You Say You Will Vote For Giuliani?

So, you say you are going to vote for Rudy Giuliani. Let me ask you one simple question, why? Is it because he was in the right place at the wrong time and you are believe that he shows the requisite leadership qualities in a time of war? Is it because he brought down crime in New York? Show me one outstanding quality about Rudy Giuliani and I might begin to listen to you. Otherwise don't waste your time and energy on me, instead listen to the truth about Rudy Giuliani.

I was asked the other day at work what is the difference between Giuliani and Hillary Clinton. I answered plainly that Hillary has breasts. After thinking about it for awhile I came to the conclusion that I was wrong, Giuliani is far worse than Hillary. At least with the former first lady you know what she stands for. Rudy Giuliani, on the other hand is masquerading as a conservative, when in fact he is quite possibly Americas worst dream. He has the potential to do far more damage to our country and our Constitutional liberties than George Bush has done. And quite frankly that scares the hell out of me.

After watching Rudy Giuliani perform for the American people on the GOP debates, I have come to the conclusion that, if elected, he would set us on a course to attack Iran, and quite possibly embroil the entire middle east in a conflict which most likely would end up starting WWIII.

I honestly believe that Rudy Giuliani is after vengeance for those he believes attacked his city while he was mayor. He believes that radical Islamic terrorists personally attacked him, and he is out for blood, and to hell with what it costs the American people and the rest of the world. The man is more frightening than the radical Islamic terrorists he hates so vehemently.

Rudy Giuliani also is a senior partner in a law firm that has some interesting ties that are not in the best interests of these United States of America. First off his law firm represents CITGO, the Venezuelan oil company controlled by the America bashing Hugo Chavez. As someone who wants to be the leader of this country, you would think he would have nothing to do with someone who so openly bashes the United States, but I guess profit comes before principle for Mr. Giuliani.

Giuliani's law firm also is the exclusive legal counsel for Cintra. Cintra is that Spanish fim that has been granted the right to operate and collect the fees from toll roads associated with the Trans Texas Corridor project. Whether or not you agree that the TTC is a precursor to a North American Union, it is up to you. The fact is that Giuliani's law firm represents a foreign client that is going to make huge profits off Americans.

This Trans Texas corridor is supposed to help aid congestion on corridors that run through metropolitan areas. It also is supposed to "help increase trade between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, contributing to a rise in regional mobility and economic status for all three nations."
Trans Texas Corridor

This corridor is costing someone a lot of money to construct and people just don't throw that kind of money around unless they intend to reap a huge profit from it. When Rudy Giuliani's law firm represents one of the firms that is in a position to profit from Americans, I have questions as to whether Giuliani really cares about whether or not you or I suffer. That makes him unfit to lead this country in my book.

Another issue that I have grave concerns about with former mayor Giuliani is gun control. On February 11, 2007 Rudy Giuliani made the following statement, "I used gun control as mayor," But, he went on to say, "I understand the Second Amendment. I understand the right to bear arms." Is that so?

The Second Amendment states clearly that, "...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed". On an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Rudy Giuliani made the following comment, "It's not only -- I mean, it's part of the Constitution. People have the right to bear arms. Then the restrictions of it have to be reasonable and sensible. You can't just remove that right. You've got to regulate, consistent with the Second Amendment."
Giuliani On Fox

Mr. Giuliani says he understands the second amendment. I wonder if he has ever read the following by Samuel Adams? "The Constitution shall never be construed...to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."

By taking all the guns off the streets of New York, Rudy Giuliani violated the intent of the second amendment. Worse, he punished law abiding citizens by taking away their right to keep and bear arms as clearly defined in the second amendment.

I wonder if Mr. Giuliani fears the thought of an armed citizenry for the reasons laid out by George Washington, "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence."

Whatever Mr. Giuliani's reasons, it is clear he does not understand the second amendment, (but he is not alone when it comes to that), and he has no right to support laws that take away a right that is clearly defined in the Constitution, and as of this writing has yet to be amended.

Rudy Giuliani openly supported New York's sanctuary city policy which prevented city officials from cooperating or contacting immigration officials in regards to a persons immigration status.

Any city that offers itself as a sanctuary for illegal aliens is in violation of U.S. law. U.S. Code, Section 1324 (a)(1)(iii) states that it is a crime for, "Any person who—knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation" End of story, Rudy Giuliani is a criminal and should have been arrested while mayor of New York city. Yet people are willing to support him in a run for president?

Finally, Rudy Giuliani is married currently to a woman with whom he was having an affair while still married to his previous wife. He was publicly seen with his current wife with total disregard as to how it reflected upon his marriage to Donna Hanover. Such a flagrant disregard for his marital vows is something that even former President Clinton could only hope to achieve.

Samuel Adams once said, "He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of this country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man."

It has been said that a nations leaders reflect the society upon which they are selected. If that is the case, I shudder to think of what that says about the people of this country if Rudy Giuliani is elected as the next president of the United States.

Our Dysfunctional Republic Part I

Our Dysfunctional Republic
Sept. 6, 2007
Part I




These United States of America, three simple words that used to mean something we could be proud of, words that meant so much to so many. If you look at each of them individually, you begin to get an idea of what I am talking about. United; "being made one, in agreement; harmonious", States; "a body of people occupying a definite territory and organized under one government". America is the geographical location of these united states. Combine them and you come up with a body of people, living in America, united and harmonious under a common form of government.

What has happened to this country? Take a look around and you will see we are far from united nor are we harmonious in regards to so many issues. Abortion, religion, gay rights, immigration, gun control, taxes, the War in Iraq, the role of government, and many other issues divide us.

When people go to vote, they find themselves supporting a political candidate based solely upon whether that candidate has an R or a D in front of their name. Blind loyalty to a political party has done away with people no longer taking the time to research how their candidates voted concerning the issues that concern them. Instead, people rely upon 30 second marketing ads to form an opinion that is of such great import to them, and the nation overall. A majority of these ads only smear their opponents without providing any clear cut answers to the problems our country faces. So we continue to stumble through these troubled times, while blind loyalty to political parties, animosity, and even outright hatred of anyone with an opposing view, is tearing our nation asunder. As I said, we are far from united.

I would like to share quick thoughts with you that will be covered later in much greater detail. If any of you have read the Declaration of Independence, I am sure you are familiar with the following.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..."

Read that again...carefully. We seem to have forgotten one simple fact, that our government works for us. We are their employers, and it is we who wield the real power and authority in our representative form of government, not vice versa. Alexander Hamilton once said, "It is not otherwise to be supposed that the constitution could intend to enable the representatives of the people to substitute their will to that of their constituents.",

Yet that is exactly what is happening. We see our government pass all kinds of legislation that many of us find distasteful and unconstitutional. Yet they seem to do so with impunity and with little regard for the citizenry they were elected to represent.

We live in a representative republic, yet we are no longer represented by those who sit in office. In case you didn't catch that, we live in a representative republic, not a democracy.

Remember the Pledge of Allegiance? "I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the republic, for which it stands...". According to James Madison "A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person."

We have a government in which candidates are voted into office to represent the people, not govern over them. They are placed there to represent the will of their constituents strictly according to the Constitution of the United States, and, for local and state representatives, their state constitutions as well. They are paid by us to act on our behalf. Yet how many times have we seen them act like they know what is best for us by passing legislation which exceeds the powers granted them by the Constitution, or goes against the desires of the public?

Think of electing a representative somewhat like a contract. When they take their oath of office, they are agreeing to the terms of that contract. If they run a campaign on promises that the Constitution does not authorize them to undertake, they are committing fraud. Then if they are elected and they proceed with their plans to enact legislation which violates the Constitution they have violated the terms that contract and we have the right to seek legal recourse. In this case, their removal from office based upon breach of said contract.

Former President William Henry Harrison couldn’t have explained that concept better when he said, “The only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power from the governed.” Their power is given to them by us, and that power is clearly defined in the Constitution. Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States, had this to say about that power, “Outside of the Constitution we have no legal authority more than private citizens, and within it we have only so much as that instrument gives us. This broad principle limits all our functions and applies to all subjects.”

It seems our government has forgotten, or chooses to ignore this principle, as they pass law after law that goes beyond, and violates their constitutional authority. It is often argued that times have changed, and so should our government. I hear people say that the Constitution is a living document and should therefore reflect the current needs of the country.

It is true that our country has changed much since the founders wrote the Constitution. It is unlikely they could have foreseen the changes we have undergone. However they allowed for change by creating the amendment process. George Washington plainly stated, “The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all.”

This country has strayed from the course our founding fathers set us upon when they created our system of government. We have forgotten the words of Patrick Henry "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government--lest it come to dominate our lives and interests"

Through our own ignorance and apathy we have allowed our government to overstep its authority and to become our masters. Thomas Jefferson once said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."

Overall, the American people are woefully uninformed and misled as to the true functions, and the goings on within our government. We care more about trivial things, such as sports, the lifestyles of celebrities, or reality TV, than we do about the laws that our government is supposedly passing in our behalf. We choose not to put forth the time and effort required to read the text of these laws to see whether they violate the constitution, or if they will infringe upon those liberties spoken of in the Declaration of Independence. Instead we rely upon a 90 second news clip from the some network news anchor to get the truth. It is inconceivable that the network news could explain the ramifications of a 750 page piece of legislation in a mere 90 seconds.

I am just one voice, but I hope to show people, who may be open to the truth, what has gone wrong. I hope to provide you with some very specific examples of how our government is not living up to it’s commitment to represent We the People, and how if we don't wake up soon, our freedoms and liberties will be something left for the history books and it will all be over for the United States of America.

to be continued...

Don't Give Up

This past week, the Senate, under overwhelming pressure from their rightful constituents, failed to gather enough votes for cloture on their most recent comprehensive immigration reform bill.
The people of this country finally got mad enough to turn off their televisions and pick up their phones and call their elected officials. They did so in numbers so great that the senate's phone system crashed.
Unfortunately, many Americans will feel that we have won, that we have achieved victory. Many Americans will go back to their daily lives, their television shows, and forget that we have not won the battle. We have won a minor skirmish that is all.
There is an emotional letdown after so much time and effort was expended in support of a cause. When you achieve your goal there is a moment of euphoria, which is followed by a hollow emptiness. You feel like you have nothing left to give and want to rest, recuperate. I know, I felt it myself. However, folks we cannot let that happen. The fight goes on as long as we still have open borders, so long as we still have 12-20 million illegal aliens living in our country.
Our government may have failed to pass this particular bill, the proponents of open borders and amnesty may have failed in their attempts to gain legalization for those here illegally. However, they are not giving up they will not rest. This issue will not go away until one side or the other achieves total victory.
Before the recent immigration bill was revived for its second chance at passage, the President, at a Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, urged the nations Hispanics to make themselves heard in the debate on immigration. Bush said that senators have been bombarded with 'opponents' of the bill and need to hear from those who support 'his' immigration plan.
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=68035
There you have it folks. We, those of us lawful citizens, legal constituents, of our elected officials are considered opponents of the president’s plan. It matters not that we are only asking for our president to uphold the constitution and current law in regards to immigration. It only matters that we opposed his plan.
The president even went further by saying those in favor of 'his' plan make their voices heard. Who might those be, those who support the presidents plan? Could it be the 12-20 million illegal aliens who want legal status? It apparently does not matter to our president, or our senate for that matter, that they have no legal right to participate in our political process. As long as they support 'his' plan, the president wants to hear from them.
After this most recent attempt at amnesty failed, Senator Luis Gutierrez appeared on the Lou Dobbs show. Senator Gutierrez made the comment that, "For those 10 million permanent residents who feel offended by the rejection of this legislation, who feel betrayed, who feel humiliated, who feel beaten down, the appropriate thing at this moment is to arm yourselves with the right to vote by naturalizing yourself and becoming citizens."
An article on the Aztlan Communications Networks webpage, entitled, Immigrant Rights Movement's Next Phase Is Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience, by Ernesto Cienfuegos, made the following comments, "The Immigrant Rights Movement must enter a new phase. Along with strengthening the Immigrant Sanctuary effort, the movement must start embracing the tactics of non-cooperation and civil disobedience. These tactics have already proven effective in other parts of the world. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi utilized non-cooperation and civil disobedience to liberate India from the British occupation. La Raza de Aztlan must study and become experts in implementing the political theories of the great Mahatma Gandhi. We do not have to re-invent the wheel."
As I stated earlier, we have not won anything but a minor skirmish. Our borders are still open, the enemy is still among us and their numbers are growing. We cannot get lethargic now. We must remember that there are traitors in senators clothing who are still in office. We must continue to push for enforcement of existing law, even if it means replacing every single U.S. senator and congressman with someone who will listen to our voices.
As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government..." If our government will not listen to our voices, we have no alternative but to remove and replace those who choose to ignore our wishes and desires.
The battle is far from over, and it will take a steadfast commitment from all of us to fight the good fight for our nation’s survival. If you choose to disengage now, the real battle will be over before it even begins. The choice is yours...

Letter #2

This one was published a week ago

Our elected leaders take an oath of office to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution states, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion."
Illegal immigration is not immigration when people left their native lands to become Americans. This is an invasion.
U.S. Law states it is illegal to hire illegal immigrants. From 1995-1997, there were between 10,000-18,000 arrests of illegal immigrants and about 1000 notices of fines for hiring illegal immigrants. In 2004 there were a total of 159 workplace arrests and 3 notices to fine employers. Why hasn't the President upheld his oath of office?.
Do you think this problem is going to go away?. As early as 2010 it is estimated that in the cities of Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C. Americans of European descent will become a minority. Each year anywhere from one to two million more illegals enter our country in defiance of our laws.
Our local leaders are just as culpable. In 1979, Chief of Police for Los Angeles adopted Special Order 40. This prohibits police from arresting gang members who are in violation of their deportation orders.
Mayor Ed Koch of New York issued Executive Order 124 which prohibits city workers from informing the INS about illegal immigrants.
Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Houston and Austin all have similar policies.
We need to contact our local, state, and federal officials and let them know that if they want to keep their jobs they will take firm, immediate action to stop this invasion from people who have no desire to become a part of this great nation.

Letter #1

A series of letters I have sent to my local paper. Most of them have been published.

Recently I overheard someone say that in the future, to succeed in business in California, people will need to be able to speak Spanish. Why is that, I thought to myself? This is still the United States of America, and we still speak English in this country. Has it already been accepted that Spanish is our state or national language.

I think Teddy Roosevelt said it best when he said, "Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country. " What's next, are we also going to be required to learn Hmong and Punjabi? California is like the Tower of Babel all over again, except instead of being scattered we are gathered together all in one place. Soon no one will be able to understand anything anyone else is saying. How is a country supposed to survive like that?

Wake up America!

I have a proposition. Suppose we gathered all the homeless and unemployed people across the country. Then we took all the convicted drug dealers serving time in our prisons. Finally, we rounded up all the members of gangs that roam our streets. We take all those people and bus them down to the Mexican border and drop them off onto the Mexican side. How do you think the Mexican government would react? Would Vicente Fox welcome them with open arms? Would the people hold protests in favor of their coming to Mexico illegally? Would their be groups that stood up for the rights of the new white minority? Would they print their government forms in English so they had an easy time applying for social services, enrolling their kids in school for that free education? If they had kids over there would they get low income medical and automatically become Mexican citizens? Would they have phone systems that say press 1 for English? Would they have closed captioned television shows in English? Would they find work that would displace born and raised Mexican citizens? Would their government pass legislation granting them amnesty?

If not, why should our country do the same for the citizens of Mexico who flood across our borders illegally? What is more disturbing is why do Americans stand by and allow this to happen? What is wrong with the people of this country and our government when the means to stop this insanity is within their powers? Why does the media avoid the truth concerning the seriousness of the immigration problem we face?

The American people need to wake up before the tide of illegal immigration turns us into a third world country where Spanish is the national language, because we are overpopulated by Latinos unwilling to learn our language and assimilate into the American culture. America is more than just a piece of real estate that offers benefits to those living here. It is an ideal and that ideal is slowly being replaced by a multicultural society that is fragmenting and dividing us. We cannot survive as a nation on our current course and the apathetic American public had best wake up before it is too late.

You might now be saying how can we stop this tide of illegal immigration? How is it within the governments power to stop it? Why haven't they done it if it is within their powers.

According to the Constitution of the state of California, ARTICLE 5, Section 7, states; "The Governor is commander in chief of a militia that shall be provided by statute. The Governor may call it forth to execute the law. "

I do not see the words "National Guard" anywhere in that clause of our states Constitution. It clearly states a militia.

The second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution clearly states, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. "

Notice it says about the militia 'being necessary to the security of a free state'. Our country is being invaded by illegal immigrants from our neighbors to the south. Those already here have held protests demanding their rights. I ask, what rights? If our government, at both the federal and state levels had called forth a militia to guard and defend our borders we would not have this problem with an influx of illegal immigrants.

Even the supreme court ruled at one time, when it was not swayed by public opinion and political ideology, that; "The militia is the natural defense of a free country against sudden foreign invasions, domestic insurrections, and domestic usurpation of power by rulers. The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of the republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally ... enable the people to resist and triumph over them." Joseph Story, Supreme Court Justice, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, p. 3:746-7, 1833

So again, I ask why hasn't a militia been maintained, and more importantly called forth to defend our borders? It is within our governors rights as granted to him by the state Constitution to call them forth. Even the U.S. Constitution says a militia is necessary. James Madison, author of U.S. Constitution, stated in Federalist Paper No. 45

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce. ... The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives and liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State. "

Therefore it is entirely within the states authority to call forth a militia to quell and invasion. Why haven't they done it?

Could it be that special interest dollars from groups that benefit from the employment of these illegal immigrants have bought silence from our legislators? Could it be the growing Latino voting block in our country is more important than the prospect of an overpopulated nation, overwhelmed by demands upon its social services, natural resources and law enforcement agencies?

Whatever the cause it is clear that the means to stop this influx of illegal immigrants is there, but is not being used. Our leaders choose to fight a war of words while thousands more illegal immigrants sneak into our state and country every day. They are afraid of offending the Mexican government. They say that Mexico is our neighbor and they do not want to militarize our border. If Mexico were a good neighbor they would take the necessary steps to halt this problem themselves. Since they won't it sickens me that there are no leaders of honor left in this country who will stand up for the American people and what made us once great.
You may think me a racist, an isolationist or just plain inconsiderate. I am none of those. It is a matter of being practical. I am looking at this issue from two viewpoints, both of which concern the survivability of our nation.

The first is the fact that this is still the United States of America. During our nations growth immigrants from many nations began populating this country. They melded into society and became Americans. There may have been localized communities where different nationalities lived, like a little Italy, or Chinatown, but the people who came here still learned English, worked and helped make this country what it is today. With the current influx of immigrants it is a much different story. Many of them come here to reap of the benefits this country has to offer without contributing anything back to the society that is supposed to openly embrace them. Their allegiance lies to their homeland, they are like parasites and the U.S. is the host upon which they feed.

There are many immigrants who do come here to escape poverty in Mexico. They come to work and achieve the American dream. Unfortunately they do it illegally, which is a crime! They break our laws by entering this country illegally, then they use forged or stolen documents so that they can work. That is not a good way to start on the road to becoming American! Then there are others who immediately become burdens to society. They are the gangs, drug dealers and those who bring disease to our country.

That, is why illegal immigration is wrong. It bypasses our laws and safety precautions which protect us as a country. Forget the bleeding hearts who are saying they only want to escape poverty and achieve the American Dream. The American Dream is achieved through learning English, getting educated, working hard, and following our laws. It is not achieved by working for wages paid under the table that are below minimum wage, without any medical benefits. You cannot achieve the American dream if you cannot afford to buy a home or to invest towards your retirement.

What about the criminal element who bring drugs and gangs to our cities? Do they care about America? I think not! They bring violence and a total disregard for our laws. Why would anyone in their right mind want to allow that kind of person to be able to live within our borders?
That is how I view illegal immigration from a legal aspect. The second, and in my opinion more important, viewpoint is sustainability. America, like the planet as a whole, has a limited ability to sustain life. There is only so much land to house people. So much water for them to drink, and so much food for them to eat. Think of this as a scale, on one side you have population growth, on the other resources. As population grows and weighs down the scale the resources available to sustain that population decrease.

At what point is enough—too much? If we shut down the borders today with zero immigration, while enjoying our sustainable 2.03 fertility level of American women on average, we would still grow via ‘population momentum’ by an added 40 million. That will still be putting a strain on our ability to sustain life as we know it. Factor into that the current rate of growth driven by immigration, America will double its population just past mid century—from 300,000,000 to 600,000,000. How will we sustain that kind of population?

There is no way to keep growing and stop destroying farmland! In Colorado, we pave 100,000 acres annually in the name of ‘growth’. Tell me how you can grow corn, wheat and vegetables on pavement! You cannot solve traffic gridlock by adding thousands of cars to the highways. You cannot solve water shortages by adding more people, lawns and toilets to flush.
One visit to Los Angeles will show you they suffer toxic air, dwindling safe drinking water, gridlock to the point of insanity, water shortages, endless highways and housing development. Consider San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Detroit, Denver and all other large cities grow beyond the bounds of reason!

That is our future, the demise of our country do to overpopulation and a society that is fragmented by racial divisions. Crime will increase as resources available to sustain life become unaffordable or non-available. People will die due to disease and famine. Look at the countries of India and China and you will get a glimpse at the future of America. If their countries are so great why are so many of them immigrating to ours?

We can still stop this invasion, if we have the courage to take a stand. Send the militia, or our military forces, if need be, to guard and defend our border. Build a wall that cannot be breached. Take away the anchor baby clause for illegals which grants them access to social service programs. Fine or imprison those who hire illegals. If you take away the incentives for them to come, they won't. It won't be easy, there are powerful forces in place who want this immigration to continue.

As Americans we can longer remain silent. You must stop voting for the same elected officials that sit back and ignore this issue. You cannot remain isolated within your bubbles of security. Soon your bubble will burst, reality will hit you like a freight train and you will wonder why didn’t our leaders stop this while they had the chance. It will be because you sat by and let it happen. You did nothing, not one letter, one e mail, one phone call to voice your concerns. We must create a tidal wave of concern that they cannot ignore if they wish to remain in office. Time is running out, if we don't act now will lose our nation forever.

Just some stuff

I am coming to believe that I suffer from the Cassandra Syndrome. You ask what is the Cassandra Syndrome? Wikpedia defines it as follows:

The Cassandra Syndrome is a term applied to predictions of doom about the future that are not believed, but upon later reflection turn out to be correct. This denotes a psychological tendency among people to disbelieve inescapably bad news, often through denial. The person making the prediction is caught in the dilemma of knowing what is going to happen but not being able to resolve the problem without the cooperation of others.

That defininition fits the way I feel. I feel as though I see the future of this country in ten, twenty, thirty years and it isn't pretty because fat, lazy, apathetic Americans let our country get taken away from us by corporate greed, illegal immigration and corrupt politicians. I walk down the street and, instead of the kid who saw dead people in the Sixth Sense, I see ignorant and apathetic Americans. I want to slap every one of them and wake them up.

Ignorance can be cured by educating people. Apathy on the other hand is terminal.

With that being said, let me tell you three stories that all happened to me within the past week.

1) Just today I took my neighbor to a lumber yard to buy some 4 x 12 lumber because he did not have a truck to haul them in. We got to the lumber yard and he told the young cashier that he wanted four 4 x 12's 52 inches long. She first off asked 'How long is that?' I immediately told her four foot four inches. She looked at me like 'how did he figure that out so fast.' Then she asked how many inches total that would be. I said 208 inches. I got the same look again. Then she asked me, not my neighbor, whether a 10, 12,16 or 20 foot length would give us enough. I told her right off we needed 20 feet. She could not perform simple math tasks in her head. Is that the kind of education our youth are getting these days? Boy are we in for it if that is the case.
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2)The other night I was shopping and there was a Mexican couple in front of us. They had two shopping carts full of groceries. They seperated the two carts on the belt by one of those dividers and when the first section was done the husband pulled out a stack of bills from his front pocket almost 3/4 of an inch thick. They were all 100 dollar bills. Wow, I thought, this guy is raking in some cash. Then when it came time to pay for their second part they pulled out WIC coupons for low income families. The guy was carrying around more cash than I make in a month and he can qualify for low income foods? Plus he couldn't even understand the cashier when she spoke to him. His wife had to translate it into spanish so he could understand.

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3)There is an East Indian guy who has been working with me for about a month or two now. He seems kinda slow in the head but I have to try and train him. Yesterday in two hours he spilled enough fruit, (we were running diced dates) off the belt to fill two baskets. It takes 2-1/2 twenty five pound boxes to fill one red basket of wasted fruit. So that was 100 lbs already he spilled. So after lunch I took him aside and showed him how to do it properly explaining that he needed to keep an eye on the fruit coming off the belt. He had a big stupid looking grin on his face and was shaking his head up and down to the affirmative the whole time. So I let him try it again. We opened another pallet of dates and in the half hour it took us to dump it he had again filled up two more and he was grinning that stupid grin the whole time. I again asked him if he understood what I had showed him. He said yes. So I asked him why the red baskets were full again. He said the fruit just wouldn't hit the basket. I felt like slapping that stupid grin off his face.

I asked someone later why they don't get rid of people like him who can't do their job. I was told it was a twofold problem. First they said it was hard to get rid of anyone due to the union. Then, and this is the part that gets me mad, they told me that since he was East Indian we were expected to make exceptions for them.

Every job opening in that plant has the requirement that you be able to follow verbal and written instructions in English. Why then are we expected to tolerate a lack of ability to do just that. I was told it is because they are different and aren't expected to be fluent in English.

Rubbish! If you want to get by in this country how can you do so if you can't speak the language? My wife is Filipina and she speaks 3 Philippine dialects and English. So don't tell me people can't learn. If these people want to stay in this country I suggest they learn English or go back home. Our country got by fine without them before and if they leave it won't hurt us at all.

That is it, done ranting....for awhile anyway.

Dear Mr. Ambassador

I was reading an article in the newspaper the other day and I saw a statement made by Mexican Ambassador Carlos de Icaza. He stated that, "Fences and walls between the United States and Mexico are not a good idea." He went on to say, "We're neighbors, we're partners and we can do better."

That got me to thinking about a couple of things. First off, how are we partners? I do not think that anything your country does benefits the American people and isn't that how a partnership works? Both sides help each other? Well I see a lot of your illegal entrants to this country benefiting from the services and jobs they get here. How are you helping us in return Mr. Ambassador?

Secondly he states that fences and walls are not a good idea. Well you tell me a better idea! How would you propose to stop the invasion by citizens of your country? You don't seem to be doing much to stop it. In fact from what I have heard and read you are encouraging them to come to America. So until you can do something that will stop your citizens from entering our country illegally we will build our fences. If I had my way I would put down a mine field for them to cross.

Let me explain something to you. I own a home here in America. I worked and saved to pay it off. It belongs to me, not the bank and not to anyone else. I also worked many years planting flowers and shrubs to make our yard look nice. We used to have peoples kids ride their bikes across our yard and tear up the grass. We had people come into our yard and steal roses from our bushes. We even had people come into our yard and steal potted plants. So what did we do? We put up a fence. We installed an alarm system and we put up video surveillance cameras. We did all this because this is our house and we worked hard to pay for it and make it nice. We don't want anyone coming into our yard and destroying our work or taking flowers from the fruits of our labors.

The same analogy can be applied to America and illegal immigration by citizens of your country. Americans worked to make this country what it is today. People came to this country and became AMERICANS! They learned the language, flew the American flag, worked and paid taxes to make our country what it is. They don't want people coming into their country and taking advantage of all the work they did to make this country great. So if neighbors, YOU, THE MEXICAN PEOPLE, cannot respect our property lines we will build a fence to keep you out.

It is not the fault of the American people your country is corrupt and has no economy. Mexico has all kinds of resources that could be used to build its economy, but the system is corrupt, and crime runs rampant. Until you get your act together your system will remain poor and you will look to others for help.

Well, America is not a welfare state for all the other poor countries of the world. I didn't work my butt off to pay for your citizens to come here and get free education and medical benefits. We should not be required to print our government forms in Spanish so criminals from your country can read them. We should not be required to learn your language so we can communicate with your refugees. We should not have closed caption television shows in Spanish because your people CANNOT understand English. We do not offer these services to any other foreigners, so your immigrants can conform or get the hell out!

So, Mr. Ambassador, we are going to build our fence. If you don't like it, fix your own yard so people will stay on your side of the border. The American people don't want your poor if they do not wish to abide by our laws and contribute to the system they so willingly take advantage of.