate seat expire?)

I heard another statement by Dr. Dobson today that he will abstain rather than vote for McCain, Clinton, or Obama. I wonder if he would have voted for Romney? I have just found out that he is endorsing Huckabee. I dare say it is too little too late. That endorsement two months ago would have probably gone a long way. It looks like Dr. Dobson won't be voting. How foolish. But the scary thing is that many are actually considering doing just that. Cleta Mitchell, chairman of the American Conservative Union Foundation said, "It's a very American privilege not to vote."

Privilege not to vote?! Beg pardon, but those folks that have been dying in the Middle East aren't doing it so that we can pout, take our ball, and go home, leaving our country's leadership to chance. Please don't get me wrong. I have a lot of deep-seated misgivings about McCain, but I would vote for former President Clinton before I would vote for Senator Clinton or Senator Obama. I can say that without reservation.

I suppose we will see if anyone but Senator McCain is still in the race in May. If Huckabee is still in, I may vote for him as a protest vote, but it seems pretty certain that the Senator is the Republican's man - officially anyway even though Rush Limbaugh is still blistering McCain on his show. And Michael Reagan (Ronald Reagan's son) even went so far as to say,

"If you are a newcomer to politics and you're undecided on who you are going to vote for, but know you are going to vote for the candidate who gives you substance instead of mere promises, there is no doubt in my mind you are going to vote for the Democrat nominee because that's where the beef is."

"...Unless Republicans start acting like Reagan and quit talking like Reagan, the only place they are going in November is home."

I have to give Mike this, Obama can speak - wow. Seriously, even with the inherent absurdity of some of the things that he was promoting his speech was inspiring.

McCain isn't without his allies though. Senator Bob Dole has sent a letter to Rush Limbaugh in McCain's defense. McCain reached out to conservatives today, but his statements made it clear that he was not willing to go as far as many of the party base want him to.

Tonight, speaking to the CPAC McCain defended his conservative record and his commitment to a conservative platform.

Speaking just hours after Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race, McCain acknowledged he had “the distinction of being the GOP front-runner,” and “intended to keep it.”

As such, he said he had the “responsibility to unite the party, and conceded: “I cannot prevail over the Democrats without conservatives…

“I have defended many positions we share. I am proud to be a conservative … My record is one of a mainstream conservative.”

As a candidate, he promised to “offer a clearly conservative approach to government, and to “stand by my conservative convictions.”

McCain vowed to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, abolish the Alternative Minimum Tax, and protect second-amendment rights. He boasted of his “24-year pro-life record,” and his support of the troop surge in Iraq.

One thing is certain, McCain has a lot of bridge building to do with the conservatives if he has any hope of beating the Democrats in November. The party is too divided right now for him to have a chance.

This consternation should also be as a warning to those in Congress. This conservative angst is running deep. Those in Congress would do well to note the frustration level of their constituents, and represent the party that elected them better. It is high time that they get something done in Washington, lame duck or no. The people of this country won't put up with four more years of this sort of nonsense.

I do hope that whomever eventually wins the nomination will be able to unify the party. The Clinton years were dark years in my memory. I would hate to have to endure even four more years of Democratic leadership.

Quote Of The Day

President Calvin Coolidge
"It is not in violence and crime that our greatest danger lies. These evils are so perfectly apparent that they very quickly arouse the moral power of the people for their suppression. A far more serious danger lurks in the shirking of those responsibilities of citizenship, where the evil may not be so noticeable but is more insidious and likely to be more devastating."

"We live in a republic. A vital principle of that form of government is representation. More and more as our population increases it becomes necessary for the people to express their will through their duly chosen delegates. If we are to maintain the principle that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, if we are to have any measure of self-government, if the voice of the people is to rule, if representatives are truly to reflect the popular will, it is altogether necessary that in each election there should be a fairly full participation by all the qualified voters."

— Calvin Coolidge, April 19, 1926 from his speech to the Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington, DC.


I dare say that the first danger is a direct result of falling prey to the second. Even though many are disillusioned with the Congress and with the candidates for the Presidency, this is no time to shrink back from our duty as citizens of the United States to be engaged in the democratic process.

As I have mentioned here, I am utterly amazed that the leaders in Congress can be so totally impotent on anything that is remotely important. Because it is an election year with a "lame-duck" President Congress sits on its hands.

I am furious that Congress needs a week's vacation for every minor National Holiday that comes along - longer for the more widely celebrated ones. If our country's business was run the way that the Congress is our economy would look more like Somalia's than that of one of the world's economic leaders.

But what can I do?

There are two things that I can do. The first is the most powerful. I can pray. I can pray for God to strengthen and encourage those who are in Washington as statesmen, looking to build our country up. I can intercede for the Lord to expose those who are only in Washington to line their pockets and stroke their egos. I can implore the Creator to uncover the corruption, immorality, and duplicity of the ungodly who have risen to power. I can petition the Almighty to remove those in our government whose hearts continually run toward evil. And I can ask the hand of Providence to put godly men in the place of those that He removes.

I can also educate myself, educate others, and vote. What a tremendous privilege we have in this nation to determine as a people who will govern us. Yes, it is God who makes the ultimate decision - this is why prayer is so important - but He graciously allows us to have a voice.

Don't give up out of frustration. We have a responsibility to act.

As President Coolidge said later in his speech:

"The perilous aspect of this situation lies in as insidiousness. With the broadening of popular powers, the direct election of practically all public officials, and the direct nomination of most of them, there is no opportunity for an expression of the public will except at the ballot box. It is perfectly evident that all those who have selfish interests will go to the polls and will be active and energetic in securing support for their proposals and their candidates. The average voter supports what he believes to be the public interest. Unless they appear on election day that interest will go UNREPRESENTED." (Emphases mine.)

We cannot afford to give tacit approval to "those who have selfish interests." They would sell America to the highest bidder - to her destruction. We must stay involved.

The New Wave of Immigrants

The United States has been experiencing an unbelievable wave of Spanish-speaking immigrants from Latin and South America over the past decade. When I was in high school I never encountered any Hispanic people; however, by the time that I had graduated from college, Spanish-speaking people were not only common, but were becoming a significant element in the demographic composition of Rowan County and North Carolina. Apparently, this is a common trend throughout the United States – a trend that has many Americans concerned.

I am actually glad to see this wave of immigration. In a way it tells me that America is still doing something right. If it weren’t, people wouldn’t still want to move here in droves. America has always been a nation of immigrants. If you believe what the scientists tell us, even the Native Americans (that were here before Europe had figured out that the world really was round) immigrated across a great Asian land bridge.

Every generation or so, (at least since the discovery of the Americas by Europe) a new round of immigrants has come to our shores. They have come here for different reasons: some are trying to escape pestilence or oppression in their homeland, others sought the ability to worship as they chose, many desired economic opportunity, and thousands of others simply yearned for the freedoms that we enjoy here. Each wave of immigrants has brought with them many elements of the cultures that they left: foods, traditions, and ideas. Many of them also carry with them the vision of what America is supposed to be. They actually believe when they come here that it is a land of opportunity – that if they work hard and are creative they can live the American Dream. I read a great article, entitled What Makes America Unique, illustrating this very attitude on Newsmax today.

America would have never beaten the Russians to space or the Germans to the discovery of atomic power without the wave of German immigrants during World War Two. Indians have proven their ability in computer technology. And we have gained much knowledge through the Russian and Jewish scientists that have come to our country.

Just think of the foods that we would be missing without immigration! There would be no Chinese food and no pizza! Japanese steakhouses wouldn’t exist. What about the fabulous Jewish bagel shops and delicatessens that we would be without? Mexican food? It just wouldn’t be here without our immigrants. How about peanut butter? Without African immigrants, we may have never discovered one of my favorite foods! (Thank you, George Washington Carver!) The American culinary landscape would be far less interesting without our (relatively) new neighbors.

There are also holidays that we wouldn’t celebrate without our immigrants. Who would be interested in celebrating St. Patrick’s Day if there were no Irishmen in our American family tree? Would there be Cinco de Mayo celebrations without the Mexican descendants that live among us?

These waves of immigrants have also provided our industry and job markets people that have been willing to work hard for little money at jobs disdained by many - all for the sake of a shot at the American Dream. It has happened over and over and over again throughout our history as a nation. Whether it was Scots escaping the tyranny of British rule, or the Irish seeking to escape starvation during the potato blight, or the Poles, or the Chinese, the Hispanics, or even African slaves that were brought here against their own will; these people have brought their ingenuity and hard work to the American labor force.

America just wouldn’t be America without ethnic and cultural diversity. There is no escaping it – we would never have accomplished what we have in America without the input of people from all over the world that have bought in to our vision of freedom and opportunity.

Oddly enough, with each wave of immigration has come a resistance to that wave. I suppose that the primary cause of that resistance is people’s natural reticence regarding change. Just like a chemical equation, each addition of a reagent causes a change in the system – an instability that remains until equilibrium is reached. People like equilibrium, but aren’t too happy about instability. They are afraid that the changes will be bad, that the way of life that they have grown to love will be lost because of all of these newcomers and all of their new or foreign ideas. I recently watched a History Channel documentary about the Ku Klux Klan. This horrible organization was at its strongest during a period of significant numbers of new immigrants coming to America. In fact, they commented that it was fear of this wave of immigration that fueled the popularity and growth of the Klan during this period of our history. These fears were unfounded, though. The simple fact is that these waves of immigration have never changed the core DNA of the American vision.

I am more and more aware of similar concerns surrounding the current influx of Hispanic immigrants. The increased voicing of these concerns worries me because I believe that the conditions are becoming right for the return or emergence of an organization like the KKK to vent the fears and prejudices surrounding the Hispanic culture. This sort of racism and ignorance is foolish and unbecoming of Americans.

That is not to say that there are not valid concerns regarding the current immigration. In fact, I have several concerns myself regarding the differences that I see between this migration and the others that our nation has experienced.

The first difference that I see is that many of those who came in past immigrations came to our country legally with full intentions of becoming American citizens. When they arrived they understood that they needed to learn the language of this country and did. They also worked to become citizens. They took classes to learn about the American system of government and history. Sadly, many naturalized citizens know more about how America works than those who are born citizens!

I am not convinced that these same motivations are present in many Hispanic immigrants. Many are here illegally and seem to have no intention of becoming citizens. Few attempt to learn English. Assimilation into the American culture seems to be the last thing on their minds.

Secondly, There are many stories of these illegal aliens abusing medical, food, and housing entitlement programs only to return to their home country with American dollars without ever paying taxes on those earnings. There are also disturbing reports that non-citizen Hispanics are being allowed to vote in American elections. This is ludicrous! Why would anyone become a citizen if they were able to enjoy all of the benefits of citizenship without having to commit to the responsibility of supporting this country financially or physically through military service?

Granted, these problems are our own fault. It is evident that there is need for reform in many areas of our country. Immigration laws need to be enforced. Electoral policy needs to change, making it necessary to provide proof of American citizenship to vote. Laws need to remain firm that English is the official language of this nation. Welfare laws need to be reformed so that non-citizens do not receive the same level of benefit that citizens are entitled to.

I love Hispanic culture. There are many very praise worthy elements to it. The people are fun loving, hard working, and generous. Granted, there are negative elements to the culture too, but every ethnicity has undesirable characteristics, just as every individual does. I say, let us welcome this wave of immigrants among us, but at the same time let’s make it clear that this is America, and if these folks want to be here they need to do things the way that we do them. It's our country. Play by our rules. That means pay your taxes, learn English, be here legally and work towards becoming a citizen. It isn’t too much to ask. It is what every wave of people coming to America before has done.