As the Title suggests I am a vet, and proud of it, and proud of all those that wear the uniform of the United States of America. You name it we'll talk about it. Politics, sports and much more. However, I am also very interested in what is happening to this great country of ours, politically and socially...So SOUND OFF PRIVATE!!!
The Stars and Stripes
Friday, May 12, 2006
Hey, My Rights Have Been Violated...Haven't they?
Osama Bin Laden doesn't need to strike the USA again to destroy it. That is being done from within. Within our own democratic system. Police have used this tactic for information gathering for decades. They have done stake outs and written down vehicle information to identify suspicious persons. They have tapped phones in a means to gather information as to the ties a suspect might have with other "bad people", yet that was OK, right? Now here we are fighting a war on terrorism with some of the highest technology in the world and we are worried about someone keeping a "database" on our phone calls. Like I said, there must be a lot of criminally intent people out there.
This tactic that the NSA is using is not "monitoring" your phone calls. It is simplying gathering information regarding phone numbers, not conversations. If you are calling al Queda, watch out. If you are calling grandma, whats your worry? The phone companies have been keeping phone data on Americans for years, were you worried then? For the life of me I can not understand all the whinning going on, unless you have something to hide. When I was in the military, I had a secret clearance. Therefore I was checked on a regular basis for any inproprities, or if there was something that might "pop" up on my record. As a police officer, we used spying tactics as well. We would follow suspects to gather information on their behavior, contacts, and locations where suspected illegal activities might have taken place. Now if memory serves me correct, I didn't need to get public permission to do it. As long as I was doing it in the "line of duty" and for the "protection" of the citizens to which I took an oath to protect. Isn't this the same thing that the president is doing?
Even the Justice Department has determined that the wiretaps are legal. There have been no violations of privacy. If there have been violations and there are victims out there, why haven't they come forward to present their claims? Where are the court cases? Who has been the "victims"? Who's rights have been violated? I will tell you who. The terrorists. If there were to be another attack on America like 9/11, I could assure you that there would be an outcry from the public as to why we hadn't done anything to keep it from happening. But since we haven't had another attack, we can only see it as a violation of our rights. Again, who has been violated? Please step forward and present you claim to fame. It simply amazes me that there are so many whiners out there over protecting the United States. Are these the same people that are yelling "make the [illegal] immigrants legal, by giving them citizenship ahead of those that have been using the process to become legal citizens? Oh wait a minute, that is the politicians in Washington D.C.
Think about it for a minute folks. Which would you rather have: a safe and secure country, free from terrorist strikes or a country living in fear because we didn't do anything to stop it from happening all over again? For me, if the government likes keeping a database on how many times I call my mother, or my relatives, great. Maybe I could get a copy of it so that my folks could see that I do call them, and often. So stop your whinning, get on with the things at hand to make this country better.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
What the ____ are they Thinking?
Just how serious are we on limiting the immigration of illegals into our country? I could hardly believe my ears and eyes when I read this article and heard about it on the TV. To say the least I am appalled. It would now seem that the US is in aid with the notorious Mexican government in assisting illegals in coming into this country. Isn't it bad enough that the the government has turned a blind eye to the immigration population explosion, illgal marches and protestings? Now they are actually assisting them in getting into this country without being stopped.
It is an obvious thing to me that the government (both sides of the aisle) is doing little to stop this. As the article states, this move enables the illegals to skirt the location in which the Minutemen are operating as well as Friends of the Border Patrol. Privately organized civilian groups of concerned citizens, being dismantled (so to speak) by the very government that has made the statement that something needs to be done about the massive immigration taking place in the US. Believe me I do not endorse any violent action taken by any civilian group against another (unless deserved of course). At the same time to assist those coming into the country illegally goes far beyond "protecting the rights of those detained". Another thing that is obvious, is that the Border Patrol can not do their job effectively, or the flow of illegals would have been slowed or stopped by now. So here is a group of concerned American citizens taking time out of their lives to assist their government in helping curb this influx, and their efforts are being thwarted by the very government they are assisting.
In a statement by Darryl Griffen, San Diego Border Patrol sector chief, "...the Border Patrol will not permit any violence or any actions contrary to the law by the groups, and he is continuously aware of (the volunteer organizations') operations," according to the document. "Mr. Griffen reiterated to the undersecretary his promise to notify the General Consul right away when the vigilantes detain or participate in the detention of any undocumented Mexicans."
There have also been protests (verbal) from the Border Patrolmen themselves as to the actions taken by their superiors in the providing of information to the Mexican Consulate after a internal memo was passed down last year. The memo also gave out the locations of field operations of the Friends of the Border Patrol, and the exact location of the group founded by Andy Ramirez.
So where will these illegals be stopped? Not at the borders, and especially not by American citizens. American it is time to stand up and sound off. Who runs our country, the citizens (of the people, by the people, and for the people) or a foreign country (MEXICO)? Who controls who can come into our country? According to this enlightenment, there is very little being done to control this mass exodus from Mexico into the US. And yes, even though there are other immigrants coming into this country, the onslaught from Mexico is the worst. I want to personally thank the agencies that are in place to protect our borders for cutting the throat of their officers and the American population. It makes one wonder what other information is being given out about how one can successfully enter into the US illegally by members of our government agencies.