Cape Karen
Well, I carefully listened to the President's Address to the Nation last night, and I found it quite interesting. I purposely avoided listening to any reports after the speech, however, so that I could form my own opinions without being unduly influenced by others. Here are my off-the-cuff thoughts about what Mr. Bush had to say:
First, I was struck by his demeanor. A stiff and formal posture, with his hands folded tightly in front of him, was the first clue that this was going to be a 'different' Mr. Bush. He was being very careful not to exhibit his usual smirking haughtiness. (It's obvious that someone's been coaching him to correct those less-than-attractive personality traits.) That he only stumbled a couple of times while reading from the prompter was also very refreshing. I could actually bear listening to him ~ for a change. And, it was short . . . only 30 minutes. . . hooray!
Secondly, the fact that he had outlined the speech into five seperate steps, and had studied-up on the subject, was also a big plus. It reminds me of a college student who got C's and D's all during his first three years of school, and then decided to buckle-down and earn some A's and B's during his last year on campus. You've gotta give the guy some credit. Let's give him an "A" for effort ~ it's obvious he's trying to finish-up his term with a better performance. (?)
The ideas he outlined were interesting, if somewhat unrealistic, for this long overdue situation to be corrected quickly. Our borders have been 'leaking badly' for decades, and the gaps have just grown larger and larger over time. Today, our mostly unmanned borders allow thousands of illegal immigrants to easily enter our country on a daily basis. We all realize that this problem won't be completely fixed anytime soon. But, at least it's finally being addressed publicly, and some steps are being suggested to try and fix it. Is it too little, too late? Perhaps. Time will tell!
I liked the idea of an personal identity card that can't be tampered with or forged. How that would be successfully implemented is the problem. How long will it take to create them? Where, when and how will you get the immigrants to be fingerprinted? The basic idea is a good one, even though it's a little "Orwellian." If they can do it quickly, and without complete chaos, it just might work. The idea that only those immigrants who show a 'fingerprint sensitive' identity card can be hired to work here, is a great idea in theory. No card - no work. Goodbye. But . . . can it be done? Is it even legal to "stamp" some people, and not others?
I also liked the idea of seriously penalizing employers who are exploiting the broken system by hiring illegal aliens for cheap labor. If they really do that, then the borders won't be overflowing with illegals. If they can't get work here, they'll stop coming here. The excuse he mentioned - that employer's don't always know they are hiring illegals because their paperwork is forged, is a bit flimsy. I think they know all too well who they're hiring! After all, you don't usually pick up your employees at a 7-Eleven or Wiegel's each morning, and load them into the back of your pick-up truck.
So, if Bush's card idea works, and those guys in the back of the truck don't have an identity card, and employers still hire them; then they'll be breaking the law, and they'll be fined and punished. My question is, who will enforce all this? Will we have "secret agents" going into every business in the country trying to catch illegals without cards? Will immigration officals sit at the convenience stores in every town in the U.S. at 6:00 a.m., or earlier, to catch the undocumented illegals waiting for the trucks to arrive? Not!
Those in the 'obvious' jobs should be easy to catch; at the farms, the mills, the construction sites and the factories in this country. They could start there. They could do it mill by mill, and farm by farm. I'm sure there are lots of jobless people in America who would love to be hired to be government "agents." Kind of like the Sky Marshall program - the government could deputize a bunch of "Land Marshall's" to go around the country finding cardless, illegal aliens working in the shadows. The LM's could wear red, white and blue uniforms with gold badges on their shirts, and they could wear cowboy hats and boots like Wyatt Earp; maybe some could even go out on horseback, like the Canadian Mounties.
One part of Mr. Bush's speech I found very 'suspect' was his idea of allowing temporary workers to come and go, in and out of the country. In my mind, that was nothing more than a politcal ploy designed to appease his opponents; those like Ted Kennedy and John McCain who want blanket amnesty for all the millions who are already here. If the government attempts to implement a workable 'temporary worker program,' we all know it will just become a nightmare of tangled, red tape. Such legislation could take decades to compose, iron-out and perfect. 'Just more political rhetoric' was my take on that idea.
Then, there is his idea of deploying 6,000 National Guard troops to the borders ~ on a "rotating" basis. To have so few deployed, to help protect the gaping holes in the 2,000 miles of borders; and to send them there unarmed ~ as mere "figureheads of authority" ~ is just plain foolish. Do it right, or don't do it at all. And, if there is a need for civilian volunteers to make up the difference in the numbers needed - then put out the call. The Minutemen will be there - and I'm sure lots of others would go if asked. What's wrong with forming a temporary 'civilian army' in the face of such a dire and dangerous national security issue?
Overall, I liked the format of the speech, but I disliked the loosely outlined ideas. Mainly, because they all need so much more substance before they can be implemented. A great deal of time will need to be spent figuring-out all the logistics, and getting others to agree; time that will not be spent stopping the flood of illegal immigrants over the borders. Talk is cheap ~ and actions speak louder than words. So, the real test begins - how much of what he outlined will actually come to fruition, and will any of it work?
Now, I'll go to MSNBC and CNN, and find out what all the 'talking heads' have to say about all this, It will probably make me change my mind on some aspects, but those were my initial thoughts ~ for whatever they're worth!
Posted by Karen at May 16, 2006 9:57 AM