There is a paradox at the heart of liberty, a tension between our
desiring what is good and our willingness to sacrifice true happiness
for fleeting satisfaction. "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom,"
abolitionist Wendell Phillips said. Lord Acton echoed the idea, calling
liberty, "the delicate fruit of a mature civilization."
The delicacy of freedom cannot be explained without recourse to the
realities of good and evil. Freedom is both universally sought and
everywhere in jeopardy because of the imperfection of human nature. We
are beings who seek what is good, but are tempted by what is evil.
Freedom--the capacity to know and choose what is good--is the path to
fulfillment, but reason is clouded and the will is compromised by our
inclination to pursue what is base.
This is why liberty blooms only in a mature civilization, a culture in
which the discipline to act virtuously is widespread. It requires a
political order in which the proclivity to acquire power is checked by
constitutional limits and, more critically, by the moral formation of
electorates and officials alike.
Yet the temptation to trade liberty for other apparent goods is
ever-present. Radical equality appears as a desirable goal; lurking
behind the veil is power for a few and lowered status for the rest.
Financial security without personal cost similarly appeals; but it too
will be revealed in time to be illusory, material prosperity finally
failing along with the freedom of self-direction.
Such deceptive allures permeate our policy debates. The promises of
government-run social security, having undermined the duty-in-freedom to
provide for ourselves, our families, and our neighbors, are perched on
an increasingly unstable base of a shrinking proportion of workers.
Abdicating our responsibility to provide for and direct the education of
our children, a government system has raced to a
lowest-common-denominator approach devoid of moral or religious
content--and often enough not very effective in conveying skills or
knowledge either. Faced with the daunting prospect of taking charge of
the cost of medical care for ourselves and our families, many are
willing to cede control over value-laden health care decisions to
government agencies.
Pope Benedict XVI understands the paradox of freedom. "Since man always
remains free and since his freedom is always fragile, the kingdom of
good will never be definitively established in this world," he wrote in
Spe
Salvi. Yet we are called to battle, nonetheless: "Freedom
must constantly be won over for the cause of good."
The link between freedom and goodness is unbreakable, but it is always
in danger of being forgotten. The notions that free means "carefree" and
that liberty entails no limits are now deeply rooted in our politics and
in our culture. But while we may deny who we are as human beings made in
the likeness of God, we cannot overturn nature. There is no true
happiness in reaping the rewards of someone else's labor, in wielding
power over the decisions of others, or in following every urge and
impulse regardless of the consequences for ourselves or for those around
us.
The vigilance demanded to protect freedom is watchfulness over the
potential abuses of powerful institutions: political, commercial, and
even religious. But it is first and foremost a conscientious scrutiny of
our own motives and actions. For it is only when large numbers of
individuals become complacent and indolent that those who seek power are
able to attain it. July Fourth is a fitting time to recommit ourselves
to acting toward the genuine good of ourselves and others--in other
words, to remind ourselves always to conform our freedom to what is
true. This fundamental connection was articulated long before Phillips,
Acton, or Benedict drew breath: "You shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free."
07-08-2009
Amendments Pass: Department of
Homeland Security Appropriations Bill
From Roy Beck of NumbersUSA:
Sen. Sessions (R-Ala.) after multiple failures finally got approval of
an amendment to require E-Verify for all employees on federal contracts.
We got 53 votes. Sen. DeMint (R-S.C.) won on an amendment to require
the completion of 700 miles of fencing along the Mexican border. We got
54 votes
Senator Cornyn voted for the mandatory use of E-Verify for federal contractors and
for the amendment that supports the completion of 700 miles of fencing
along the southwest border.
Senator Hutchison voted for the mandatory use of E-Verify for federal contractors,
and for the amendment that supports the completion of 700 miles of
fencing along the southwest border.
Show your appreciation to our Senators for voting the right way. We are
quick to criticize, let's be as quick to tell them they have represented
us well.
NumbersUSA: Updated: Wednesday, July 8, 2009, 5:11 PM
Tell Senators to Vote YES on Grassley's E-Verify Amendment & Vitter's
No-Match Amendment - 202-224-3121
Action Pending on
Grassley and Vitter Amendments Senators will soon vote on an amendment
(# 1415) by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) that would allow employers
using E-Verify to check the workplace eligibility of all employees, not
just new hires. Under current law, E-Verify may only be used for new
hires. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) also is offering an amendment (#1375)
that would prevent further delays in the implementation of the
"no-match" rule, which allows the Social Security Administration to send
letters notifying employers that the Social Security number and personal
data of certain employees don't match SSA records (almost always because
they are illegal aliens).
Read Full Story
07-10-2009
Senate Adopts Grassley's E-Verify Amendment - 4th Victory in a Row!
The
Senate adopted Sen. Charles Grassley's (R-Iowa) E-Verify amendment on a
voice vote tonight. This represents the fourth immigration-reduction
victory in a row on the Homeland Security spending bill. Thank you for
helping to make these terrific wins a reality!
Sen.
Grassley's amendment would allow employers using E-Verify to check the
workplace eligibility of all employees, not just new hires. Under
current law, E-Verify may only be used for new hires.
Regarding the adoption of the Sessions and Vitter amendments. (Would
pertain to the Grassley Amendment also)
What's Next. While the adoption of these amendments was a strong step
towards real security and true immigration reform, the battle to ensure that these measures become law isn't over yet.
After the Senate passes the Homeland Security spending bill, the bill
will go to a House-Senate conference to resolve any differences between
the House and Senate versions of the legislation. The House version does
NOT contain either of these two amendments! This means that members of
the House-Senate Conference Committee could strip the amendments from
the bill and prevent them from being signed into law!
Call your
home-state Senators today and urge them to tell Senate Leadership to
keep these amendments in conference.
Take Action:
Rep. Ravel
Grijalva (D-AZ) has introduced H.R. 2076 that would impede efforts to
gain control over our border.
The economic
downturn has activists pushing for a measure that would limit the
services Californians provide.
As California lawmakers struggle with a budget gap that has now grown to
$26.3 billion, one of the hottest topics for many taxpayers is the cost
to the state of illegal immigrants.
The
question of whether taxpayers should provide services to illegal
residents became a major political issue in California's last deep
recession, culminating in the ballot fight over Proposition 187 in 1994.
That history could repeat itself in the current downturn, as activists
opposed to illegal immigration have launched a campaign for an
initiative that would, among other things, cut off welfare payments to
the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. Those children are
eligible for welfare benefits because they are U.S. citizens
Schumer:
Immigration Bill to Be Ready by Labor Day http://www.truthout.org/070909E?n
Suzanne Gamboa, The Associated Press: "The lead Democrat steering an
immigration overhaul through the Senate said Wednesday he expects to
have a bill ready by Labor Day that is more generous to highly skilled
immigrant workers than those who are lower skilled and is tough on
future waves of illegal immigration
07-17-2009
Have you ever
wondered WHY the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations do
not come out against illegal immigration?
The following is
from Center for Immigration Studies,
www.cis.org
WASHINGTON (July 16, 2009) – Wildlife populations are increasingly
threatened by illegal immigration and the alien smugglers who are
cutting paths through federally protected lands. While environmental
groups put out study after study detailing potential negative effects of
a border fence on the environment, the story of the negative effects of
not stopping illegal immigration across the Mexican border is a story
that has remained untold, until now.
The Center for Immigration Studies has produced a web video using
exclusive hidden camera footage. Additionally, the video includes maps
used by the federal government to track illegal activity. “Hidden
Cameras on the Arizona Border: Coyotes, Bears, and Trails,”
raises questions about environmentalists’ focus on stopping a border
fence, when endangered species and vegetation have already been proven
to suffer significantly where no fence exists. Abandoned vehicles, drug
drops, illegal groups trekking and camping, along with the predictable
human waste and immense litter left behind, have destroyed fragile
Arizona ecosystems.
“Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border,” written and narrated by
Janice Kephart, takes the story to a region threatened by increased
illegal immigration, the Huachuca Mountains and Coronado National Forest
in the southeast quadrant of Arizona. The mountainous terrain of these
borderlands are seeing increasing activity right now, with drug dealers
and alien smugglers – referred to as “coyotes” – and their clients using
these trails to avoid the Border Patrol, which has limited access to
these areas. Hidden cameras capture illegal activity as far as 10 miles
north of the Mexican border, yet also capture large species such as
bears, mountain lions, deer, wild pigs, and turkeys, which are
experiencing the illegal activity first hand.
On a larger scale, President Obama’s immigration and environmental
platforms for rule of law on our borders and a greener America remain
unreconciled when it comes to the effect of the huge numbers of illegal
immigrants being caught on hidden cameras trekking through public lands
the federal government is responsible for controlling. These alien
crossings are not legal, and they make clear that our borders are far
from secure. In fact, the numbers of illegals on these trails is rising.
In June 2009, 575 illegal aliens were picked up on just 14 of the hidden
cameras featured in this video along 12 trials. Hundreds of these trails
exist, and new ones are being cut illegally every day. And while these
animals call these mountains home now, how long will these beautiful
lands remain unspoiled if the border is not secured? And who is
protecting this nation from those illegally trekking through them?
Writer/Narrator: Janice Kephart
Producer/Editor: Bryan Griffith
Hidden Camera footage: BorderInvasionpics.com
Mexican brothels
coming to a neighborhood near you
Illegal alien and convicted felon Emma Tlacoxolal-Perez was sentenced
this week in U.S. District Court to 33 months in prison for running
brothels in Chesapeake, Newport News, James City County and
Williamsburg.
Michael Cutler has an
excellent essay about this article. If you would like to receive his
emails you may email him at
Mcutler007@aol.com
To receive email
updates from Department of Homeland Security re: U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, click on the link above.
A good opportunity
for those of you who like to engage in interactive dialogues.
From: U.S. Customs
and Border Protection <cbp@service.govdelivery.com> The U.S. Department of Homeland
Security will conduct its first Quadrennial Homeland Security Review.
Join the conversation at
www.homelandsecuritydialogue.org
Take part in our
National Dialogue on Homeland Security — a series of web-based,
interactive dialogues. You have the opportunity to help shape our
nation’s homeland security policies and priorities.
Engage on six focus
areas:
• Counterterrorism
and Domestic Security Management
• Securing Our Borders
• Smart and Tough Enforcement of Immigration Laws
• Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Disasters
• Homeland Security National Risk Assessment
• Homeland Security Planning and Capabilities
Mark your
calendars! Pre-registration is now open.
Three sessions
on: August 3-9, August 31-September 6, September 28-October 4.
07-30-2009
* * * * *
"They can't
find illegals for enforcement but they can find them to give them health
care."
Former Speaker of
the House, Texas' Dick Armey on Neil Cavuto Show - FoxNews
* * *
A recent
Rasmussen poll found that a whopping 80 percent of Americans oppose
covering illegal aliens.
When Obama and his radicals talk about the 46 million uninsured, the
Census Bureau tells us that 15 percent to 22 percent of those 46 million
are illegal aliens.
Got Workers? Dairy Farms Run Low on Labor Even in Recession, U.S. Job
Candidates Are Scarce
Jesus
Rodriguez, a Mexican who can't read or write, sometimes mixes up the
numbers that identify the cows that he milks. But he can easily tell one
brawny black-and-white Holstein from another, and discern when they are
sick, in heat or just plain moody.
Farmer Ray
Souza credits immigrants like Mr. Rodriguez, an employee for nearly 20
years, for saving the U.S. dairy industry. "I haven't had a non-Hispanic
want to do this work in 10 years," says Mr. Souza, a descendent of
Portuguese immigrants, a group that helped turn California into the
nation's largest dairy state.
------
But groups
that call for a crackdown on illegal immigration say that the farmers
want an amnesty that would unfairly disadvantage American workers.
"You'd
bring thousands of people who would work in dairy farming and then
compete with Americans for jobs in manufacturing, construction and
services," says Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, a national
organization that lobbies for immigration reduction. Given the
recession, "this is a time when we know it's possible to find Americans
to do this work. If you had the right recruiting, pay and working
conditions, you could handle this with Americans."
But, in the
long term, he adds, "we are going to need a foreign-guest worker program
geared toward agriculture."
"There's a move nationally towards universal registration, so that
if you apply for any state assistance, for example, you're automatically
registered to vote," he said.
Demographically, Latinos have a lot going for themselves. But then
again, they don't.
The latest census report shows the Latino population in Texas is going
up. But the census also shows they're voting in fewer numbers than
expected.
Texas ranked 45th in voter turnout in last year's presidential election.
This dismal figure is largely due to the poor voter turnout among the
state's Latinos.
Last year, Hispanics represented 32 percent of all eligible voters in
Texas but only 20 percent of the turnout. It's estimated that there are
more than a million Latinos out there who will be eligible to vote in
2010 but aren't registered.
Which brings us to the issue of voter ID.
__________
Toby Moore, a researcher on election data who worked on the Baker-Carter
Commission for Federal Election Reform, said the more regulations that
voters need to meet, the lower voter turnout will be. That's why the
commission report in 2005 recommended making it easier – not harder – to
get an ID.
"There's a move nationally towards universal registration, so that if
you apply for any state assistance, for example, you're automatically
registered to vote," he said.
"If you loosen up the registration process and tighten up the balloting
process, then you can justify needing an ID at the ballot box."
And there's no more sure-fire way of getting Latinos fully assimilated
into the American mainstream than by encouraging them to become voters.
As Lewisville turns day laborers away from Huffines Plaza, immigrants
defend right to seek work
Sunday, July 26, 2009 - By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
Hard against Interstate 35E whizzing past, it bears all the markings of
a tired strip shopping center, right down to the beaten, potholed
asphalt parking lot. A Dollar General competes with a 99-cent store. The
restaurant is Mariscos Y Taqueria. The sports bar is El Pollo Alegre.
Down the way are a lavanderia, a meat market and a "mini-bazaar" for all
your money-transfer needs. A tattoo parlor shares space with an
insurance agency, just past the Buy Low Beer & Wine.
DONATE TO TEXAS
LEGAL FOUNDATION
to help win the IRCOT
lawsuit against in-state
tuition for illegal alien students. http://texaslegalfoundation.org
Please make your check
payable to
"Texas Legal Foundation" noting your donation
is for the IRCOT lawsuit.
Send checks to
Texas Legal Foundation
P.O. Box 926
Austin, Texas 78767
IRCOT Endorses
Common Sense
Texans Five
Core Principles:
1. Limited Government
2. Fiscal Responsibility
3. Personal Responsibility
4. The Rule of Law
5. National Sovereignty
