AZ Immigration Law

I was watching Rachel Maddow last night, and she was going on and on about this new AZ immigration law. She was talking about the fear of "racial profiling" and basically saying what all her viewers would want her to say. Sean Hannity of course also says what his viewers want to hear, that: "Proof of citizenship can only be requested by the authorities during, quote, 'lawful contact' by police. Meaning, the individual is already suspected of breaking the law. It's all right there in the legislation. But the left, well, they don't want you to know that."

Legal experts have come out somewhere in the middle. You can't just check someone's papers because they look Hispanic, but you can check anyone who is having any lawful contact with you as a police officer, if they have brought reasonable suspicion upon themselves.

I find it interesting that an entire nation is arguing about this AZ law and judging the people of Arizona, most without knowing what its like to live in Arizona. I can tell you that the hills move at night. There is a level of fear, especially in rural areas because of illegals crossing. That's not to say that these are bad people, but they are often desperate, having traveled for days over the mountains and desert. The citizens in southern Arizona are often caught in a moral dilemma: Do I give water, food, shelter to a human being in need at my doorstep? Do I call immigration? Will others stop here if I do help? Will I or my family be harmed if I don't? And the illegals while crossing leave behind pounds of garbage, clothing, personal items, and of course, excrement. They also start fires which damage property and put home owners at considerable risk. In AZ thousands cross the border illegally every night. It is our country's busiest illegal crossing point.

And how else does the illegal poplulation affect Arizona? Some argue that illegals do jobs that no one else would do. Others would say that they undercut pay and take jobs away from citizens. Besides the crimes committed during border crossings, there are other crimes committed by illegals once in the country. In Phoenix alone, nearly all of it's annual 57,000 car thefts are committed by illegals. Earlier this month, a rancher was executed at his home by an illegal. Add to that the rampant ID theft, forgery, drunk driving, driving without insurance and other assorted crimes, you can imagine that the AZ police are overwhelmed.

Let's not forget though that Arizona schools are full of the children of adult illegals, who don't pay taxes that support schools. In fact property taxes in Arizona support many of the programs that pay for illegals. Then there are the prisons and hospitals which are full of illegals. And lets not forget that the children born in this country to illegals are citizens, who are now on the receiving end of federally funded school & lunch programs. Who is paying for these people???

This moral high ground that the rest of the United States takes against Arizona and its efforts to bring this situation under control is laughable. People who are in this country illegally are breaking the law. The people of AZ should have the freedom to enforce the law. They should have the freedom to protect their citizens from crimes committed by illegals. They shouldn't have to continue to pay for people who are here illegally, at a detriment to their own families and communities. If the rest of the country wants to be tolerant and compassionate, let them open up their check books and come down to Arizona and help pay the high cost of illegal immigrants.

A Very Short Story With a Happy Ending

Here's the story, of three lovely ladies...








Who headed to LA with three handsome fellas....

And watched some great hockey....

And of course, they all lived happily ever after.

the Power of Encouragement

Well, I finally cleaned out that drawer in the kitchen. You know the one. It was once organized bliss. Yesterday it barely opened (or closed) with papers stuck in the way back; a hodgepodge of address books, stamps, paperclips, old tins of mints, lip gloss, post-it notes~ and a four year old note card, sent to me by a dear friend and colleague.

Now this is especially significant when you realize that I've only lived in this house for 2 years and 3 months. And yet, here is this note card, dated February 15th, 2006. It starts simply enough, with a heartfelt thank you for a gift received. But it ends like this:

"You are a gifted, talented individual ~ Believe it - live it ~ Do it ~ It's within you. It's yours."

Is it any wonder why I have kept this note?

I marvel at the power of these words~ what they make me think~ what they make me feel~ energized, grateful, appreciated, empowered; actually creating a profound shift in my Universe.

When we encourage others, we give hope and promise. We inspire, inspirit, foster, and hearten.
We give them a chance to see themselves through the eyes of another~ eyes of appreciation, love, and possibility.

Encouragement~ pass it on! :]

Title Track

What is your purpose in life? What is your gift? A while back, I figured out that teaching others "perseverance" was mine. "We Go On" certainly captures that essence...it is heard at the end of Disney's Reflections of Earth, at Epcot.

You can hear the entire show here:

http://london-symphony-orchestra-royal-philharm-mp3-download.kohit.net/_/849874

Lyrics to We Go On and Promise, written by Don Dorsey.

We Go On

With the stillness of the night there comes a time to understand,
to reach out and touch tomorrow, take the future in our hand.
We can see a new horizon built on all that we have done
and our dreams begin another thousand circles round the sun.
We go on through the joy and through the tears. We go on to discover new frontiers.
Moving on with the current of the years, we go on moving forward now as one.
Moving on in the spirit born to run.
We go on with each rising sun to a new day. We go on.

Promise

Every evening brings an ending. Every day becomes a legacy.
Every sunset leads to morning with the promise of opportunity.
We can reach for the stars we find along the way, dreaming as we learn to love everyday.
Promise you will take my hand as tomorrow comes. We’ll go on.
We’ll go on growing closer through the years.
Moving on through the good times and the tears.
Ever on, another thousand circles round the sun, we’ll go on.
There is music, if you listen, in the rhythm of each breath we take.
Destinations undiscovered, revelations from every choice we make.
And I know there are diamonds dancing in the sky. All we have to do is open our eyes.
Promise we’ll walk side by side as a new day dawns; we’ll go on.
We’ll go on growing closer through the years.
Moving on through the good times and the tears.
Ever on another thousand circles round the sun.
And we live to keep the promise – we’ll go on.