American Hour-Glass

Right now, America is literally leaking at the seams and we have a President and an administration who only want to find blame and assign it in terms of priorities.  Oh sure, there are those who would defend the steps that have been taken as all that can be humanly possible given the current circumstances.  After all, this is the biggest environmental disaster the United States has seen both in terms of an oil spill and illegal immigration.  Is that not correct?  Oh, you just thought I was talking about the oil spill when I mentioned we were leaking at the seams. No, not really, I hope you see the correlation between the two subjects as I do at this point.  Regardless of which one we choose to discuss, we have an administration that is either incapable or unwilling to do anything significant about either one.  In the words of famed rapper, M.C. Hammer, “Let’s break it down !”

 

We are sixty plus days into the oil spill.  Shorelines and marshlands around the eastern perimeter of the Gulf are now in significant danger of pollution from the spill.  Washington has spent yet another week of pandering and looking for every opportunity to make sure BP is on the public skewer for this tragedy.  Washington has spent yet another week discussing shutdowns of drilling in the Gulf, Comprehensive Energy Reform Initiatives, setting up study commissions, and naming Gulf Coast Oil Czars.  As a public, our hands are tied by the federal government on the basis of it being the “controlling authority” yet the government continues in its half-hearted effort to stem this situation continuing to point the finger at BP as the perpetrator and the ultimate party that will be responsible.  What else can we do, “suck it up with a straw?” seems to be a reason mantra of defense.

 

Well, let me say this.  Don’t sit in Washington and say that you are doing all that you can do if you refuse to compromise on environmental issues in the face of a national emergency.  Any suggestion by outside entities of the government for possible measures to soften the damage or stem the flow is simply met with the response that “we need to study that first”.  This is a national emergency.  Call out the National Guard.  Call out the Navy.  I want to see some Navy vessels pulling something around in those Gulf waters skimming oil from the surface. Call out all factions of the Coast Guard.  Use hay, use hair, use new ideas.  Relax the Jones Act and let other nations offer us some expertise and assistance.  Allow the governors of the shoreline states to institute some measures to protect their shores and do it in a timely fashion.  When and if those steps are accomplished, I just might be willing to give someone in Washington credit for “doing all that is humanly possible ” in the face of this tragedy.  In terms of this cleanup, go forward and get it done.  Then, afterward, when there is time to reflect, we can investigate, accuse, prosecute, commission, blame, interrogate, or whatever with the responsible parties. We can give BP the bill.  If the can’t pay it, guess what?  We are still the winners!

 

In terms of the leaking borders to our south, get out of the courthouse and get behind Arizona for a change.  Use the necessary resources to shut down the southern borders tighter than Dick’s hatband on a hot day.  Use the National Guard if necessary. Quit arguing about what reforms we need to put in place and enforce the damn laws we have on the books of this country.  Quit telling Arizona how unconstitutional their law and pointing out the fact that the federal government is the “authority” in this matter.  The federal government is not doing anything about the issue of consequence and Arizona is suffering.  Let me repeat some statistics I received yesterday by email that have been published in the Los Angeles Times to reflect the situation as it stands in southern California at present:

 

The County of Los Angeles California has approximately 10.2 million people residing in it. 40% of all the workers in the county are working for cash and not paying taxes in any form. This is mainly due to the fact that the majority, if not all, of this portion is made up of illegal immigrants.

 

95% of the murder warrants issued in the county are for illegal immigrant suspects.

 

On the list of “Most Wanted Criminals in the County”, 75% of those named are illegal immigrants.

 

With regard to child births in Los AngelesCounty, over 2/3’s are to illegal immigrant parents who care covered under Medi-Cal welfare for the costs of the birth and paid by taxpayer funds.

 

Over 1/3 of all the inmates in California Detention Centers are illegal immigrants.

 

Over 300,000 illegal immigrants are estimated to be living in garages in the Los AngelesCounty area.

 

The FBI estimates that at least one-half of all gangs in the County are made of illegal immigrants.

 

Almost 60% of the dwellers in HUD Properties in the County are illegal immigrants.

 

There are 21 Spanish-speaking radio stations in the Los AngelesCounty area yet more than 50% of the residents speak English.

 

Less than 2% of the illegal immigrants are involved with the harvest of agriculture yet 29% of the illegal immigrants are on welfare.

 

Over 70% of the population growth for the USA (90% for California, Florida, and New York) is due to illegal immigration.

 

If you have failed to hear it on the news, Los AngelesCounty is essentially broke and struggling to cover their budgetary needs.  Based on the above information, there is no surprise that would be the case.  The point here is that, first and foremost, we need to stop the leaking in order to gain control over the costs associated with it. Then, there will be ample time to discuss the how and what of dealing with the current illegal population. Any other approach takes on a potential population of illegal immigrants that is undefined and will grow rapidly once any news of potential amnesty arises.  What is happening in southern California is the precursor to what will happen in Arizona and eventually in the USA if we fail to take action which effectively seals our borders to illegal immigration, enforces the laws currently on the federal and state books, and effectively outlines the steps that all will complete to become a legalized citizen of the United States.  When Washington has completed that process, then we can discuss whether we need to pursue comprehensive reform outside the scope of effectively controlling our borders and enforcing the existing laws.  Any so-called “comprehensive reform ” that has an objective to simply increase the number of people on the “public dole ” has no positive value to the citizens of this country.

 

Identification of a problem should never be confused with solving it.  Solutions not only must be effective and efficient, they must be timely in response. Those who elect to bog down the dilemmas such as the current oil spill or the spill of illegal immigration across our borders into political rhetoric and pigeon-hole the matters under the heading of “downstream negotiations ” have no sense of the urgency or they have an agenda that is not in the best interest of the American public.  Luckily, we still have the opportunity to vote in this country.  We need to exercise that process effectively as citizens and install those elected officials who will do all that is “humanly possible” in the face of tragedy to protect the people and the assets of this great nation.  Let’s get something accomplished before the sand runs through the glass.

 

 

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