A Land of Law and Order

Yes, we are a land of law and order. To prove this point, ICE raided seven food processing plants in and around Jackson, Mississippi on August 7, 2019.

Immigrants-680 individuals-were arrested during the raids. According to the U.S. Attorney General for Southern Mississippi, these raids were conducted to execute federal criminal search warrants and a number of search warrants for people in the country illegally. Brian Cox, spokesperson for ICE said approximately 300 of those arrested were released by Thursday, after being scheduled for hearings before federal immigration courts. There is no word yet on the other 380 people. One might reasonably conclude the ones not yet released were the targets of the federal criminal search warrants.

Arguably, one might agree those that have committed a crime serious enough to have federal criminal search warrants issued for them should be arrested, tried, and if found guilty, punished. That is the way a land of law and order should work, indeed, that is part of what our taxes pay for.

There is something I find disturbing about these raids, however, and it is also based on law and order. Mississippi requires all employers to use E-Verify, the federal system of proving a potential employee is legally able to work in this country.

All of the plants raided are privately owned. Four of the companies affected (Koch Foods, Peco Foods, PH Foods, and Pearl River Foods) all issued statements saying in part, they comply with the E-Verify system. MP Food, the fifth company targeted by the raids, has not yet issued a statement.

Which brings me to my concern: is the E-Verify system so easy to circumnavigate that 680 people were able to avoid detection, or are the companies lying about using E-Verify? Given that both Koch and Peco have been cited and/or fined by the US Department of Agriculture, EEOC and OSHA, I think the greater possibility is that management of these companies has failed to actually use E-Verify correctly.

There is no real bite in E-Verify, at least for the employer. There may be fines assessed, but no one goes to jail for hiring illegal workers. Pay the fine, move on. But if the owner of Koch Foods, Joseph Grendys (net worth $3.3 Billion, according to Forbes) were to go to jail as well as being fined a substantial amount of money, I think his company would be much more diligent in the hiring process. (Please bear in mind, I am only using him as an example. I do not know for a fact that he is aware of any improper hiring practices in his company.)

It has been my long-held belief that most of the "illegal immigrants" in this country came here to work, make money, and raise their families. If there are no jobs for them, they will not come illegally, at least in my opinion. If the penalties for hiring illegal workers were stiff enough, and enforced, then illegal immigrants would not be able to find work, and therefore would have much less incentive to come here.

Now imagine if this were applied across the entire American economy. Perhaps we would be one step closer to being a land of law and order for all.

I hope I've given you something to think about, and thanks for reading.

You comments, as always, are welcome.

R.M. "Bob" Hartman 

Ten Hot Summer Days

Ten hot summer days. In that space of time, 34 people were killed in mass shootings, and another 63 were injured. The alleged (?) shooters were white males, between the ages of 19 and 24. Two of the shooters are dead, the third is in jail. Although different guns were used, they all were high-capacity "assault rifles," and all were purchased "legally;" however, there is some evidence they may have been illegally transported across state lines. We may never know if the three gunmen knew each other, though some evidence suggests the killer in the El Paso murders may have been influenced by the Dayton shooting. Certainly, we will never positively know what factors drove the Dayton and Gilroy shooters to commit their crimes, as they are dead; but we may gain some insight into the thought patterns of the El Paso killer; he is still alive.

None of the above facts will bring back the 34 victims of these killers, nor will they erase the images captured in the minds of those wounded or who witnessed the shootings. And none of the above facts will do anything to stop the carnage that seems to be overwhelming our country.

There are things that can be done to reduce the risk of these types of mass murders re-occurring, and while they are small steps, they may be a beginning to some solutions. I'd like to express my thoughts on some of those ideas. You may say, after reading this, these ideas won't work, and I agree they will not solve all the problem. But, what we have been doing so far certainly hasn't worked very well, has it? It's time for some critical thinking.

The first, and perhaps the easiest one to implement, is to require national registration at the time of purchase or transfer of any and all firearms. This includes sales at gun shows, pawn shops, and sales by private individuals, including collectors. Believe it or not, only six states and the District of Columbia currently require firearm registration; and not all firearm types need to be registered, even in those states. Currently, seven states completely prohibit the registration of firearms. The other 37 states neither require or prohibit registration. This legislation should also include an insurance clause; that is, you must be able to prove liability insurance for the firearm. The legal age to purchase any firearm should be the same in all 50 states, and the District of Columbia. This does not mean that young Sally and Johnny cannot learn how to handle a firearm, or hunt; it just means they cannot purchase or own a gun.

I said this idea would be easy to implement, but the "Firearms Owners' Protection Act" of 1986 prohibits a national registry. So, this portion of the Reagan-era law would have to be overturned.

Some say this is the first step toward confiscation of privately owned firearms. Get real, people. You are required to register and insure your vehicles, which are also capable of killing and wounding people. It's not that different after all.

The three shootings under discussion meet the federal description of domestic terrorism, to wit: they are a)"dangerous to human life"; b) intended to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population;" or c) influence government by "intimidation or coercion" or "mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping." While federal law defines domestic terrorism, it does not make it a federal crime to commit acts of domestic terrorism. Wait a minute, we have a law defining acts of domestic terrorism, but no federal penalty for committing such acts? Yep, you got it. The FBI can become involved to assist state agencies, but the individuals responsible for these acts can only be prosecuted under state laws. Why does this matter? First, the FBI does not have to get involved in cases of this type, although I understand they are involved in these three. Second, the FBI can look beyond state borders at the relationship these types of criminals may have with other like-minded individuals, and bring charges where appropriate. Third, if domestic terrorism is a crime under federal law, stiffer penalties are a distinct possibility.

The second thought I propose then, is to pass a law making domestic terrorism a federal crime. Congress, can you stop pointing fingers at each other long enough to get this done?

Third, and this thought strikes very close to home for all of us: every person in America should demand of our elected officials that they do not denigrate populations of social backgrounds, wealth, country of origin, race, or sex as a whole. That is to say: Our President, and other elected officials, should never say or imply that all people from Pluto are murderers, rapists, or thieves; or that those with green skin are low-lifes, losers, or pathetic. This type of speech is antithetical to American ideals.

Besides, speech of this nature makes simple-minded people self-righteous, and then they do bad things. Very bad things, which can affect all of us in ways we cannot fathom.

Thank you for reading; as always, your comments are welcome.

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

Data on firearm registration taken from https://ballotpedia.org/Firearm_registration_requirements_by_state

Retrieved August 6, 2019; it is "as of Jan 1, 2019"

USA PATRIOT ACT, 2001

A Wish List

The Democrats had a two-evening debate last week. I didn't watch it (work conflicts), but I did read reports from and about it. Frankly, I didn't learn much.

What I want,and what I believe most Americans want from the Democratic Party, is a clear platform of goals for the next administration, and a clear pathway to achieving those goals.

Here's some ideas for your consideration.

Stop wasting time bashing President Trump. It fires up his base, and makes it appear that you have nothing to offer, except to bash him. You need to be better than that, and I think you are.

Our economy, both on Wall Street and main street, is suffering from bad decisions on trade and tariffs; let's go back to the trade table and re-think our economic priorities. Develop programs that reward small businesses and incentivize American manufacturing.

America put a man on the moon in a decade, and we have, in our colleges and Universities, great and wonderful talents and abilities. Create a program putting those talents and abilities to work on providing America with sources of clean, safe, affordable energy to power our country forward.

Stop punishing people who want to escape wars and famine in their home countries, and welcome them to our shores. Clean up the immigration "problem" by putting into action policies that assist immigrants in become productive American citizens. Punish those companies and individuals that exploit undocumented workers.

Education, or the lack of it, creates poverty; and the United States is suffering from a lack of trained, educated tradespeople; and has a surplus of unemployed, or under-employed citizens. Bring back, in volume, trade schools that teach welding, plumbing, carpentry, electrical, and other skills. Make them affordable, and show how a tradesman, well skilled, can again become a part of the middle class. These are jobs that cannot be exported to India, China, or elsewhere.

Our public schools are lacking qualified teachers. How about a program that eliminates student debt for teachers that stay in the profession for four years, at the K-12 levels; and continues on by providing a tax break each year they remain teachers?

Eliminate the revolving door on our prisons, in part by closing the for-profit prison system. It has put a burden on law enforcement by demanding a certain percentage of the for-profit cells will be filled, and this in turn contributes to an unjust proportion of non-whites being incarcerated for the crime of being poor.

Renew our standing in the world by working with our allies and reducing the threat of global terrorism, while holding sacred and inviolable our beliefs in human rights, dignity, and the rule of law.

Well, there's a few ideas for you to think about as you campaign this year.

Thank you for reading, and, as always, your comments are welcome.

R.M. "Bob" Hartman