Act of Love

Former Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, has created a bit of a huff and puff with his comments about those immigrants who come to this country illegally because they want to do well by their families. As per Bush, their breaking of the immigration laws of the United States is actually done as an “act of love,” an obviously unwise generalization … see: Breitbart Commentary.

Of course, in many instances … who knows the exact percentage … he is correct. But there are also many other nefarious reasons why our porous borders are breached by those who are less family-affectionate … the sex trade, drug smuggling, gang member recruiting, terrorist activities, those looking for our government’s handouts, those escaping criminal prosecutions at home, etc. The trouble is that there is no filtering process on this illegal immigrant influx to try to exclude such undesirables.

And even if 100% of these illegal immigrants were acting out of familial love, there still is the problem of America eventually becoming overrun with everyone in the world who is devoted to one’s own … there must be billions of them. The United States cannot possibly absorb all such caring people without imploding. Therefore, Jeb Bush has crawled out on an emotional limb which is easily pruned with simple logic.

Blanket amnesty cannot be the solution to the years of lax enforcement of our immigration laws … even if it is well-intentioned. This issue is now so thoroughly wrapped up in political motivations that it cannot be solved by naive utterances by would-be presidential candidates … of any party. I believe that the American people, in general, understand the conundrum we face … and such simple answers will not suffice.

I have previously offered my thoughts on this issue … see: Carrying Water in a Sieve. I believe that any real solution to this problem needs to stop the bleeding by strict enforcement of our existing immigration laws … including exporting of criminals and  those who overstay their visas … tighter inspection of amnesty claims … and an unbreachable barrier on our southern border. If this were done, maybe in twenty or thirty years this national problem would naturally dissipate ... without the granting of impassioned amnesty.

And I firmly believe that politicians who claim that they will enforce our immigration laws and then don’t ... are not acting out of love of country or compassion for those “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” They (yes, you know their names) are craven and self-serving.

Obama’s Legacy

Heads of state are aptly remembered for what they had accomplished while in office … their legacy if you will.  There are big legacies and not-so-big legacies.  Clearly those Presidents who are memorialized on Mt. Rushmore have left big legacies … winning important wars, freeing the slaves, establishing for posterity firm democratic guidelines, ridding our nation of malignant structural forces, curing economic malaise, setting high ethical and moral standards, etc. According to the Associated Press, Obama wants his legacy from his second terms as President to be the following:

 - “an immigration law that would deal firmly but compassionately with millions of illegal residents”;

-  “an economic model that demands more money from the rich to shrink the debt;”

- “a tax system that is fairer and simpler for families;”

- “a bigger emphasis on education,”

- “more made-in-America energy,” and

- solving our “old problem of gun violence.”

See: A.P. Story

If one actually believes these pronouncements, our current White House occupant has not carved out for himself the loftiest of goals.  These stated objectives, to me, seem short-term and opportunistic … ignoring many of the gigantic economic, social, cultural, infrastructure, and geo-political conundrums that we face as a nation. And, truth be told, he has not, in the first half of his tenure, accomplished very much even toward his previous picayune pronouncements … other than through his rhetoric (which is all too often hollow and divisive).

So, seeing that we have to live with this man for the next four years, it sure would be nice if his upcoming inaugural address on Monday were to set a higher standard for his next four year than what we are being shown in the quoted Associated Press piece.  And it would be even nicer, were he to do so, I and the rest of the country would find ourselves nodding our heads in belief and enthusiastic agreement.

Our Imperial President

President Obama, when he was inaugurated, swore to uphold the United States Constitution and the laws of our land.  He lied. Repeatedly, and with increasing frequency, he has been ignoring Congressionally-codified laws and other established processes ... and has been issuing administrative orders/actions instead.  The President is disturbingly assuming the mantle of an emperor -- an I-know-better-than-you-peons imperialist.

Here is a short list of the laws, agreements or processes that have been ignored or circumvented by The Barry (there are more):

No Child Left Behind -- George W. Bush, in one of his more liberal actions, cajoled Ted Kennedy and Congress into passing this act in order to raise educational standards throughout our states via a series of increasingly-rigorous testing standards. Yet, even after doubling the spending in the Department of Education under Arne Duncan, many of these standards have been knocked into a cocked hat by Obama ... without any Congressional review or approval (see: USA Today Article).

Defense of Marriage Act -- no matter what one's view is on homosexual marriage, there is a law on the books defining marriage as between one man and one woman. This was passed in Bill Clinton's term and signed by him into law. A year ago Obama declared this law unconstitutional and indicated that his administration would not enforce its strictures (see: YouTube Video).

Don't Ask Don't Tell -- also back in Bill Clinton's administration, the issues of homosexuals serving in the military was resolved with a Department of Defense (DOD) policy that stated that homosexuals could serve therein ... as long as they didn't flaunt their sexual preference. Obama has recently tossed this understanding into the Potomac River by having his DOD revoke this policy (see: Wikipedia Entry).

Missile Defense Shield -- the United States had agreed, under George W. Bush's administration, to erect a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic … much to the dismay of Russia. Hardly a year later Obama abrogated this commitment and left these Eastern European nations slowly dangling in the breeze (see: Guardian Article). And more recently Russian’s Premier Putin has hardened his attitude toward the United States despite this unilateral attempt at appeasement.

Immigration Laws – the Obama White House is using administrative actions under Janet Napolitano’s aegis to create its own extra-legal process for dealing with millions of illegal immigrants. It recently effectively granted amnesty to such younger illegals (see: CNN Story). It also just responded to the current Supreme Court ruling (allowing Arizona law enforcement officers to ask anyone stopped for cause to produce proof of citizenship) by indicating that the federal government would no longer cooperate with Arizona in this process (see CNNPolitics Story). This is tantamount to a finger in the eye of both this state and the Supreme Court.

Obamacare – this wildly unpopular law, probably passed illegally using the Congressional reconciliation process, is now under review by the Supreme Court … with a decision expected this Thursday. If this law is struck down as expected, watch for our imperial President to find another slick way to continue to push his agenda on healthcare independent of our existing legal system. Stay tuned.

Recess Appointments – this past January, when Congress was not technically in recess, President Obama made “recess” appointments to the NLRP and the Consumer Protection Bureau (see: LATimes Story). Although clearly inappropriate, Congress yelped once and then rolled over.

Fast and Furious Subpoena – Eric Holder is expected to be voted in contempt of Congress this Thursday by the full House of Representatives (but it is expected to die later in the Senate). This is because he and President Obama have claimed executive privilege by refusing to turn over critical documents in the Fast and Furious gun-running investigation (see: CNNPolitics Story)

Does one see a disturbing trend in the high-handed governing style under the current administration? Clearly when Barack Obama took his Presidential oath of office three and one half years ago, behind his back, he surely must have had his fingers crossed.