Let me make it clear once again: I support immigration. This country was built upon the labor of immigrants and those very same immigrants who once dealt with incredible racism have since become some of the staunchest lovers of America. I think we, as a country, need to work out a way to make legal immigration into our country feasible for those who want to come while, at the same time, weeding out the worst of the criminals and potential terrorists. It’s a tall order, but one I believe we need to all get involved in (all communities) in order to better build our country for the future. However, while I truly believe all I’ve just written, I also believe that illegal immigration is a drain on our country. My prime concerns regarding illegals are lost taxes (if I’ve got to pay them, then so do you) and the abuse of our health care system (which itself needs a makeover). So when it comes to a contest that a private company holds where the rules plainly state that the winner must be a legal citizen, I don’t understand why there’s even the slightest controversy that a person gets disqualified because of the fact that they are illegal immigrants and, therefore, non-citizens. (more…)

I’m impressed by this administration. I really am. I do not think that I’ve ever read news items about our government and exclaimed “wow” or “you’ve got to be kidding me” or “and he calls himself a [insert party name here, in this case Republican]?” aloud as often as with this administration. 10 out of 10 for inventiveness, negative-several-million for representing the people and the country responsibly. The latest mind-boggling item (and I’m sure I’m only catching 1 out of 100 mind-boggling items these days) is the news that the White House is attempting use a memo drafted and signed in secret by the White House and the Secret Service wherein in the Secret Service declares that records identifying visitors to the White House are no longer under their control, but the White Houses’ as “Presidential records” and, therefore, no longer available to the public (even under Freedom of Information requests). This memo was apparently created and signed during the hype surrounding the lobbying scandals involving Jack Abramoff as a way to fend off requests for visitor information to the White House that may show that White House aides and senior staff (including Karl Rove) were getting visits from those involved in illegal lobbying. Apparently, our President thinks its fine for these records to be used against others, but as soon as anyone tries to use the same records to come after him or his cronies, the new Iron Curtain comes slamming down. (more…)