 Common Sense Laws: Left of Center View Each and every law we pass or repeal has consequences. It is easy to overlook that in our day to day lives. Every law, applies to everyone of us, present high-ranking members of the Bush administration excepted apparently, but we tend to forget that until it actually effects us personally. Laws can and are constantly used as tools, by those that understand them against those that don’t. There is an entire profession and industry, lobbyists, created for the sole purpose of having the laws worded in such a way that they can be used later by their employers. There is a second profession and industry, lawyers created to attempt to manipulate the laws for the best use and effect of their employers. That’s a lot of time, money and education spent on making the simple complex, because just because you don’t understand the law doesn’t mean that it doesn’t apply to you. Take the current immigration legislation kicking around Congress, most American’s don’t have the faintest idea what the law actually says. Truth be told the majority of us will never read that or any other legislation passed. Instead we will rely on somebody else to read it for us and tell us what it means. This is where the real danger comes in. The Catholic Church fought for centuries to keep the Bible from being translated. Latin only. As long as the good book was only available in the language spoken only by the Clergy, there was little room for interpretation by the layman. Then along came the printing press and multiple translations appear and all Hell broke loose. Just imagine what would happen if we eliminated the “legalese” from the legislation that governs us. Most laws sound fair and just when described by the politicians that pass them and defended by the lobbyist s that paid for them. “If you entered the country illegally, you must leave immediately.” “No immunity period, We should not be rewarding people just because they were successful at breaking the law.” Sounds fair enough. But apply that to your own world. Most of us know, employ, interact, work with illegal immigrants, and in many cases we don’t even realize it. It’s easy to say send them all back, it’s a little bit harder when it’s George, Jorge, Greta or any of the folks you know on a first name basis. Once we learn their individual stories. Stories told by those fleeing the death squads in El Salvador in the mid 1980’s are remarkably similar to those told by Germans in the 1940’s, or the Bosnians in the 1990’s. Immigration is a huge and complex issue, and an issue of extreme importance. Changing our immigration policies changes the very dynamic of our nation. Like global warming, immigration should be a bipartisan issue and one that should be approached with an open mind and dialogue, otherwise we’re just 10 years away from more amnesty legislation. Kyle Pesonen - Staff Writer | E-mail Comments on this column. Last Week's View from the Left: Rise & Fall Previous Weeks Views from the Left: Outsourcing & Insourcing English Amnesty vs. Reality Defining Immigration |
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A Plan
The one major thing that seems to be lacking in the immigration debate is a real plan that addresses the legitimate concerns with illegal immigration. There are strong opinions on both sides and a lot of rhetoric but there isn’t really any solid plan being promoted to address the illegal immigration issue in a way that is both fair and logical.
So, that being said here is my idea:Read More
Trucking Cross Borders
This is mainly a concern for the trucking business. If we allow these people to come into our country, bringing cargo that we in America have, and can supply, then we are saying that the American working people are not needed, and have lost all say to legally enforced DOT (Department of Transportation) laws.Read More