Spread the Word

My cousin sent me this letter in an e-mail. The letter was penned by Rosemary LaBonte and sent to the editor of a local newspaper. The paper did not publish it, so her husband David decided to publish it for her. He sent it out in an e-mail requesting that we spread it around the world.

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For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing against supporting the currently proposed immigration revisions. This lady made the argument pretty simple.

Newspapers simply won’t publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which do not agree with the philosophy they’re pushing on the public. This great letter to the editor should have been published; but, with your help, it will get published via cyberspace!

From: “David LaBonte”

My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to “print” it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined.

Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren’t being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today’s American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground.
They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good-bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.
Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought alongside men whose parents had come straight over from Germany , Italy , France and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from.
They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan . They were defending the United States of America as one people.

When we liberated France , no one in those villages was looking for the French-American or the German-American or the Irish-American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country.

Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country’s flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here.
These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one Red, White and Blue bowl.

And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country.
I’m sorry, that’s not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900’s deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life.
I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty , it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn’t start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte

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I have often thought we should put a replica of the Statue of Liberty at every Border Crossing. That way anyone who enters legally can enjoy the same experience our parents and grandparents experienced when they came in through Ellis Island. In this day of Disney World it would be an easy matter to design a border crossing exactly like the one in New York Harbor. True, we couldn’t have water dividing the Statue from Ellis Island at every entry point, but we could simulate it with sand or grass. The process could be the same with the exception of modern day computerization.The cost of these entry points can be offset by eliminating the Department of Homeland Security. DHS has only served to make us less secure since their refusal to enforce current immigration laws have allowed every type of miscreant to sneak into the country, so why pay for this huge debacle. The DHS is one thing George Bush did that I never hear anyone complain about, but DHS is the one thing Bush did that I disapproved from the beginning. It  was just another far left expansion of the government, and it has been growing ever since. Do you feel more secure with DHS in place? I sure don’t.

There is a huge argument going on about the need for a wall between Mexico and the USA. I, for one, believe the wall is long overdue. The immigrants coming from Europe and Asia have to cross a giant wall, yet no one complains. The walls are called the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Because they come by sea, they must pass through ports where there are points of Customs, and Immigration to pass through. Entrants must possess passports to cross the line. Those from Central America believe their shoes are the only passport required. Instead of a wall with controlled entry points they want paved pathways  all along the border to make their entry easier. Think about how much easier it would be to smuggle contraband into the country if those coming in were towing wheeled wagons on paved paths.
Texas and the United States won the war with Mexico soundly, and fairly. We took the land we wanted and then paid the Mexicans for it. It is time the latinos admit they lost the war. Anything other than that is a new declaration of war, and we should deal with it as such. Only this time we will keep every square inch of land we take away from them without any payment. The last time we drove them all they way to Mexico City. We paid for Arizona, New Mexico, and California up to the Rio Grande, and left the remainder for them.

My final thoughts: The Society of La Raza works overtime to open the southern border with free migration of hispanics back and forth like migrating Aztecs, Incas, Mayans, and Apaches. They work to preserve their culture and heritage. I have a question for them. Current Mexican culture evolved from the Spanish. Why doesn’t La Raza work to undo the damage done to their race, and culture by the Spaniards? Answer: Because Spain is a poor country too far away. They would rather invade, and conquer a rich country by claiming falsely that the USA stole from them when it was the Spanish who stole, raped, plundered, killed, and conquered them without any repayment for anything. The Spaniards did such a good job of knocking Mexico into subjugation the Mexicans have adopted Spanish culture and tradition as their own. Their real culture is Aztec, Inca, and Mayan. The Indian culture that occupied the Southwestern North America abandoned the areas because of droughts and other unknown unexplained reasons.

This all reminds me of a movie I saw long ago titled “The Mouse that Roared,” starring Peter Sellers. The story is about a tiny country that is broke and needs money so they decide to declare war and attack the  United States. Their rationale was that once the USA engaged them they would surrender and the USA would give them Foreign Aid to rebuild just as they did with every other country they ever engaged with. The movie is a comedy of course, so is the immigration effort of Mexico and Central America

 

Borders and Immigration, Revisited

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The border between the US and Mexico has been on my mind for some time now. The issues of illegal immigration and the border loom ominously ahead of us. Why is it that this border is so different from the others?

Immigrants are the heartbeat of America. We are all children of people who came here from someplace. I am a first generation offspring of  parents who immigrated to the US in the nineteen twenties. Both Mom and Dad told us their stories of how they got here and who sponsored them. They needed visas and a passport, before leaving their home country. Both of them had to travel hundreds of miles to a harbor in northern Europe, board a boat, and endure weeks of sea sickness while crossing the “border” into the United States.

Once they crossed the invisible line called a border somewhere in New York Harbor their boat docked. It didn’t dock at the mainland, it docked at Ellis Island. There, they disembarked and stood in long lines until they came before a magistrate of some kind who officially registered them in the books of immigrants. I assume they were given papers to allow them entry.

Not all folks off the boat were lucky. Some, who carried disease or some undesirable malady returned home. How in the hell they accomplished that is not clear. Many of the folks who came from Slavic countries carried some weird names. At least they were weird to the magistrates who could not pronounce a string of consonants. Often the magistrate registered the alien with a new name spelled as he heard it said. So some of them came to America and immediately had a new identity as well as a new home. Well, not yet. There was the matter of getting from Ellis Island to where ever you were going to wind up.

That is the Eastern border, the Western is not much different. Contractors building railroads, dams and bridges conscripted Chinese and Japanese laborers by the thousand to help build railroads across the country. Many of these contracted laborers never made it back home. At first, they came by boat and entered harbors in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Later, after air flight became the norm, seating capacity limited how many could come on Boeing airplanes. Airplanes land in controlled spaces such as airports. They disembark the plane and herded to the immigration terminal where a nasty looking man in a uniform verifies their credentials. They must have passports and a visa to continue to customs. Eventually, they enter the mainland to a new home. In review, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans present a unique border that limits immigration to discreet entry points.

Let’s look at the northern border next. Canada is a country much like the United States. Canada’s make-up is from immigrants who enter the country from the East (Atlantic) or from the West (Pacific). Their northern border is the arctic circle and most likely is not breached nor has it been breached since the last ice age when the Bering Sea froze over and immigrants from Asia walked across to North America. There was also a brief time in the  seventeen hundreds when Russian adventurers sailed across the Bering Sea and settled in what is now Alaska. In any case this migration limited entry to very few souls.

Most of Canada’s immigrants come to Canada the same way as they do to the USA from the East and West.

The Northern border of the USA is with Canada. Canadians bent on migrating to the USA are already documented and familiar with the process. They apply for visas and passports and cross into the states at designated border crossings. The standard of living in Canada is like that in the USA so there is not the huge wish on their part to leave one good thing for something else.

America’s southern border presents a different perspective. At one time, the native population of Mexico stretched into North America into the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Then the Spanish came and invaded Mexico in search of gold. They proceeded to bastardize the Indian population with Spanish blood to the extent they creates a new referred to as Hispanic. The Spanish brought with them Jesuit priests to convert the pagan natives to Christianity. Many of the Jesuits were successful in establishing missions to do their work. In a sense the missions were mini countries ruled as theocracies. When the Spanish decided the missions were too successful they began secularization and order evolved into chaos under Spanish rule.

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We all know that Spain did not hold its grip on Mexico and the now Hispanic native population came to be ruled by the very wealthy aristocracy. It is the same to this day. Mexico is a dirt poor country because the leaders want it dirt poor.

In eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, the Republic of Texas became a reality by  seceding from Mexico. Texas later became a state.

Mexico ceded New Mexico, Arizona and California to the United States during the Mexican-American war of 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848). The US also paid Mexico $15,000,000.00 dollars for the land.

The western border states quickly became agricultural and needed labor. Mexicans living on the land did much of the work. Others who lived across the border would simply walk or ride across to their jobs and return home at night. The culture of free passage has prevailed for centuries.

The Mexican people come to America for the same reasons my parents did, to make a better life for themselves. Yes, we have laws on the books defining requirements for entry, but our government choses to ignore them. We brag about the number of immigrants we lawfully allow into the states every year, but sweep the number of illegals under the carpet.

Why is this the case? Our low-cost labor requirements are greater than the number of immigrants we can process yearly. We lack a valid worker pass program that allows true migrants the ability to cross into the USA for legitimate reasons, i.e. to work. The result is they enter the country illegally and make themselves legitimate with stolen social security cards. This not only allows them to get drivers licenses, but they now qualify for benefits even though they had no intention of asking for benefits when they got here.

Many of us argue that our generous social programs draw these people here. I contend that this is wrong. Most come only to get a job that pays more than they can make in Mexico. We as a country insist they get the same rights as our legal immigrants and valid citizens. Our insatiable desire to offer equal outcome for all is eating us alive. Guest workers do not deserve any benefits, they are here to make a wage and to go home.

What is the answer here? Control! The same type of control we have on the East, and west borders. On the South, it means a fence, moat, or a deterrent system as effective as three thousand miles of ocean. Control will allow us to assimilate and integrate new people at a pace we can all be happy with. Classify guest-workers as that, guest-workers. Why insist they be given all social benefits allotted to legal citizens, even when the guest-worker does not demand it.

Define the guest worker with a contract describing his salary, duties and daily time on the job with a three years limit. When their contract time is up, they go home.

Singapore brags about 110% employment. How can they meet that demand? They have a generous guest worker program. They do not have guest workers who over stay visas and get lost in the system, and Singapore follows its laws.

The immigration debate is simple to fix, we do not need another 1220 page bill loaded with muck to fill the days of our Congress with endless arguments about how to fix it. What we need is some common sense, and a President who loves America as it is, and one who is not fixated on transforming America into a Socialist State. Couple that with a Congress that cares about the country more than keeping their jobs. The kind of President and Congress we have is up to us. We are the only ones who can fix that problem by paying attention to what our government is up to and electing candidates with character, integrity, and genuine love for the country.

Here is my proposal:

  1. Implement a Vigorous Border Control
  2. Initiate a formal Guest-Worker Program
  3. Differentiate guest worker benefits from immigrant benefits.
  4. Define the number of immigrants allowed
  5. Define the number of guest-workers we need, and will allow.
  6. Expand and improve border crossing stations to increase the flow of guest workers.
  7. Define the length of time a guest worker may stay before returning to his home country.

Your comments are welcome.

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This is My Home Country

I do not know Rosemary La Bonte nor her husband. All I know is that Rosemary wrote a beautiful letter to the editor of the Orange County Register, a California newspaper. It never got published. Her husband David took it upon himself to publish it for her. He sent it to friends via e-mail and asked them to keep it moving, and that is how I got it. Rosemary eloquently writes about immigration and the Statue of Liberty and what it means to her.. statue-of-liberty

Here is her husbands introduction to her letter:

For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing against supporting the currently proposed immigration revisions. This lady made the argument pretty simple. NOT printed in the Orange County Paper … Newspapers simply won’t publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which does not agree with the philosophy they’re pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that should have been published; but, with your help, it will get published via cyberspace! From: “David LaBonte

My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to “print” it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined. Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:

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The Statue of Liberty

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren’t being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry. Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today’s American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good-bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought alongside men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German-American or the Irish-American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country’s flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl. And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I’m sorry, that’s not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900’s deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags. And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn’t start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

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In support of Rosemary’s suggestion that we not take down the Statue of Liberty I have often thought that we should build carbon copies of Lady Liberty and place them at the official entry points into the United States.  Along with the statue, I suggest we construct a replica of Ellis Island staffed to take care of all who want to become residents.  We must celebrate a system that worked as well as that which our parents endured with emulation. Instead, we have fellow citizens who want to tear down the successful system and open the door to anyone at anytime to partake of the benefits and to then  return “home” with the booty.

Many times, I asked my Dad if he missed his home country, each time he answered “this is my home country.”  Mom had a slightly different perspective. She pined for her home town and her mother and brother. The pining never stoped, and when she was seventy-eight years old we gifted her with a trip home. She spent six weeks living with her niece in her “home” town. When she returned, I asked her if she wanted to move back home? She responded, “this is my home.” Dad became an American with his first step onto North American soil.  Mom took a few years longer, but she finally admitted she too was an American.

 

JR Sr.

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Happy Father’s Day to all. The photo above is of my Dad with my sister and me. This photo was taken on a Sunday. How do I know? Dad always dressed up on Sunday to go to mass. He stayed dressed for the day. During the week, he wore blue work shirts and blue work pants. Most days he looked like he worked in a coal mine. He came to America from a small town in Hungary. His half-sister Anna and her husband sponsored him. He arrived at Ellis Island at age seventeen with but a few coins in his pocket. Somehow he found his way to Burnside in Chicago. There, he stayed at a local boarding house until my Great Uncle got him a job at the Illinois Central Rail shops on 95th and Cottage grove Avenue. His job involved doing repair on the brakes of rail cars. When he reached sixty-five years he retired from the same job.

Dad was a maniac for hard work. His idea of retirement fun was to cut tall grass with a scythe on his farm in Michigan. He created a park with a baseball field for his grandkids. We spent many weekends visiting and there was always a baseball tournament going on the entire weekend.

Dad was an excellent father and a superb role model for me, my brother, and Sis.

 

She Weeps for Many Reasons

She weeps for many reasons, but today marks a special event. The Supreme Court upheld Obama care as Constitutional because Congress has the right to impose a tax. The Supreme Court made the decision that Obama was not capable of making.

President Obama knew right from the start that the health care bill would never pass if he sold it as a tax. Especially after his campaign promise to not tax the middle class. Therefore, he and his cronies invented the ambiguous language which failed to define which it was (He speaks with a forked tongue). The Court saw through the subterfuge and decided for him. Now he has to live with the task of convincing the country that the single largest tax assault the US has ever seen is a good thing. This is another tax to pile onto the backs of the working class to make them tax-slaves to those who feed off of big government.

Lady Liberty cries because of the loss of Liberty we face with this regime. Justice Antonin Scalia gave us a Constitutional lesson regarding our loss of liberty and what we have to do if we don’t like the law. If we don’t like losing liberty, or this law, we should vote for new leadership, or in other words, throw the bums out. Let us show him that we are quick to learn and send the Constitution-Side-Stepper-in-Chief along with his head bobbing Senate packing

On the immigration issue, I  believe we should erect a Statue of Liberty along with a copy of Ellis Island at every legitimate entry point into the USA.  Perhaps the same symbol of liberty that greeted our immigrant parents will help solidify why a person wants to leave his home country to live in America.