nightime ramblings

Lines in My Brows

The lines in my brows tonight
Are not of worry or pain;
They are instead expansions of the thoughts
Of Adams, Franklin, Jefferson and Washington
Who described not a static place
But a new land, a new country
Where thoughts and ideals are exchanged
And new formulas developed.

For they were not perfect men,
Each had his faults.
And his own sense of morality,
Of mortality.
All had one common goal.
The vision of a more perfect union.
Which they could only fitfully imagine.

Today, as yesterday, and tomorrow
We should work to develop and improve upon
Their fine design, the groundwork
They laid down, only a framework
A design, upon which we can build.
A more perfect union, a more perfect world

But perfect is in the eye of the beholder,
And we can agree that we are not yet perfect
For there is much to be done.

You who consider yourself to be patriots
And supporters of this country
Should look to the distress and discomfort
Of our founding fathers.

You who are dissenters,
Should look to the same,
For these were men of action,
Who would rather die than let go of liberty

Those who agree to disagree,
And to develop
New means of understanding,
And aid and comfort to all.
These are the people we need now,
Who will stand for human rights
For Liberty, for Justice
For all human beings.

Immigration

Here are my thoughts on some work to solve the immigration issues across the United States today. This is not a complete answer, nor do I really expect it ever to be complete.
Before we begin, some definitions.:
Deportation in this sense is to mean, transported to the consulate of the home country and that consulate shall arrange immediate transportation back to their native land, with given regard to those who are seeking political asylum within the United States as allowed by our current laws and treaties.
“American-born family” in this sense includes parents, sisters, brothers, children and grandchildren, in whole or part.
“United States” refers to all States, the District of Columbia, and all territories and possessions of the United States of America.
“Employer” refers to any company, entity, or person doing business within the united States, it’s possessions or territories.

First, there should be a continuous effort to stop illegal border crossings. Mobilize the National Guard to provide much needed resources to the Border Patrol. Allow Border Patrol and National Guard unfettered access into all areas around the borders, (northern, southern; and all islands and territories/possessions of the United States), working to minimize ecological damage without reducing enforcement; and maintaining at all times an adequate level of force to reduce the number of illegal crossings. In all states, territories, and possessions, use the National Guard to support INS in unannounced, random visits to those types of companies that rely on undocumented or illegally documented workers, such as hotel, agriculture, manufacturing, packing/processing rents, plants, fast-food, convenience store and construction industries.

This is not a problem confined to the American mainland. There are factories (sweatshops) operating outside of American law in our possessions and territories. Therefore, these “U.S. P. & T.” areas should also be working on the same immigration laws. (The needed discussion of the working conditions in these U.S. P & T will need to be discussed at another time.) Second, require all employers to use E-Verify beginning today; establishing fast-track Federal judicial hearings for employers found to not be using E-Verify. A set of penalties need to be established, such as removing any federal, state or local business contracts and dealings with those companies that cannot prove total compliance with E-Verify. These penalties should have levels of increasing financial hardship on those companies refusing to comply with e-verify, up to and including highest levels of management denial. These penalties should include the possibility of in-home detention of management that condones and allows illegal hiring, as well as fines based upon the number of illegal hires. While I understand the argument that E-Verify is not a perfect system, it is a good strong logical beginning; it can be improved as situations arise that show cause for improvement.

But what to do when illegal immigrants are caught? Initial, immediate steps should include fingerprinting, DNA testing/recording, and photographing those individuals. Those caught at initial illegal entry should be immediately deported after these identifying steps have been taken. Those guilty of transporting humans illegally into this country should be subjected to trials for human trafficking, with federal penalties established and enforced. Traffickers should not be deported until they have been tried and punished in accordance with American laws. Concurrent human, drug and firearm trafficking should be tried and punished simultaneously, with maximum penalties invoked. Anyone requiring medical or hospitalization should be treated then deported. Children born to pregnant women intercepted at entry should not be granted American citizenship.

For those individuals found to be in the Untied States illegally for less than 3 years, but not caught when initially crossing the borders, humane and reasonable considerations should be given. If found, through the initial fingerprinting, DNA testing and photographs to have been linked to crimes committed while in the United States illegally, they should be tried; if found guilty, the individuals should punished according to American justice; the same justice as would be applied to any American citizen. Adults found not linked to crimes committed here, and who have no American-born children, should be deported immediately; those with American-born children should be given an opportunity to choose between family deportation and the ability to become naturalized American citizens within a set time period, while being on probation until said citizenship in established.
Those caught who have been here more than 3 years should be given a probationary time to become naturalized American Citizens. Reasonable credit and allowance should be given to those who have been in the service of the Untied States while here

How do we pay for this mass mobilization of resources to cover the subject? The fines imposed and collected from businesses failing to obey the laws of our country should be allocated to this effort. The balance will have to be come from taxes; however, when you raise the level of income by not allowing sub-standard wages to be paid, (as a result of the wage-earner being undocumented) you will raise the level of taxes being legally collected. Initially, however, this effort will be very costly to the American public. But it is the American Public who is raising this hue and cry over undocumented peoples.
Fines imposed for being inside American territory illegally are a subject of further discussion.
Could this draconian type measure work? Probably not without some tweaking; however it is at least an outline of a manner to stop the flow if illegal immigration. It is not a cure-all; and it is my belief this issue will be with the United States as long as we continue to be a free country.

I am looking forward to all comments!

Small Town Childhood

Try this: for a set period of time, say 24 hours for the really brave of you, disconnect yourself. Do not use the cell phone, internet, or cable/satellite TV (one local air type stations ok, even if you do use cable/sat to receive it); no rental movies, no video games or Wii or Playstation. No I-pod, I-Phone, or crackberry; none of it. Turn it all off. If your cell phone happens to be your only phone, use it JUST as a phone.
Now, if you are fortunate enough to be employed, you may need to let your employer know you are not available, but try without notifying your "friends" on Facebook or other social websites. Just shut yourself off.
I dare you. I double-dare you. I double-dog-dare you.
Then let me know if you took me up on my challenge, and how it worked for you.
That's how I grew up; and no, I am not complaining. I can hear the excuses why you cannot do it, I use every one of them myself. My considered opinion, however, is that as a people, we have conditioned ourselves to living in a 24/7/365 world, and I am not convinced that is really good for me, for us as a people. Consider for a minute how stressed you feel, how you cannot really stop and connect with your family, friends, spouse, co-workers, and others without looking at the cell phone, without turning on the i-net to catch the very latest news or happening, how we rely on our "social networks" on the computer or cable/satellite be informed and entertained. Do we really "need" this constant feed of information?
As Jackson Browne noted, "then about evening you think, what am I going to do?" (if you know the song I am referencing, without googling it, let me know! LOL)
I'll be back on Thursday, July 29th. Or Friday, July 30th.
Bob

Prostittues in SL? No Way!

So, prostitution is back on the front page (“Dude, I’m Not a Prostitute”, SL Tribune Tuesday July 20). Here’s a relatively simple way to reduce the problem. Publish and prosecute. Publish the names and address of all men and women that are engaged in this trade, when they are caught in police conduct sweeps or “stings.” Prosecute, including fines coupled with DNA and STD testing. Let the good people of Salt Lake know that this is a crime that will be punished.

Regulation

An accquaintance of mine on facebook recently commented, “first health insurance, now financial reform--brought to you by the same people who crashed the real estate market with fanny and freddie?!”
I must disagree, the people who crashed the real estate market and fanny/freddie were in the George W. Bush administration, not the current (Obama) administration. President Obama is trying hard, without any Republican support, to revamp and re-regulate the stock market, real estate, and speculative investment companies; if he achieves any true success, it will be without the assistance of any of those previously vaulted administration officials or their minions in Congress.
If you go back in history to the “Great Depression”, President Roosevelt had to invoke Presidental Authority to close the banks for 3 days, to allow enough time to implement his plans for government authorities to control and regulate the banks and investment/insurance companies. He broke them apart, told banks they could be banks, insurance companies they could provide insurance, and investment firms they could make investments, but the three could not work together to swindle the public out of money (my take on the process).
In these plans, he used the “best and brightest” from both sides of the aisle. Eccles and Marriot, both Republicans from Utah, were very high in his administration, and played a major part in the seperation of banks, investment, and insurance companies. These companies had to operate as separate, stand-alone businesses, they could not refer one customer to another desk and take profits therefrom. He was successfull, in that he took from the bankers/investment communities the abiltiy to make over-leveraged loans from banks on real estate in order for short-sighted consumers to purchase stocks, nor could the public short-sell stocks based on property valuations of the day.
While it may be argued that it took some time for his actions to make a positive effect, it cannnot be argued from a historical persepctive that these were in fact the correct moves to bring a halt to the depression.
So it is today. Over the last three decades, our government has worked to reduce regulation and increase co-dependant banking/investment/insurance/real estate companies. These steps, one at a time, have lead us to the financial collapse of this decade. Now the public outcry is for “more regulation”, and our government is trying to put this into place. Then, sadly enough, the pendulem will swing again, and we will have cries for less regulation, and we go off for a merry ride.

Obama's "Vacation"

Ok, people, I cannot resist. The President of the United States takes a "vacation" to Maine and the right goes ballistic? Excuuuse me? When I operated a small business, I would take a few days, and (ask my children and wife) the cell phone, laptop, and contact list were ever at my side. I know the President of the United States is no different; yes, he may be away from Washington, but as (Paul) Begula has commented, the President is President wherever he may be. As for his being "away" while the Gulf crisis continues, President Obama is much more on task than the CEO/Chairman of BP, (whose profit-at-any-expense-chasing company caused the disaster) who says he "just wants his life back", whist attending a yacht-racing competition. Give me a Break! I could, but won't, mention the frequent trips by the previous President to Camp David and to Crawford, TX during national crisis; I could mention, but won't, the lack of regulation over deep water drilling during the previous administration; or the lack of concern for adaquate safety procedures that should have been in place when this deep water well was started, but again, I won't go there today.

Notes for this Weekend (July 16-19, 2010)

I have special company coming for a visit, and may not be posting here through the weekend. I will be back next week for sure! Meantime, feel free to scroll down and put your comments on the pages! Again, this blog is a private blog, and your posts are for this blog only. All of the readers/authors that are allowed here are people I can personally vouch for as being "good" people!

The Madness Continues

Now it appears that an employee of the Utah State Government is responsible in part for the "list" of 1300 "illegal" immigrants. An employee of the Department of Workforce Services has been implicated in the release of records, records that are supposed to be private. Some of these records, however, do not fall under Utah State Laws, but are part of the Federal information, such as Social Security and Medicade/Medicare records. Is this how "Big Brother" is watching over us? Would YOU be comfortable with having your Social Security number, date of birth, and the expected arrival date of your child to be made public information; if you happen to be on unemployment, or receiving Medicare/Medicade benefits, would you want your neighbors, friends and the checkout person at the grocery store to know this? To have it published to the media? I think not, I know I would be very uncomfortable with the release of this type of information without my knowledge and consent. If these charges, the release of confidential information, are found to be correct, the individual or individuals responsible must be held accountable to the highest level, and punished to the highest extent of the law. Our Governor has promised a through and complete investigation, it is the responsibility of the citizens to hold him and his administration fully accountable for the crime, and for a proper punishment of the wrong-doers.
This list has an entire community in an uproar, rightfully so; if the effort is to stamp out corruption and waste in our government provided "benefits", then the "Concerned Citizens of the United States" should also have "outed" all of the non-Latino population as well, and come forward with their own identities. If they choose not to do so, then this is nothing more than vigilante justice! (Which is a poor excuse for true justice.) This crime, incorrect receipt of benefits, is not an issue strictly to one group of peoples.
Agree or disagree, those are my thoughts, please comment as you wish.

Thinking of Adam on his birthday

Adam
Or 5/4/80

Without our plan,
You came into our lives
In a time of trouble
And strain.

You put us back together
That night.
You made us realize
Nothing is as important
As Life.

In sixteen years,
You showed many people
What true love
Is all about.

Your best friend
Was eighty five.
You protected
Your sister on the bus.
And fought like cats and dogs
At home.

You always thought of others,
Your mom, Grandmother,
Grandfather.
You worked hard, always strove
To be your best.

I remember…
A deck, completed.
You were going to
Drink that beer
No matter how much you
Disliked it!
I wish we could fly,
Adam and I,
My son and I.
Those words ring in my ears
Every time I think of you.
We flew, my son,
We flew.

Your time here was much too short
I think of you often.
How much you loved
Nature and people.
Do you remember
Being a ranger
At Yuba, for a day?

Adam and I,
My son and I.
It’s been 14 years
I miss you every day.

I am not sad,
Nor melancholy
I know you are at peace
With Grandpa Ed.
Making up stories
About the one
That got away.

I feel your presence
In long, lonely nights.
When I cannot sleep,
You come to me.
With that open smile,
That welcoming grip,
You bring me back
To what matters most.


Your time on earth was
Short, and to the point.
You moved people
In so many ways.
Adam and I
My son and I.

I cannot forget
Your calm acceptance
Of the fates before you.
As I watched you pass,
I was impressed
With your brave demeanor.
You never forgot
To say a word of thanks
To anyone who
Helped you along.

Adam and I
My son and I.
This would have been
Thirty Years.
I wonder how you would be?

Your easy style!
I could not believe
You started to drive;
Like everything you did
With style, grace, and
A racer’s skill.
You were so natural
In all that you did.

Rest well, my son.
May I have the grace
You showed to the world.
My I have the strength
That you always displayed.

Oh, by the way
The lawn needs mowing,
And the dishes need doing.
You never shirked
Any duty.
Though you thought
It was your sister’s turn.

Every time I pull
The RV out
I think of you
And your broad
Smile.

Rest well, my son.

Tribute to my youngest Granddaughter, with my thanks!

Martha Anne

Walk and play
Little one!
Reach out
Pick up your blocks,
Your stuffed animals!
Taste and feel them
Enjoy the sensation
Of something new,
Smile and giggle
When you find
Something funny.

Set yourself down
Play with the remote
Doesn’t matter
What you do,
You’re learning
To be.
Amuse Granny and I
We discover ourselves again
In You.

Vigilante Justice

Vigilante justice has been a part of the American culture for centuries. Even in the days of the Puritan colonies, the righteous people “outed” those considered subversive of the culture, so-called witches, warlocks, and harlots; with death being the only sign the accused were in fact innocent. During the expansion into the west, the foreign workers for the railroad were subjected to countless purges and discrimination. The KKK, riding covered in white robes and hoods as symbols of their innocence, terrorized "undesirables" such as African-Americans, Jews, and Catholics, for the better part of a century. During the hysteria leading up to and into World War II, American Citizens of Japanese descent were "relocated" out of unfounded fear, fear that their loyality was to the Japanese Empire and not to the country they loved respected, and had raised their children in. Neo-Nazi groups continue to this day to protest groups they consider to be not pure Americans, not pure whites.
So it is today in Utah. A group hiding under the name, “Concerned Citizens of the United States” is attempting to out a select group they consider to be dangerous and subversive. Names on this list have already been found to be legally entitled to be here, to be naturalized citizens. (Peg McEntee, SL Tribune, July 15)
Unless you claim to be "Native American", you are in fact an immigrant, and for many years there was no control upon who could enter this country; many of our colonies were started by peoples who left their homelands seeking freedom..freedom of religion, of politics, freedom to associate with each other without social status, race, or religion being controlling factors. When we as a people cast a broad blanket of guilt upon an entire group, and entire peoples, we ourselves beome the vigilantes of the current day. As my learned Grandmother used to say, "there is good and bad in all sects in society. Reward the good with your respect, and let the law deal with the bad."
This current state of affairs is NOT the America, home of the free, that I want to leave to my children and grandchildren. If you are truly a concerned citizen, act within the accepted norms of justice and social interaction, hide not your name and action from public view. Respect those who have come here seeking a better life, and leave the justice for the bad to the proper authorities.

Will you vote?

I don't care how you lean politically, I just want you to vote! Voting is a privilege we, as citizens of this contry, are granted by birth, and it is also a sacred duty; for only by voting can we elect to Congress those individuals whom we believe best represent us, who can best work and deliver on the promises of America. I do not subscribe to the arguement "my vote doesn't count" for this reason: in all save the presidential election, our votes count, the candidates are granted office by a simple majority of votes. Your vote, coupled with your fellow citizens'votes, will decide the course of this country for years to come. If you are not registered to vote, get thineself registered, and then vote! For the good of your country! And, if for no other reason, when you want to complain about the elected officials, at least you will be able to say.."And I voted!"

Immigration Disscussion

“Those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it”-unknown.
In the midst of a depression, a state concerned with the demands of immigrants upon the social services (hospitals and schools), and the competition for employment, began to ask for proof of citizenship of all immigrants, deporting those unable to provide such proof. This move was applauded by the vocal majority of natural-born residents. The state was Nazi Germany, the time period was 1930-1945. Americans are aware of the conclusion of this social experiment. Is this the road we want America to take today? I pray not.

Welcome!

I have started this blog to put up my points of view on various social and political issues of our current time, as welll as some poetry and commentary. I have invited you to read and comment on this, intentionally, as I am looking for feedback and perhaps a little controversy. I do request that any comments you put up be in an acceptable, family friendly style fo speech. I also reserve the rigfht to remove offensive posts.
Enjoy!