10 Principles for Immigration Reform

from NumbersUSA: (emphasis mine. Don't hate me - this plan is not half as tough Mexican immigration laws and enforcement.)
1. The purpose of U.S. immigration policy is to benefit the citizens of the United States.

2. Since immigration policy can profoundly shape a country, it should be set by deliberate actions, not by accident or acquiescence, with careful consideration to ensure that it does not adversely affect the quality of life of American citizens and their communities.

3. Immigration policy should be based on and adhere to the rule of law. Immigration laws must be enforced consistently and uniformly throughout the United States.

4. Non-citizens enter the United States as guests and must obey the rules governing their entry. The U.S. government must track the entry, stay, and departure of all visa-holders to ensure that they comply fully with the terms of their visas, or to remove them if they fail to comply.

5. The borders of the United States must be physically secured at the earliest possible time. An effective barrier to the illegal entry of both aliens and contraband is vital to U.S. security.

6. Those responsible for facilitating illegal immigration shall be sought, arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law and shall forfeit any profits from such activity. This applies to smugglers and traffickers of people, as well as to those involved in the production, procurement, distribution, or use of fraudulent or counterfeit documents.

7. U.S. employers shall be given a simple and streamlined process to determine whether employees are legally eligible to work. Employers who obey the law shall be protected both from liability and from unfair competition by those who violate immigration law. The violators shall be subject to fines and taxes in excess of what they would have paid to employ U.S. citizens and legal residents for the same work.

8. Those who enter or remain in the United States in violation of the law shall be detained and removed expeditiously. Illegal aliens shall not accrue any benefit, including U.S. citizenship, as a result of their illegal entry or presence in the United States.

9. No federal, state or local entity shall reward individuals for violating immigration laws by granting public benefits or services, or by issuing or accepting any form of identification, or by providing any other assistance that facilitates unlawful presence or employment in this country. All federal and law enforcement agencies shall cooperate fully with federal immigration authorities, and shall report to such authorities any information they receive indicating that an individual may have violated immigration laws.

10. Illegal aliens currently in the United States may be afforded a one-time opportunity to leave the United States without penalty and seek permission to reenter legally if they qualify under existing law. Those who do not take advantage of this opportunity will be removed and permanently barred from returning.

Myth: Gun Control Reduces Crime

John Stossel from the video: "In fact, the National Academy of Sciences reviewed hundreds of studies and could not a document a single gun regulation that reduced violent crime or murder."

I love it when a bad bill dies.

From NumbersUSA:

VICTORY! Amnesty Bill Falls Following Rejection of Senate Cloture Vote

(June 28) Shortly after 11 a.m. today, by a 46 to 53 margin, the Senate rebuffed amnesty when it failed to invoke cloture on S. 1639, the so-called "grand bargain" immigration bill. Subsequently, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) indicated that he would pull the bill from further consideration after Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), and others had sought to ram the bill through using an arcane procedural method instead of subjecting the proposal to committee and public scrutiny.



President Bush was really wanting this clunker to become law. I even heard one commentator make a statement about "Bush'es legacy - 'No Illegal Immigrant Left Behind' ". Sometimes politics can be quite funny.

Another Famous Politician Comments on Islam

Right Honorable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) , British politician and statesman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1951-1955), soldier in the British Army, orator, and strategist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, on Islam:
"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of prosperity exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property-either as a child, a wife, or a concubine-must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men."
"Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die. But the influence of the religion paralyzes the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytising faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science-the science against which it had vainly struggled-the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome."

The Fundamental Rules for Safe Gun Handling

Courtesy of my friends at the NRA (that's National Rifle Association for those of you in Rio Lindo, California and I've added some of my own comments in parenthesis :-)

btw, I forgot to mention the other day that Ted Nugent is also a member of the NRA.

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
This is the primary rule of gun safety. A safe direction means that the gun is pointed so that even if it were to go off it would not cause injury or damage. The key to this rule is to control where the muzzle or front end of the barrel is pointed at all times. Common sense dictates the safest direction, depending on different circumstances.
(When I was learning to shoot this rule was expressed as "Never point your gun at anything that you do not intend to destroy.")

2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
When holding a gun, rest your finger on the trigger guard or along the side of the gun. Until you are actually ready to fire, do not touch the trigger.
[During all the flap about Elian Gonzalez being seized by federal agents, a liberal showed me this photograph as evidence as Elian's mistreatment by the government. I was quite happy to point out that when you look at the picture you will notice the federal agent practicing this very important gun safety rule. And kudos to the agent for not shooting the moron that just popped a flash in his face. (but the moron did win a Pulitzer for the photo)]

3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.
Whenever you pick up a gun, immediately engage the safety device if possible, and, if the gun has a magazine, remove it before opening the action and looking into the chamber(s) which should be clear of ammunition. If you do not know how to open the action or inspect the chamber(s), leave the gun alone and get help from someone who does.

There is the "Big Three". Also very important are:

Know your target and what is beyond.
Never fire in a direction in which there are people or any other potential for mishap. Think first. Shoot second. (If outside, just assume that your bullet will travel twice the distance that you think it could travel)
Know how to use the gun safely.
Before handling a gun, learn how it operates.(This rule is still important for us "gun vets" anytime we're moving to a new class of weapon, or if it's been a long time since you've been on that type of weapon. I have several years experience with firearms but the first time I shot a semi-automatic pistol the range instructor said "Don't hold your gun like that - blood will corrode your gun." So now I hold that pistol correctly.)
Be sure the gun is safe to operate.
Just like other tools, guns need regular maintenance to remain operable. (Any good range will have a gunsmith on staff.)
Use only the correct ammunition for your gun.
Only BBs, pellets, cartridges or shells designed for a particular gun can be fired safely in that gun. (I know some folks will only use factory ammo to be extra safe but that's a personal choice. I checked out the cost and hassle of reloading myself and decided that it is safer and more cost effective for me to buy "target ammo" from a professional reloader.)
Wear eye and ear protection as appropriate.
Guns are loud and the noise can cause hearing damage. (I was taught this rule is "ALWAYS")
Never use alcohol or over-the-counter, prescription or other drugs before or while shooting. (Pet Peeve #1 - Morons who think that its a good idea to drink beer anywhere near a firearm. If this is you, do us all a favor, just go fishing instead so you'll only be a danger to yourself)
Store guns so they are not accessible to unauthorized persons. (Pet Peeve #2 - People who assume that I store all my guns loaded. That would be silly. I mean, come on, I only have two hands :-)
Be aware that certain types of guns and many shooting activities require additional safety precautions.
Cleaning Regular cleaning is important in order for your gun to operate correctly and safely.
A gun brought out of prolonged storage should also be cleaned before shooting.

Happy shooting!

Fake Job Ads Defraud Americans

If you're feeling especially sensitive, high-strung or "politically correct" right now, then you might want to wait and read this post later when you're a little more

Okay, here is fair warning to the world at large. If I hear One More "Intelligent" Adult tell me that immigrants "only do jobs Americans won't do" I'm not even going to justify it with an answer I'm just going to hurl on their shoes.

My answer to this inane argument in the past has been a comedic 'Oh no, you can tell that's not true just by watching "Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe" on the Discovery channel.' but that no longer seems to be sufficient.

Now there is evidence on YouTube of immigration attorneys from the law firm of Cohen & Grisby explaining "how they assist employers in running classified ads with the goal of NOT finding any qualified applicants, and the steps they go through to disqualify even the most qualified Americans...". Click HERE to see the video for yourself. When you get good and mad remind yourself that these clowns are not breaking the law. There are enough loopholes written in the current immigration laws that allow these people to technically "follow the law" with NO intention of offering a job to a qualified American citizen.

Now I ask you, do you really think that Congress can be trusted to come up with good immigration legislation? Do you really think that Congress cares about what is best for American workers? Do you really believe what Ted Kennedy, John McCain and President Bush say about this latest attempt at amnesty?

We have tried amnesty over and over and illegal immigration only increases. Ted Kennedy has already pushed SEVEN amnesties into law and each time illegal immigration increased.
From NumbersUSA:
1986 - Blanket amnesty for 2.7 million illegal aliens
1994 - Section 245(i) amnesty for another 578,000
1997 - Extension of Section 245(i)
Also in 1997 - Amnesty for close to a million illegal aliens from Central America
1998 - Amnesty for over 125,000 illegal aliens from Haiti
2000 - the "Late Amnesty" for another 400,000
Also in 2000 - the "LIFE Act Amnesty" for another 900,000 [another extension of Section 245(i) ]

Senators are supposed to be smart people. Tell me this - Why would any of these Senators believe Ted Kennedy when he says this amnesty bill will end illegal immigration with a track record like his?

Let's give Attrition Through Enforcement a chance. This approach hasn't been seriously attempted yet and, as you can see, the "Amnesty" approach is failing miserably.

Happy Birthday NRA

It's not really a "birthday" for the NRA but, according to my blogspot control panel, this is my 150th post. I wanted to pick something special for this "milestone" post (i'm so self important :-) so I chose one of the most outspoken defenders of the 2nd Amendment, and by extension, one of the most ardent defenders of the Constitution, the National Rifle Association.

The National Rifle Association has quite a presence on the internet. There is the main site here, and the not-so-flashy "home" page here. And many sites that I won't take the time to list here. Anyway, I'm making today official "Kudos to the NRA day".

Many people know that Charleton Heston (star of stage, screen and television - think Moses) was a member of the NRA but a lot of folks don't realize that, if you're a member of the NRA, this also puts in the same organization as J.C. Watts (former football star and Congressman), Tom Clancy (famous author), Charlie Daniels (of the Charlie Daniels Band), Karl Malone (basketball star), Tom Selleck (another movie and TV star - you should see Quigley Down Under), and me, among others luminaries.


Have a Happy Politically Incorrect Day ! (i wonder how much a pistol shaped cake costs?...)

Famous Politician Comments on Islam

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) international diplomat and 6th President of the United States, on Islam:
"In the seventh century of the Christian era, a wandering Arab of the lineage of Hagar [i.e. Muhammad], the Egyptian, combining the powers of transcendent genius, with the preternatural energy of a fanatic, and the fraudulent spirit of an impostor, proclaimed himself as a messenger from Heaven, and spread desolation and delusion over an extensive portion of the earth. Adopting from the sublime conception of the Mosaic law, the doctrine of one omnipotent God; he connected indissolubly with it, the audacious falsehood, that he was himself his prophet and apostle. Adopting from the new Revelation of Jesus, the faith and hope of immortal life, and of future retribution, he humbled it to the dust by adapting all the rewards and sanctions of his religion to the gratification of the sexual passion. He poisoned the sources of human felicity at the fountain, by degrading the condition of the female sex, and the allowance of polygamy; and he declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind. THE ESSENSE OF HIS DOCTRINE WAS VIOLENCE AND LUST; TO EXALT THE BRUTAL OVER THE SPIRITUAL PART OF HUMAN NATURE....Between these two religions, thus contrasted in their characters, a war of twelve hundred years has already raged. The war is yet flagrant...While the merciless and dissolute dogmas of the false prophet shall furnish motives to human action, there can never be peace upon earth, and good will towards men." (Emphasis in the original)

Multilingual Cockroach

This probably is pretty low on the "useful information" scale, but in case you were curious, (or you travel a lot) here is "cockroach" from the Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary. K Dictionaries Ltd. 20 Jun. 2007. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cockroach.

Arabic:صَرْصور
Chinese (Simplified):蟑螂
Chinese (Traditional):蟑螂
Czech:šváb
Danish:kakerlak
Dutch:kakkerlak
Estonian:tarakan
Finnish:torakka
French:blatte
German:die Küchenschabe, die Kackerlake
Greek:κατσαρίδα
Hungarian:svábbogár
Icelandic:kakkalakki
Indonesian:lipas
Italian:scarafaggio
Japanese:ごきぶり
Korean:바퀴벌레
Latvian:tarakāns
Lithuanian:tarakonas
Norwegian:kakerlakk
Polish:karaluch
Portuguese (Brazil):barata
Portuguese (Portugal):barata
Romanian:gândac de bucătărie
Russian:таракан
Slovak:šváb
Slovenian:ščurek
Spanish:cucaracha
Swedish:kackerlacka
Turkish:hamamböceği

Bon Voyage!

Famous Thinkers Comment on Islam

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French political thinker and historian, and author of Democracy in America, comments on Islam:
"I studied the Quran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few religions in the world as deadly to men as that of Muhammad. So far as I can see, it is the principal cause of the decadency so visible today in the Muslim world and, though less absurd than the polytheism of old, it's social and political tendencies are in my opinion more to be feared, and I therefore regard it as a form of decadency rather than a form of progress in relation to paganism itself."

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) British philosopher, logician, mathematician and prolific writer, comments on Islam:
"Bolshevism combines the characteristics of the French Revolution with those of the rise of Islam. Marx has taught that communism is fatally predestined to come about; this produces a state of mind not unlike that of the early successors of Mahommet. Among religions, Bolshevism is to be reckoned with Mohammedanism rather than with Christianity and Buddhism. Christianity and Buddhism are primarily personal religions, with mystical doctrines and a love of contemplation. Mohammedanism and Bolshevism are practical, social, unspiritual, concerned to win the empire of this world."

More later.

V-B-S ! V-B-S !!

Yes campers, it's that time of year again, time for Vacation Bible School (cheer)

This will be the third or fourth year that we have used VBS from Group Publishing. We started using stuff from Group (instead of our denominational publishing house) because Group had a "rotation stations" type of setup. What this amounts to is that each day (or night) of VBS you are teaching the same lesson to each age group using the different methods of learning. So one station is a video emphasizing that night's "Bible Point", another is a crafts station (emphasizing the same Bible Point), a games station and, my favorite, the station were a lesson from the Bible emphasizing that day's Bible Point is acted out. Its kind of fun building the "sets" for that Bible lesson station but they're different every day!

We have spoken to the representative from our denominational publishing house on more than one occassion about the fact that we were not using "in house" VBS materials and why. I am now seeing an interesting example of "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Over the course of the past five years our denominational publishing house has come to, bit by bit, imitate this form in their VBS program. I am one of the greatest proponents of any church using materials produced by their denomination's publishing house (for a number of reasons) so we have, on occassion, reviewed the literature available in this department [children].

I am very blessed on my Sunday School Committee to have children's teachers with (literally) more years of experience than I am allowed to tell. (One of them started teaching little children's Sunday School when she was 12 and another started teaching little children's Sunday School when she was 14, so they think if I tell how much experience they have, that it will make them sound old)

So based on these ladie's expertise, we have continued to use the material that is most suited to the children's ages. When the material from the denominational publishing house is age-appropriate, we will buy it. (i'll shutup about that now :-)

Burger Fink

For quite some time my wife has been telling me that she wants a laptop. Now don't get me wrong, she's not a "gimme, gimme girl" - she hardly asks for anything. And I know that a laptop is something that she really can use to help her prepare and organize things for her job and her volunteer activities. A while back I bought her a nice desktop from a friend at a "going out of business" sale. Its a nice machine, but not very portable. So we had decided that Tuesday she would go get a laptop computer.

This morning, we took the new laptop to a local burger joint with a Wi-Fi hotspot. (You see, there's this old line from the Wizard of Id comic strip "The King is a fink!"; and most everybody in my family has sort of a warped sense of humor so, for many years, "Burger Fink" has been sort of a running joke in my family.)

After a quick call to my IT guy, we were able to get the necessary download [did I mention that i HATE Windows Vista?] and now we're back in the land of wireless 'net and I can get my goodreads fix from home again.

South Padre

Just a quick note, we're visiting some friends that called us while they were vacationing on South Padre Island. I'm not a huge "beach person" but seriously, if you have never been to "Padre" you should check it out at least once before you die. Yes, as cliche' as it sounds, a tourist spot makes it on my list of "A Thousand Place to Visit Before You Die".

I was reading my Politically Incorrect Guide (PIG) to Islam and the Crusades on the way out here - it is so cool. More later.

Hog Heaven (P.I.G.)

P.I.G. may mean different things to different people but for me, now, it means "Politically Incorrect Guide"; as in The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science, The P.I.G. to English Literature, The P.I.G. to The South, etc. I bought a series of eight (Happy Father's Day to me) and I'm currently enjoying The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades.

I will be blogging snippets from these in the coming days.

Brace yourself for some spicy good Political Incorrectness!!

Christina got married

Yay! My "niece" got married today. It was a lovely ceremony with the groom's father and the bride's grandfather officiating. My wife was listed in the program as the "Wedding Planner". She has been helping with details for a couple months now and yesterday she did a really good job making sure that everybody knew where to stand and when to enter, etc. and everything today went really well. I am very proud of my little Nita and I have told her so several times today.

The bride's mom (Tracy) is my wife's best friend and our daughter has referred to Tracy as "Aunt Tracy" since about the time she was old enough to talk. That's how I got to be Christina's "Uncle".

Happy Birthday to Me (HBTM)

A short list of good stuff that happened today:
1) I woke up and my wife and daughter had made pancakes for me for breakfast. Pancakes smothered in butter and syrup. (HBTM)
2) I had coffee with a good friend. (HBTM)
3) On the way to coffee this morning I was listening to talk radio and heard the latest Amnesty Bill died last night in the Senate. (Happy HBTM)
4) I had lunch with another friend. (HBTM)
5) I went with another good friend to the gun range. (HBTM)
6) My "niece" is getting married tomorrow and we had a great rehearsal and a cool dinner afterwards at Poncho's (a cool local Mexican restaurant) complete with mariachis. Then my niece led everybody in singing Happy Birthday to me.
7) I got home and found out that Paris Hilton is gonna go back to jail. (HBTM)

Long week, again

Its been a L-O-N-G week but I'll be taking the day off on Friday.

And now some electronic silliness:

The Ministry of Silly Walks

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Human Skateboard

Or click here if you don't see a video.

Top 10 Lessons for Surviving a Zombie Attack

From The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead (Paperback) by Max Brooks (son of Mel Brooks)

1. Organize before they rise!
2. They feel no fear, why should you?
3. Use your head: cut off theirs.
4. Blades don’t need reloading.
5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair.
6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it.
7. Get out of the car, get onto the bike.
8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert!
9. No place is safe, only safer.
10. The zombie may be gone, but the threat lives on.

I have no idea what he would call it but M. Night Shyamalan could make a movie out of this!

Shooter

My wife and I just got home from the local "dollar theater" where we watched the movie "Shooter" starring Mark Wahlberg. In a word - "sweet". The movie is 2 hours and a few minutes long and I was pleasantly surprised to notice only one obvious small arms error (with a pistol). However my knowledge of the long range small arms weapons that star in this movie is really limited so we'll see how it stands up to closer scrutiny. I had decided to buy the DVD by about 30 minutes in - enough details had been mentioned that I knew I will want to see this picture again. I'm glad I saw it on the silver screen and I'm glad I saw it with my wife, she really enjoyed it, too. (if you don't believe me, ask her yourself)

I have to strongly recommend this movie. Not a single sex scene in the entire film - I didn't know that Hollywood was capable of that in a movie that wasn't aimed at six year olds. (Even the movies aimed at six year olds are kind of dicey now a days - but I digress...)

I was going to say that they only used profanity 5 or 6 times in the entire film but my wife says it was 8 or 9 times so we're safe to say "under a dozen". The movie has plenty of tense situations with a lot of tough guys running around and the sparse profanity is actually believable.

If you've seen any of the commercials, you have a basic idea about the plot and if you haven't seen it, I'm not going to give anything away. The movie gets its "R" rating for multiple head shots - if you're squeamish you can just look down (over and over and over) but, as my soccer coach used to say "Blood makes the grass grow."