One county in one state, that is what Los Angeles County is in the grand scheme of things. Just one county among the 3,100+ that encompass the whole of the United States. This one county though is facing an unparalleled burden of shouldering over $1 billion dollars per year in spending on illegal aliens and their children. This number does not even include the costs of education and other expenses not mentioned in the report below by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.
LA County spent $50 million in January alone for food stamps and other welfare services. That's per month. Lets calculate this... 50 x 12, $600 million, then add in the $500 million for the health care mentioned int e report below and the $350 million for public safety... I have no problem stating that the true numbers are probably more than $1.5 billion annually - still not including education. And that's just public spending through the government, imagine the private costs people are paying in terms of higher insurance rates to cover all the illegal alien drivers without insurance who get in accidents... or the expense people are paying due to being victims of identity theft when an illegal steals their identity to get a job or housing (and the depression that occurs when you get a tax due notice from the IRS for monies you didn't earn).
So it's $600 million a year now eh? I've been following this trend for a while. In April 2007, LA County reported that illegal aliens were using $35 million per month in CalWorks and Food Stamps. By August 2008 that number had crept to $37 million per month. A year and a half later it is now up to $50 million per month. If you've been hearing that illegal aliens are leaving the United States, you're being lied to. The numbers prove out the truth.
This is all fraudulent monies obtained by illegal aliens and if there is a mass amnesty passed for illegal aliens this number is surely to triple or quadruple. I kind of wonder exactly how friendly Los Angelenos are going to be to their new legal residents when they bring their whole families to the county and push that number above to $3-$4 billion per year. Of course people who live there are not thinking logically or thinking ahead. Many of them are sympathetic supporters of illegal aliens. If they thought parts of Los Angeles were bad now, wait until a tripling of public service users hit their county.
Education expenses can't be ignored though as they are so large as to dwarf any talk of the costs of enforcing immigration laws or building a border fence. illegal aliens cost California nearly $9 billion a year in education expenses, according to a 2004 report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform. A report from the same group in 2005 entitled "Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools Into the Red" put the national costs - not include free and low cost lunches or English as a Second Language (ESL) - at $28.6 billion per year. Mind you these reports are years old and the population of illegals and their children has grown substantially.
Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich released figures from the Department of Public Social Services showing that illegal aliens' children born in the United States collected more than $50 million in welfare benefits (CALWORKS + Food Stamps) for the month of January.
Approximately 23 percent of all CALWORKS and food stamp issuances in Los Angeles County are made to parents who reside in the United States illegally and collect benefits for their native-born children.
"When you add this to $350 million for public safety and nearly $500 million for healthcare, the total cost for illegal immigrants to County taxpayers far exceeds $1 billion a year - not including the millions of dollars for education," Antonovich said.
There's nothing more untruthful or telling about a persons character than when they use any tactic they can to win an argument - particularly when they don't have logic or public opinion on their side . This is quite clear in recent debates over key issues in this country. Reason and facts go out the window and one side simply tries to demonize the other and paint them in as negative a light as possible. This doesn't just come down to putting images of their opponent out there as Hitler or in some other negative light, but in the slight of speech they roll of their tongues with ease.
In the immigration debate this can be seen quite clearly by what I call The "Anti" Slander. Those in favor of our laws being enforced, with good reason, are labeled by the press and their opponents as anti-illegal immigration at best and simply anti-immigration or racist at worst. They use the word "anti" because it is a negative term and they hope to paint their opponents arguments - and the people delivering them - in as bad a light as possible.
Those actually calling for immigration laws to be enforced are pro-enforcement. They simply want the laws enforced and have many facts to back them up as to why. Their opponents though would never use such a term as "pro" to describe them though as it includes a positive connotation. The insinuation from them that pro-enforcement immigration activists are anti-immigration though is totally ludicrous and false and those spewing it are anti-truth.
Sure there are some in the pro-enforcement community who want to stop legal immigration for a time until we can get our borders and system under control. They have logical concerns, from homeland security to fiscal reality to assimilation issues. Those people aren't anti-immigration at all, they are pro-reform and many have no problems with immigration continuing once the system is fixed.
It doesn't take much to see this playing out on other issues as well. When flipping around the TV this morning and skipping past MSNBC I noted that they didn't refer to Democrats opposed to health care reform because of the public funding of abortion as pro-life, no they dubbed them anti-abortion. Another negative slam simply because NBC thinks that the president's health care reform should be passed. They couldn't refer to them as pro-life Democrats because that would sound a little too positive and give their arguments some credibility to be thought about by the average liberal watching MSNBC (who in general agree with them and like the little snide negative remark).
Those using such terms know what they are doing and are quite conscience of their actions. It is telling about their character in the long run though, that their position is so weak that they must go into the swamp of disgust and pull out every slimy tactic they can.
I received this from Andrea, a third generation American whose grandfather came to America legally from Armenia. She has watched her state and town deteriorate under the weight of illegal immigration.
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As a 3rd generation California resident, (my family has been here since my grandfather escaped the Armenian Genocide and came to the U.S. legally), I have seen the damage done to our neighborhoods due to the illegal aliens.
It's amazing that now that most jobs in the San Fernando Valley won't even hire you unless you speak Spanish. My Grandfather always spoke English once he arrived to this country, and would never speak Armenian, because he said he was a American now.
My grandfather also never wanted the taxpayers to pay for his services, that is why he payed for his children, and his grandchildren to attend private schools. He loved the U.S. because of all it had to offer, and the fact that he could come here work hard, and have a better life.
How is it, that many people come to our country, the wrong way, skipping the legal process, and expect us to just hand them everything our great country has to offer? It's funny to me, that the immigrants who come here legally, tend to be hard working and end up being very successful, but the ones who sneak into this country, tend to do nothing but complain that they are being held back, and are being stripped of their rights?
As for the people who claim we get so much from illegals coming to this country and working, I would love to know exactly what they think most of us paying our taxes are getting out of it exactly? As for the fruit and vegetables I tend to buy, there is usually a sticker saying that my produce came from another country on it, not from the US. I don't have a maid, so I clean up after myself. I don't eat fast food, (but during my teen's I used to work at one), so I don't need whoever is behind the counter that is barely speaking English to serve me.
My lawn is maintained by my husband, so no gardener for us. It seems like the only thing I'm getting out of the illegals are high taxes to pay for their stays in prison (over 60% off gang members are illegal aliens), paying for their children to attend public schools, giving them affordable housing, their medical bills (meanwhile hospitals are just disappearing due to the lack of funding), and higher car insurance rates because so many people are driving around without it.
I'm not opposed to people coming to this country, but they should be coming here legally (don't start your new life here by breaking the law), and show some pride in this country. Remember the old saying, "When In Rome...."
John McCain is facing re-election in Arizona and has stepped back from his wildly unpopular stance on being the front man for amnesty for illegal aliens. Therefore he has temporarily passed the torch on to SC Senator Lindsey Graham for the time being in order to avoid the issue. That's how it's panning out on the Right Side of the aisle in the Senate.
On the Left Side of the aisle, the amnesty torch that Ted Kennedy left upon his death has been picked up by NY Senator Chuck Schumer.
Thus we have gone from the McKennedy amnesty bill to the Scrahmnesty amnesty bill for illegal aliens.
Graham and Schumer have been putting their time over the last 6 months into trying to figure out how to fool the American people into thinking that amnesty for the 20-30 million illegal aliens (and then an influx of 50 million once their families are brought here) will somehow be to their benefit and not have any impact on their daily lives, taxes, services, congestion or jobs. Another thing they have been trying to figure out is how to fool the American people into thinking that after this amnesty the immigration laws will actually be enforced - something the American people were lied to about in 1986 when the first "one time amnesty" occurred.
Fool me once shame on me, fool me twice...
Any citizen in this country who actually believes that the immigration laws will actually be enforced if another amnesty for illegal aliens is passed is a complete and utter fool. I don't say that lightly either. I generally believe that most people are intelligent enough to figure things out, but with the continued reoccurring of amnesty legislation - and without massive public outcry at the current immigration laws not being enforced - it makes me wonder. Sure, poll after poll finds that more than 80% of Americans oppose an amnesty, but you sure wouldn't know that by looking at the streets. A lot of talk and no action.
Will this time be different though? Will people actually get out there and speak out before it comes down to having to shut the Capitol switchboards down as we did in June 2007? Can we shut down amnesty before it even reaches the floor? I sure hope so.
Graham is going around shooting his mouth off recently telling Politico that Obama needs to "step it up" on a push for amnesty for illegal aliens. Graham and Schumer are going to meet with President Obama on Thursday to put forth their plans, tactics and proposals for another amnesty. Illegal aliens and their supporters are also planning a march in Washington on March 21, 2010 to push for amnesty.
I hope that you will join with other Americans in the coming days to shut down this ridiculousness before it even gets started.
“At the end of the day, the president needs to step it up a little bit,” Graham told POLITICO on Tuesday. “One line in the State of the Union is not going to do it.”
For the past six months, Graham and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) - who meet with Obama at 3 p.m. Thursday - have worked on a reform framework. Their plan, which hasn’t been introduced yet, includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
Under the Constitution the only thing the government has a right to do under a census is get enumeration, or in simpler words a headcount. Anything beyond this is not in the Constitution. I will note that I am not a lawyer, but it is quite clear that government officials and law enforcement should not have the right to ask you for further information unless they have reason to believe you have committed a crime. In which case you should also have the right to remain silent under your 5th amendment rights as a US Citizen.
Call me suspicious of government when it comes to them asking how much you make, where you get it, how much you pay for insurance, what your race is and doing it all with a GPS device in hand to note your location, but I can see no good that could come from providing such information to them. On the issue of race I am joining others in checking the box "Other" and entering "American" as my write in and I urge you to join me.
According to the laws in this land race is not supposed to be considered in any manner. There are supposed to be equal rights for all and the noting of peoples race can only be used for harm. If it is used to increase funding to some sort of minority or majority cause then that is discriminatory against all others. There is no need for the government to request, nor use this information in any way.
All of the information they are asking for is no doubt going to be used in some sort of way - and as with all government programs will be to waste tons more money on ridiculousness or for nefarious reasons - most of those being to infringe on your rights further somehow.
Jerry Day points out some things to watch out for when the census comes to your door.
Hundreds showed up early this morning at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA outside of Philadelphia to protest the appearance of President Obama who was coming to push his health care agenda in a speech. People streamed in on this chilly morning in advance of a 9AM press conference held by the organizer of the event, Independence Hall Tea Party, who put it together on the spur of the moment 3 days ago on March 5. Several speeches were given with an enthusiastic crowd cheering and jeering. The speakers included congressional candidate Mike Fitzpatrick, Steve Lonegan and radio host Dom Giordano (and a few I couldn't identify off hand). Estimates of the crowd size, about 250-300, but there was no official count. Police presence was heavy.
After the speeches - and some spontaneous chants - the crowd pushed towards the parking entrance where Obama would be arriving in his motorcade and lined the streets.
Singing broke out as these American Citizens waited to make their opinion known to their president. Tunes ranged from The Star Spangled Banner to God Bless America.
There were a few Obama supporters in the crowd walking around. They seemed to want to provoke those at the rally into some sort of action, but they were for the most part ignored. Several shouted "Tea Baggers" and other derogatory things and flipped the bird as they walked by the crowd.
I was carrying a sign which read "Illegal Aliens Cost You $330 Billion Per Year" and had two students come up with a video camera and start asking me questions. They were obviously Obama supporters, but when it comes to immigration enforcement it doesn't seem to matter because more than 80% of Americans are opposed to illegal immigration and want the laws enforced. I received several comments from attendees on my sign and noted to them that an amnesty bill is just around the corner and being put together while everyone is focusing on health care.
Several news crews were in attendance and taking interviews with the folks in attendance. Concerns were mainly focused on health care at this event, but there were other issues expressed including overspending, big government and infringement on rights.
It was a very civil event with no incidents. The group was very vocal though when it came time for Obama to arrive. Boos and shouts of "Kill the Bill" erupted when his motorcade appeared. The police kept the crowd pretty far away from his motorcade. Just another sign that he doesn't want to listen to anyone who has differing views. Those in attendance at his speech had to pay money and get lucky enough to be allowed inside. All those attending are supporters of his, just like at every other speech he has ever given. I surely wouldn't spend one dime to listen to him.
This rally was a huge success for that many people to show up on an early morning working day on 3 days notice. The weather turned from chilly to a beautiful day. It's always good to get together with fellow patriots, if you haven't been to a rally yet you don't know what you're missing.
Brian David Mitchell, the sicko who called himself a prophet named Emmanuel, was found to be competent to stand trial March 1, 2010 after being found incompetent to stand trial on two prior occasions. Mitchell is accused of kidnapping 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart in 2002 from her home at knife-point, holding her captive for 9 months, and as Smart testified in October 2009, raping her daily. Mitchell's wife, Wanda Eileen Barzee, was in on the whole scheme.
Smart is pictured to the right in October 2009 after testifying in US District court that Mitchell was "evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God." and that he used religion to get to what he truly wanted, sex. Smart also testified that Mitchell attached a 10 foot cable to her ankle and than attached that to another cable that was between two trees. "He said that he would kill anybody that would come into the camp, or kill me if I ever tried to escape or yell out."
Little known is the fact that the couple also attempted to abduct Smart's cousin one month after they took her.
Barzee has struck plea agreements with the state to testify against her husband. The state has agreed to drop state charges in the abduction of Smart for Barzee's guilty plea of conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping in the abduction attempt on Smart's cousin.
It is a damn shame that it has taken this long to finally prosecute this dirtbag. Even if convicted he will still be a burden on society as he sits in a taxpayer funded cell raping the American People's wallets.
Carlie Christensen, acting U.S. attorney for Utah, released a statement saying she was pleased with U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball's ruling [of competency] , calling it "a significant step toward holding the defendant accountable for his conduct."
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In November, Barzee, now 64, pleaded guilty in federal court to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in connection with Smart's abduction. As part of her plea deal with prosecutors, she entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge and agreed to cooperate in the state and federal cases against her husband.
Smart, now 21, testified at a competency hearing for Mitchell in October, saying she had been held captive in Utah and California after her abduction. Just after she was kidnapped, she testified, Mitchell took her to a wooded area behind her home and performed a mock marriage ceremony with her, then raped her. She said that during the nine months of her captivity, no 24-hour period passed without her being raped by Mitchell.
No one should be surprised that politicians lie and, depending on the circumstances, twist things to their own advantage, but the video below of Obama, Hillary, Dodd, Reid, Biden and others decrying the use of the "Nuclear Option" or reconciliation as arrogant and against the Founder's beliefs is quite sickening. These same people are now planning on using a tactic they claimed was aberrant and against their beliefs. They say it with such passion that you'd think they actually believed what they were saying. They are now talking about using the "Nuclear Option" to pass all kinds of legislation, most notably so called "Health Care Reform".
E-Verify makes sure that a worker an employer is hiring is legal to work in this country. It is a free service set up by the federal government and is more than 94% effective. This not only stops illegal aliens from getting jobs, but those who come here legally on other visas and try to obtain employment (which means that they were fraudulent in their claims of coming here on a student or tourist visa and want to set down roots). You've heard all the arguments against E-Verify, here are a few...
"Jobs Americans won't do"
"We need low wage workers, even illegals, because we need to remain competitive and keep costs down"
and my favorite
"You just want to stop brown people from working you racist!"
But those are all "strawman arguments" meant to condone the continuation of illegally employing workers. It is the only thing those opposed to E-Verify can come up with - and it is weak. Many industries in this country have simply been decimated by the influx of low-wage, mostly illegal, workers - construction being one of those. The wages have dropped significantly to the point where citizens and legal residents in this country have had their futures destroyed because of the push down in their wages. In essence, they have had their livelihoods directly affected by illegal aliens. No one said life was fair, but in America we strive to keep things on an even playing field, that is why we have laws in the first place.
But the crux of it boils down to this...
E-Verify is not mandatory because unscrupulous businesses lobby to have it remain so. It's to allow these businesses to continue to use unfair competitive business practices against those trying to do things the proper and legal way in this country.
You're not going to hire legal workers and go through all the overhead in setting up a legitimate drywall company when 9 other businesses are ignoring the laws and undercutting you because they employ illegal workers and avoid all the hassles of taxes, insurance, safe workplace enforcement and vacation time. It is a virus on business in this country. A "break the laws" and "win at all costs" mentality that is at the heart of the destruction of our country at all levels. It just shows itself openly when it comes to the workplace and illegal employment.
Anyone who advocates for the continued illegal abuses going on is quite repulsive and anti-business in my book. Those advocating for it are advocating for modern day slavery and screwing their fellow citizens in the process. This country used to have a view that we're all in it together, that we should help each other, a rising tide lifts all boats. But as long as these miscreants, thugs and mafioso are allowed to continue to get away with breaking the law we all as a nation suffer.
