What a Revoltin’ Development This Is

Those of you who know me know that I am a very conservative guy. I believe in paying only those taxes that are lawfully mine to pay. I own firearms and am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I support legal immigration only. It isn’t that hard to get in folks; play by the rules. I believe DACA is a ploy to weasel more illegals into the country. I hate socialism with a vengeance. Socialists are just communists in sheep’s clothing. I want the wall, and promoted Obama’s shovel ready stimulus of eight hundred billion dollars. It could have paid for walls on the North and South borders in a heart beat, with money left over to rebuild every bridge in America, and people would have gone to work. I believe in personal responsibility, and paying my way. That is how my democrat parents raised me. My parents were democrats because that is what my Dad’s bosses told him he was, and Dad told Mom. The Democrats are for the working man they told him. My parents lived their lives as conservatives. They had to, they came to this country legally through Ellis Island, had sponsors and jobs lined up. Then the Great Depression hit, and had to live on a shoe string. They abhorred “charity” from the government. Toward the end of her life my siblings and I learned that Mom may have been in the country illegally, but that is another story and a good one too. What I am trying to say is that I believe strongly in immigration. My only problem is with “illegal” immigration.

Eventually, I will get to the main point of this essay, bear with me.

Yesterday, my house cleaning crew came. House cleaning is one of those jobs that I refuse to do, so I delegate it to someone else, but they don’t work for free. The crew is a mother and daughter from Mexico. For the past three years that they have worked for me I have always wondered if they were here legally. It has been twenty years since they arrived, I thought at worst they may have been part of an amnesty. I still don’t know. I love to tease the daughter about her work habits, and often ask her why she doesn’t further her education. She never gives me a good answer. She was three when her parents brought her to America. She speaks excellent english without a hint of an accent, but she rattles off Spanish to her mother who still doesn’t speak English well. The Señorita has a good grasp of our government and the Constitution.

These women do excellent work, and Senora’s husband works for a remodeling contractor. Señor has also worked for me painting and dry walling. All of them work like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep on going. The entire family is religious and close-knit with many friends and relatives.

Daughter told me she is going to get a job in 2019. I asked her why when she is self-employed? “Well if I don’t get a job, I will lose my DACA and get put a deportation list.” WHAT? Why are you a part of DACA?”

“My mother thought it would be the best way for me to get a Social Security number.”

The wheels began spinning in my head. Obama invented DACA to allow unaccompanied minors into the country. This young lady has been here for twenty years she is twenty-three now. She wasn’t a minor, nor was she unaccompanied when she arrived. Given that DACA is six years old she would have been sixteen at the time and probably could have passed for younger.

All this is making my head explode. I feel for this girl. At three years old she didn’t come here by herself, her parents dragged her. Being an obedient child she obeys her parents. She is a victim of our government, and a Congress to unable to straighten out the mess, but she is also a victim of her parents. They are living the better life they came here to live; a house, cars, smart phones, and all the amenities of an American family.

What really scares me is how many more kids have signed up for DACA. I don’t think the law intended to include kids who have been here for thirteen years. No wonder the politicians call it a broken system. They have rewritten the immigration law in little dribs and drabs to the point where it is undecipherable and impossible to enforce. Combine that with an open border and the flood gates are open.

Now, here is the revoltin’ development. What do I do? Do I keep things the same? These people have become my friends and certainly do excellent work for me. Do I report them and become the Scrooge of the century? What do I do?  Yes, “what a revoltin’ development this is.”

Based on how easy it was for my friends to come here and to sign on to DACA thirteen years later I’d say the entire country has a revoltin’ development. How many hundreds or thousands of kids have joined the fray making it too big to fail? It’ll take Trump six years to straighten this out because of all the preposterous jack asses in the country who fight against him from every angle. We not only need to drain the swamp from all the government insider freeloaders we have to vote out the entire Congress. I think a shooting war would be easier; another revoltin’ development.

 

A Conservative Learns Some New Facts

The Far Away Brothers is one book which I recommend. It is history, political science and social studies all rolled into one. Auren Markham did a fine job of unraveling the complexities of US policies which did not make any sense to me like DACA. I’ve written a few blog pieces on GrumpaJoesplace.com about how befuddled I was about the thousands of kids migrating to the USA from Central America. How could little kids do that by themselves? That is one of the questions she answered for me. Another question I asked is why did the USA advertise its DACA policy in Central America? Had our administration gone nuts? What she leads me to believe is that our Department of Homeland Security did just the opposite. Why I heard that the USA encouraged Central Americans to migrate is still a mystery, but I think it might have been Fake News that did it.
Markham exposes why kids from El Salvador are leaving in droves. It is simple and it has nothing to do with America. It has everything to do with Central American government’s inability to improve conditions in their countries, their inability to control gangs, and their excessive corruption. Where have we heard that before? In the meantime, the USA in its compassion, and mercy tries to legislate solutions to solve problems that we know nothing about. In my years as an engineer we learned to find to the root-cause. DACA legislation resulted from being unable to reach the root-cause. The frustration of passing laws without knowing what problem the law deals with in a country we have absolutely no intimate  knowledge of. Even if did have intimate knowledge, how would we go about implementing laws in a foreign country to solve their inner problems? Meanwhile the people of Central America look to the North as a place where the ‘streets are paved in gold,’ and look upon the USA as the answer to all of their problems.
All along I wondered how young kids could travel over a thousand miles without any resources. They didn’t, they paid big money to hire a Coyote to get them into the USA. I should say, their parents paid big money by borrowing at ridiculous interest rates ( 20% +) , and expecting their liberated kid to work it off. What they don’t realize is the infinite maze of agencies, and systems legislated to insure only those who seek political asylum qualify, and not easily. Why these same people didn’t pay to get their kids a passport and visa before they paid for the coyote remains a mystery. In the meantime, we Americans swallow the bill to pay for the exorbitant court costs for years of needless red tape. I can now see why groups like La Raza want open borders, and free passage across borders to prevail.
Author Markham tells this story by telling the story of  one family with nine kids from El Salvador whose one son gets in trouble with a gang that threatens to kill him.  His loving parents pay for his escape. After he leaves, his twin brother who looks exactly like him fears the gang will kill him by mistake, so the parents take another juice loan to get the twin out-of-town. The story of their escape and arrival in the US is a mind-boggling drama that none of us would want to live through, but they make it.

I gave this book four stars.

Dream A Little Dream

When I listen to all the talk about DACA, and about how valuable the Dreamers are to our country I often wonder why they haven’t spoken up about the American Dream. Why don’t the Dreamers exclaim the virtues of America in comparison to their own country? Why haven’t they spoken of the great gifts they received by coming here? In comparison, other immigrants from countries further removed from the USA speak highly of their experiences. Take for example, the speech given by a Vietnamese boy, now a man, who had to flee his country. Luckily he was able to come to America. His love for America was developed by living here, and living with the freedom he didn’t have in Viet Nam.

Let hear something positive from the dreamers. Instead, we watch them demonstrate, hoot, and holler about being sent back to their homeland. They have been given a gift that others did not receive but are eternally grateful for. We don’t put demands on them, yet they proclaim their rights are being denied. What rights? Who gave them these rights? Why do they think they have rights? In school, were they taught in the English language or the language of their home country? Did they receive health care? Did they receive financial aid? Have they asked to become citizens? I can go on asking questions, but my readers will only size me up as a grouchy old man who is racist. I am grouchy, but I am not a racist. I happen to believe we are a country of laws and those who break the laws to cross the border should be held responsible. I also happen to believe that if your parents dragged your ass across the line as a child that you should be given an easier way to become a citizen, but your parents should pay the price for your good fortune. It is they who wanted you to have a better life, and they risked all they had to get it for you, now it is time for them to pay the price.

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Quang Nguyen

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2576024/posts

Thirty-five years ago if you were to tell me that I am going to stand up here speaking in English to a large group of patriots, I’d laugh at you. Every morning I wake up thanking God for putting family and me in the greatest country on earth.

I just want you all to know that the American dream does exist and I am living the American dream. I was asked to speak to you about my experience as a first generation Vietnamese American, but I rather speak to you as an American.

If you hadn’t noticed, I am not white and I feel pretty comfortable with my people.

I am a proud US citizen and here is my proof… It took me 8 years to get it, waiting in endless lines, but I got it and I am very proud of it. Guess what, I did it legally and it ain’t from the state of Hawaii.

I still remember the images of the Tet offensive in 1968. I was six years old. Now you might want to question how a 6 year old boy could remember anything. Trust me, those images can never be erased. I can’t even imagine what it was like for young American soldiers, 10,000 miles away from home, fighting on my behalf. 35 years ago, I left South Vietnam to come to America for political asylum. The war had ended. At the age of 13, I left with the understanding that I may or may not ever get to see my siblings or parents again. I was one of the first lucky 100,000 Vietnamese allowed to come to the US. Somehow, my family and I were reunited 5 months later, amazingly, in California. It was a miracle from God.

If you haven’t heard lately that this is the greatest country on earth, let me tell you, IT IS!!! It is the freedom and the opportunities presented to me that put me here with all of you tonight. I also remember the barriers that I had to overcome every step of the way. My high school counselor told me that I could not make it to college due to my poor communication skills. I proved him wrong. I finished college. You see… All you have to do is to give this little boy an opportunity and encourage him to take and run with it. Well, I took the opportunities and here I am. This person standing tonight in front of you could not exist under a socialist/communist environment. By the way, if you think socialism is the way to go, I am sure many people here will chip in to get you a one-way ticket out of here. And if you didn’t know, the only difference between socialism and communism is an AK-47 aiming at your head. That was what I knew and grew up with.

In 1983, I stood with a thousand new immigrants, reciting the pledge of allegiance and listening to the National Anthem for the first time as an American. To this day, I can’t remember anything sweeter and more patriotic than that moment in my life.

Fast forwarding, somehow I finished high school, finished college, and like any other goofball 21-year-old kid, I was having a great time with my life, I had a nice job and a nice apartment in Southern California. In someway and somehow, I had forgotten how I got here and why I am here.

One day I was at a gas station, I saw a veteran pumping gas on the other side of the island. I didn’t know what made me do it, but I walked over and asked if he had served in Vietnam. He smiled and said Yes. I shook and held his hand. His eyes started to well up. I walked away as fast as I could and at that very moment, I was emotionally rocked, this was a profound moment in life. I knew something had to change in my life. It was time for me to learn how to be a good citizen. It was time for me to give back.

You see… America is not place on the map; it isn’t a physical location. It is an ideal, a concept. And if you are an American, you must understand the concept, you must buy into this concept and most importantly, you have to fight and defend this concept. This is about Freedom… and not free stuff. And that is why I am standing up here. Brothers and sisters, to be a real American, the very least you must do is to learn English and understand it well. In my humble opinion, you cannot be a faithful patriotic citizen if you can’t speak the language of the country you live in. Take this document of 46 pages… Last I looked on the internet, there wasn’t a Vietnamese translation of the US constitution. It took me a long time to get to the point of being able to converse and until this day, I still struggle to come up with the right words. It’s not easy, but if it’s too easy, it’s not worth doing.

Before I got to know this 46-page document, I learned of the 500,000 Americans who fought for this little boy. I learned of the 58,000 names scribed on the black wall at the Vietnam War memorial. You are my heroes. You are my founders.

When I was eligible to vote, I went out and performed my civic duty. For all of you young people out there, who just turned 18, I encourage you to exercise your duty as an American to be an informed voter no matter where you are or what you do. America fought and died for your rights. DON’T LET HER DOWN!!!

At this time, I would like to ask all the Vietnam veterans to please stand. I thank you for my life. I thank you for your sacrifices, and I thank you for giving me the freedom and the liberties I have today. I now ask All veterans, firefighters, and police officers, to please stand. On behalf of all first generation immigrants, I thank you for your service and may God bless you all and may God bless America!

Try This

It is obvious that President Obama was frustrated during his term. What else would drive him to begin implementing programs like D.A.C.A. to bypass the Legislative Branch, and to violate his Constitutional powers?

This program was a blatant attempt to import people into the country by bypassing immigration laws. It is also well-known that the Obama advertised in Central America for kids to come. Would you allow your kid to travel over a thousand miles to start a new life for himself? My kids wouldn’t even know what the hell I was talking about. Anyway, we are now stuck with thousands of these kids, and President Trump is inclined to cancel this stupid program. I give Trump credit, he is giving Congress six months to solve the problem legislatively by passing Immigration reform laws. Now lets see how the same Congress that frustrated Obama into acting as he did do their job and make something happen. My prediction is they will sit on their legislative asses and collect a healthy paycheck for doing nothing.

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My proposal is this. All of these kids are supposed to be the bright ones that we want, or at least Obama wanted them. If they want to stay in the USA assign them to the Peace Corps. They are smart and resourceful, and they did find the way to America using a little known law that only Obama and Senator John McCain knew about. Once they are in  the Peace Corps I would assign them to their home country with a mission to straighten the place out and make it a great place to live. Once they straighten the place out they could choose to stay home, or if they insisted, we would allow them back with a green card.