Folder EditorialsA Day Without Immigrants


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 From:  Stunt Engraver (DGL)
 To:  ALL
3682.1 
Today, Monday, May 1st, 2006, is the day hispanic immigrants and proponents of (illegal) immigrant rights will refuse to show up for work/school and refrain from spending money with merchants, in a mass demonstration of how the United States relies on their presence, to carry out day-to-day activites, while emphasizing the important role they play, in bolstering the U.S. economy.

That would explain why, at 9:00 pm, Sunday night, while I was in a local supermarket, shopping for health food -- 1 pt. (single serving) of Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond Ice Cream -- I encountered check-out lines reminiscent of a Saturday afternoon, with a free turkey give away!

I'd never seen anything like it!; I had no idea of what was going on!; I was actually looking for Aston Kutcher's hidden camera, thinking I was being Punk'd!

I should point out that I live in Oxnard, CA, an agricultural area, about 1 hr. north of the City of Los Angeles, with a large hispanic population.

I was hoping for a checkout line, with a 25-person or less maximum, but had to settle for a 10-item or less line, that streched well into the cookie aisle, across the main checkout lane, at the front of the store.

While in the cookie aisle, I was scanning the shelves, with my eyes, hoping to find a pack of straws, knowing that, by the time I made it up to the register, I'd be holding a Vanilla Swiss Almond shake!

Fortunately, the line moved fairly quickly and I didn't have to send my daughter in search of straws.

When I reached the register, still having no earthly idea what was happening, I asked the lady at the register, "Why the record-breaking crowd, on a Sunday night?"

"Oh! That's because they won't be shopping here tomorrow", said the lady.

Bingo! It all became clear in my mind.

Now, I get it! They're gonna stick it to the economy, by spending the same amount of money (or more) on Sunday, that they'll refuse to spend on Monday!

I was planning to put gas in my car, on the way home from the supermarket, but decided to wait until Monday morning, when I'll be able to pull right up to the pump, without waiting.

Only in America :-) 

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

EDITED: 30 Apr 2006 by DGL

 

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Message 3682.2 was deleted

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 From:  basehorawards
 To:  Stunt Engraver (DGL) 
3682.3 In reply to 3682.1 

Remember today is also "Support American Businesses That Obey The Law Day." Go spend some money at the businesses that are open and thank them for obeying the law.

That said, if they really need these workers why don't those employers get together and petition the Federal Government to get a program together that will allow the workers to come in legally rather than having to sneak in as thieves in the night? Could it be that if they did that they would have to pay them more than they are worth? After all, illegals can't vote (yet) or form a union (yet.) They can not demand health care or vacation.

James Smith

Basehor Awards & Trophies

 

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 From:  Paul (JACKPETTY)
 To:  Stunt Engraver (DGL) 
3682.4 In reply to 3682.1 

A statement will definitely be made today.
I'm interested in what will happen in my area (New Orleans) since 2/3's of the workers rebuilding----or tearing down---property are from Mexico. They are very hard workers who do the dirtiest of jobs.
This past Saturday, after trying to get in touch with the person who was supposed to clean out my upstairs in February, I hired 4 people (3 men, 1 women) from Mexico who cleaned out 2 stock rooms and 2 office rooms in less than 6 hours. The pile of trash was 12 feet high and took the whole front yard. They were relentless.
Still, I'm on the fence on what we should do with the immigrant problem but I'll let the politicians work on this for now as I have enough to worry about.

 

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 From:  Ron (RONRUSH)
 To:  ALL
3682.5 
I think some of these immigrants have blurred the boundaries of legal and illegal. This country was TAKEN by immigrants long ago (just ask the indians) and now it is going to be taken again if the laws aren't enforced to stop the mass entry of illegals. The majority of us are either immigrants or products of immigrants. But.......we are also LEGAL immigrants. Which I don't think anybody in this country has a problem with. We're the land of the free. However, when illegal immigrants start making demands from the United States taxpayers, that's where I have a problem. Let them stay home from work today.....heck since they're not working today, they might as well just go on back to where ever they came from and stay there. The good ole USA will get along just fine without 'em. We have a very small percentage of illegal immigrants here in WV so I doubt we'll feel a thing here.

Ron Rush
Custom Engraving and Awards
Sistersville, WV

 

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 From:  Bieb (HABIEB)
 To:  Stunt Engraver (DGL) 
3682.6 In reply to 3682.1 

Here in Atlanta, we have a large hispanic population. How illegals are making it from Mexico to Atlanta, when Georgia doesn't border Mexico at all last time I checked (but then again I have a public skool edumacation). It was a great ride to work. Less traffic, took me only 45 mins vs 1 hour +, no lines at the QuickTrip (gas station) was able to get gas and a couple Krispy Kreme doughnits in record time. So.. as far as I am concerned... line up the buses, and give them all free rides home.

I don't understand why we can have such a problem with the illegals, and give them so much (free education, healthcare, etc..) and yet there are people trying to become citizens of this country the right way, and they can't do it, and get sent home when their visa expires. And, why is it if an illegal alien has a child in this country the child is a citizen?

I could go on, but it is a Monday afternoon, and I want to keep my blood pressure low.

Harold

www.southeastlaserengraving.com
Atlanta, Georgia

 

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 From:  Ultra Dan (ULTRADAN)
 To:  ALL
3682.7 

I wonder how all the workers who took today off in protest are going to feel when they are asked to do "double" the work on Tuesday to make up for their absence!!!!!

Their such hard workers...I'm sure they won't mind.

 

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 From:  Stunt Engraver (DGL)
 To:  ALL
3682.8 
I had to pick my wife up from the Burbank Airport this morning.

That's about a 60 mile ride, that would normally take about 1.5 hrs.

I made it in an hour.

Ahh, the good old days. Traffic was lighter than I've seen since the 60's.

On the way home we stopped by one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, for lunch. I was suspecting they were closed, in support of the demonstration.

It was business as usual.

I ran through the all-you-can-eat buffet and had carnitas tacos, on hand made tortillas, taquitos with guacamole, quesadillas, flan, horchata etc., etc.

It was wonderful. :-) 

There are no easy answers to this issue, but like Harold, I don't see where the law came from, stating anyone born in the U.S., is automatically a citizen.

That's inspired carloads of pregnant aliens to come a runnin'.

It's also created a conundrum, where the children are citizens, but their parents aren't.

I'm not for amnesty, which would be a kick in the teeth to the many people who endure the arduous naturalization process, to become bona fide U.S. citizens.

IMO, the guest-worker program makes most sense.

Not a slam on the immigrants, but this day without immigrants, I found very enjoyable. :-) 

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

 

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 From:  Denny K (JDLASERGIFTS)
 To:  ALL
3682.9 
I hope when these people return for work on Tuesday their jobs are no longer there. I know if I decided to just not show up for my full time job one day that it would probably not be there the next. I live in a dairy farming area and there is a group of Mexicans working on these farms. They don't speak English and have no interest in learning it.....oh yeah, I forgot .....we are supposed to learn Spanish to speak to them. I think that if you are going to live here and be a citizen....you should learn our language. Just my thoughts!!
 

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 From:  UncleSteve
 To:  Denny K (JDLASERGIFTS) 
3682.10 In reply to 3682.9 
I hope the Dept. of Immigration is there when they try to return to their jobs.... to FINE THE EMPLOYERS! :O 

One getting by? Maybe...

A whole crew of illegals? No way! Nail the company! That should raise the wage cost to what citizens and those here LEGALLY would work for....

"Genius ain't anything more than elegant common sense." Josh Billings
 

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 From:  precisionlaser
 To:  ALL
3682.11 In reply to 3682.8 

I don't blame the immigrants, illegal or otherwise. This country is a country of immigrants and that's for the better, not the worse. I don't see any last names like "Running Deer" on this forum. We're all immigrants and while you can say your family came over (or up or down) legally, that was during a time when the laws made a heck of a lot more sense than they do now. I think the problem is NOT with the poor people who work back breaking jobs for little pay and consider that a step up from what they had before. How can we criticize them when our own families in many cases were running away from persecution, lack of opportunity, hunger or otherwise? If we do, we're hypocrites, plain and simple.

If you want to criticize fairly, criticize the spineless, gutless pond scum we elected into office, who have known that this issue was coming, and couldn't find the time or have the guts to deal with this fairly. Or the companies (all who had to close plants down to deal with this), who are taking advantage of these people. Wow, if we make them legal, and we give them social security numbers, payroll costs go up...it's so much more convenient to pretend and ignore.

The problem is not with the immigrants, it's with the "man (or woman) in the mirror". Just my two cents...

Mark

Mark Dickens
Precision Laser Art, LLC
www.precisionlaserart.com
866-716-0300/901-888-1019
 

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 From:  Carl (SCHOONERBIRD)
 To:  ALL
3682.12 

Here in SW Florida, there is a large Hispanic population with heavy employment in agriculture. They are also heavily represented in construction and you will be very unlikely to find non-Hispanic landscape/lawncare companies. It's been estimated in the local press that as many as 50% could be here illegally.

To me, the problem (as it nearly always does) has its origins in Washington, DC where our elected Congressmen and Senators do whatever it takes to get re-elected and screw the rest of the country. Is the collective memory of Americans so short that we forget the events of 9/11? If we do not control who enters our country, we will most surely experience other attacks. No rocket science here-- leave the border unprotected and sooner or later a nuke is going to be driven into this country by our enemies. I'm far more concerned about that than I am about anything else.

This country was built with the blood and sweat of many immigrants who arrived lawfully, and they felt that good fortune had landed upon them. They were proud to be in America and wanted to be part of the USA, not change America into an extension of their former homeland. A citizen was quoted in the local paper over the weekend as having said that referring to someone as an undocumented immigrant makes about as much sense as calling a burglar an uninvited house guest. I think most Americans welcome legal immigrants, but object to those that refuse to respect our laws and borders. To me it all starts with stopping illegals from crossing the border. The solution to those already here will be difficult, and many will not be pleased, but standing by while hundreds of thousands more come into the country as they please is just absurd.

Carl Drake
Personal Designs & Images
Ft. Myers, FL

 

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 From:  Stunt Engraver (DGL)
 To:  Carl (SCHOONERBIRD) 
3682.13 In reply to 3682.12 
Carl,

Politicians have no vested interest in seeing the borders tightened up.

It's better to talk tough, while accepting campaign donations from the Hotel Associations, Restaurant Associations, etc.

It's like the failing war on drugs. Where there's big money, there's big corruption and collusion.

Gee! If I'd known this thread would become so controversial, I never would have initiated it. (devil) 

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

EDITED: 1 May 2006 by DGL

 

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 From:  gt350ed
 To:  Carl (SCHOONERBIRD) 
3682.14 In reply to 3682.12 
There is lots of blame to go around, but it certainly starts when a person crosses into the United States illegally. It continues when our laws, for whatever reason, are not enforced. Employers are the biggest problem. They are knowingly hiring illegals. Why? In part because of a need to compete; in part, because of greed. But the fact is, the employers are allowed to break the law. Make it expensive for employers to hire illegals and we'll go a long way toward a solution.

In addition to enforcing our existing laws, we need to change a few. Starting with the law that gives citizenship to a child born here of parents who are not here legally. If the parents are illegal, the child born here should be illegal. Period. Do whatever it takes to make this the law of the land...and enforce it.

Make legal immigration a national priority. Speed up the process. Take this excuse away from those using it to enter illegally.

Take away schooling, driver licensing and social services for illegals. Whatever needs to be done, should be done. No more funding. Whatever it takes.

Couple this with an amnesty for those that can prove they've been working here productively for at least 5 years, and, again, the problem will go a long way toward being solved.

But any amnesty without the other provisions is a joke and further illegal immigration will be guaranteed.

Can it be accomplished? Yes, but not if we count on Washington. It will take will. There is NO will in Washington. The WILL must come from the citizenry that finally must be fed up. And therein lies the problem. The citizenry wants someone else to take care of it....like their politicians.

So, in the end, we're screwed. Lock and load. Because we truly are under attack.

Ed Holley
Victor Valley Trophy Co.
and Coffee Mugs Online
www.coffeemugsonline.com

 

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 From:  precisionlaser
 To:  Carl (SCHOONERBIRD) 
3682.15 In reply to 3682.12 

I guess I am a descendent of undocumented immigrants...since laws governing this didn't exist (heck the country didn't exist) in the early 1600s. This makes me wonder when laws were actually put on the books to govern immigration, and what percentage of our population is descended from such "undocumented immigrants". In other words and to look at it another way, what percentage of the population came to this country and had to immigrate through some sort of legal mechanism...I don't have any idea, but I'd bet it would be an interesting (and impressive) number!

I don't disagree that people should respect the law, but when the law is so obviously outdated and uneforceable, and when our politicians are so obviously unable and unwilling to create a fair and enforceable set of laws, the blame can't be laid totally on the immigrants. The problem is in Washington, and we're the ones making the decisions on who we send there. Mid-term elections are coming....George W. Bush says "he's the decider". He's wrong...we're the deciders!

Mark Dickens
Precision Laser Art, LLC
www.precisionlaserart.com
866-716-0300/901-888-1019
 

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 From:  precisionlaser
 To:  Stunt Engraver (DGL) 
3682.16 In reply to 3682.13 
Right, David...I'm sure it never crossed your mind that there might be a few opinions and attitudes out there about this ;-)  You're like the guy in the old beer commercial who would start the "tastes great, less filling" argument (devil) 
Mark Dickens
Precision Laser Art, LLC
www.precisionlaserart.com
866-716-0300/901-888-1019
 

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 From:  Ken D. (KDEVORY)
 To:  Stunt Engraver (DGL) 
3682.17 In reply to 3682.13 

There are multiple issues to deal with.

1) Use the available technology to prevent more people from entering illegally. (We have satellites, we should use them.) This must be done first.

2) Work out the systems for people who want to enter on a temporary basis for work. (Minimum wage here is what a doctor earns there. Many want to earn the money to build a house back home. The entrepenurial ones add a few extra rooms for rental income and a store front on the first floor. This makes staying in Mexico more desirable for others.)

3) Work out the systems for people who want to enter to stay. (Those who want to learn the language and culture and become citizens. These are the ones who can be compared to my grandparents and great grandparents.)

4) Work out how to handle those who are already her illegally.

Last I heard there is a 10 year waiting list to enter legally from Mexico.

Being convicted of a crime should be grounds for permanent deportation. This should also include use of false ID/names.

Ken Devory Jr.
 

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 From:  Ken D. (KDEVORY)
 To:  gt350ed 
3682.18 In reply to 3682.14 

Ed,

What do you feel should be done with the illegal who goes to the hospital for care? (Currently the hospital writes it off or medicare pays.)

This is a loaded question because it includes handling our own poor and ID.

Note: Many of the ID's used by Mexicans are not 'fake'. People in Puerto Rico with no plans to come to the US will sell their IDs to Mexicans. The names and photos are similar enough to pass.

Ken Devory Jr.
 

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 From:  Mick
 To:  Ken D. (KDEVORY) 
3682.19 In reply to 3682.18 

Ken

"(Currently the hospital writes it off or medicare pays.)"

In both scenarios, YOU and I pay, not the hospital or Medicare !!!!

Mick
Cactus Equipment & Supplies
www.cactus-equipment.com
800-440-6847

 

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 From:  Denny K (JDLASERGIFTS)
 To:  Ken D. (KDEVORY) 
3682.20 In reply to 3682.17 
2) Work out the systems for people who want to enter on a temporary basis for work. (Minimum wage here is what a doctor earns there. Many want to earn the money to build a house back home. The entrepenurial ones add a few extra rooms for rental income and a store front on the first floor. This makes staying in Mexico more desirable for others.)

Ken,

The only problem with #2 is that the money is leaving the US. I don't see any of these people paying taxes. And if they want to start a business in this country the government gives them the buildings and tax breaks. I wish it was that easy for me to get started.
 
 
   
 

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