Issues at the National Level
Illegal Immigration
Let’s not get confused in saying that wanting to secure the border is racist. Illegal immigration is exactly that, illegal. Mexico, for instance, has a much tougher illegal immigration policy than the U.S. does which includes imprisonment and worse. They also limit your rights dramatically when you immigrate there legally.
The link below will give you Mexico's immigration policy and its policy on illegal immigration as well. This information was originally published in "Mexico's Glass House," Center for Security Policy Occasional Paper, April 3, 2006.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=14632
Rather than the Mexican government chastising America for wanting to have a border that is secure, they should be ashamed that so many of their people are trying to escape to America and that Mexico's own policy is completely hypocritical.
Illegal immigration affects all of our taxes. Every time an illegal uses medical services, welfare, goes to prison, or is employed, resources are diverted from legal citizens. A citizen could have accessed those services used, or at a minimum, the money could have been saved and not spent at all.
We all want legal immigrants to come here and become part of what makes the U.S. great. Assimilation to the English language and American culture is a must to flourish here and have the same opportunities as other citizens.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Theodore Roosevelt said this in 1907:
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated on the person’s becoming in every facet an American and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag…We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language….And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
If you are here legally, we welcome you provided you drop your flag and help us hold ours. Keep your culture as we all do, in our hearts. Become part of us or you will never be American. The Federal and State Governments should be upholding and enforcing the laws of the country, not making excuses to get around them. As Roosevelt said, “There can be no divided allegiance here.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Real Energy Independence
All of the ethanol subsidies in the world will not fix our energy issues. We need to start adding nuclear facilities. Other countries have done this very efficiently. We also need new coal fired facilities, which are drastically cleaner than their predecessors were. Finally, we need to get off the renewable fuel subsidizing kick because ethanol will never be efficient to produce. When government drives up food costs by subsidizing a product and creating a shortage, it is irresponsible at a bare minimum. This action will affect the lowest income earners the most. If we used every acre of corn for ethanol, we would not even dent our country's need for fuel. We will however cause an explosion in the cost of food. Let's think about this. We are subsidizing an increase in food costs for everyone with OUR tax money. That sounds like a double hit for the taxpayer.
We also need to drill for oil. An oil field that could replace our existing imports was recently located in the Dakotas and Montana. Drilling in North Dakota, Alaska, and off the coast of Florida will make us independent. Merely talking about it would probably cause a massive drop in the price of crude by OPEC. Everyone needs to remember that of all those who drill for oil, the US and Western European have the most stringent standards for how this has to be done. If we do not drill off the Florida coast, Cuba or China will and I do not believe they are as concerned with the environment as we are.
The environmentalists have hijacked the government when it comes to energy and will cause a crisis for all Americans. Without power from oil or coal, Americans would suffer greatly. Our homes are not, and will never be, heated by ethanol. It takes too many resources to create and would not exist without subsidies.
Oil companies have experienced profits, but one of the lowest profit margins of any business. They average 7-10% profit, while the government's tax accounts for a much larger percentage. The real culprit here is our own national and state governments. We also need to remember that most mutual funds and retirement funds have money invested in the oil companies.
Click here to see information on the new oil discovery in the Dakotas.
________________________________________________________
Abortion
The Federal Government has no business being involved in the abortion issue. Anything not specified to the Federal Government in that "obscure" document called the Constitution is left to the states. No Federal money should ever be used for it. Let the people of the states decide as they should be the ones voting on this issue.
________________________________________________________________________
The Second Amendment
This amendment was put in place after the Revolutionary War so that our government would never get in a position to oppress its people with the military. There was no limit to the type of gun one could own. The Founders wanted the average person to have the capability to fend off our own government and military if needed. Guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens should not be the concern of government, while keeping them out of the hands of criminals should be. We should never confuse the two and never use a criminal argument to keep guns out of the possession of law-abiding citizens for that is unconstitutional.
Note: The Federal Government has two mandates by the Constitution. They are defense (the fence) and interstate commerce (interstate roads and bridges, which are part of defense as well). They need to keep this in mind and we need to remind them when needed.