DON'T LET CONGRESS PASS THIS IMMIGRATION BILL!

I implore you, I beg you--DON'T LET CONGRESS PASS THIS BILL!

Despite what Bush says and the fractured Democratic Congress is trying to sell us, this immigration legislation is nothing more than amnesty. Plain and simple.

If this bill passes, it will open the floodgates to every illegal on this planet who wants to flock to the New World without having to worry about breaking the law--like their 12 million illegal counterparts have been doing since Reagan passed his amnesty bill in 1986. (For those of us who are old enough to remember.)

Just imagine it would be like to having our borders wide open to a flood of people who see us as easy pickings--because both our Democratic-led Congress and our foolish cheesebanger of a President want to grant these law-breakers a free pass for the rest of their lives.

Think I'm joking? They aren't. They want this bill to pass. One side wants cheap labor, the other side wants families to stay together. And together--both sides don't give a darn about what you--the American taxpayer--thinks.

This is all about Big Business and what Corporate America desperately wants. With a flood of illegal immigrants to choose from, our jobs go bye-bye. So does our Social Security (what's left of it), and our overburdened healthcare system.

State governments would be overwhelmed by the thousands of applicants vying for state services already strained to the breaking point from a lack of finances and qualified people. Our federal government would be crushed by the tidal wave of applicants wanting in on our social programs designed to help out the poor, the elderly, and the disabled.

Forget 2025--when 192 million immigrants are forecast to be in this country; illegally or not.

Think of the next three years--when each of us wakes up and discovers that what we had before...

No longer exists.

Because this bill passed.

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

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BUSH CAN'T SEPARATE HIMSELF FROM HIS OWN FANTASIES

Years ago--as I remember--I was told by my own social worker that living--entrenched--in my own fantasies was unhealthy, and wouldn't give me a full, honest, view of what reality was like.

I was stuck in a rut, unable to escape what many saw was my own obstinance and irresponsible take on life. That if I could only keep myself immersed in my own brand of Star Trek fan-fiction, life would simply pass me by, and I would have no care in the world. Or who would care for me as I grew up.

Sadly, our own President is proving me wrong: You can live in your own fantasy world and still be head of the least powerful (and impotent) democratic form of government there ever was on this green Earth.

From Bush's take on Iraq, to his one-sided views about terrorists attacking us here if we were to leave Iraq, to his now odd take on people's opinions on him in recent polls. (He thinks we all agree with him on everything.)

Reflecting on this, I really wish I hadn't left my own fantasy world when I was a teenager. It certainly would've spared me this nightmare we now call the Bush Years...

18 years later.

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX

LET'S NOT CONFUSE FANTASY WITH REALITY

It never ceases to amaze me how war supporters go on with their daily diatribe of what "progress" really means by measuring just how many schools and hospitals have been built in Iraq thus far--and that alone proves that we should continue the illegal occupation of a nation which never posed a threat to us in the first place.

The sad truth that these war supporters refuse to face--let alone acknowledge--is that Iraq in itself is getting one step closer each day to becoming a failed state.

Iraq's own parliament is in chaos and hasn't passed any meaningful legislation which the US has been striving for as 'benchmarks'. I read a news article illustrating just how chaotic things are: That members of Iraq's own parliament are constantly squabbling, sparring verbally with each other and basically giving other members the cold shoulder when the prospect of formulating anything democratic pops up.

They just aren't interested! All they care about is their own ambitions and their own needs--not the Iraqis they claim to represent.

And it doesn't stop there. Iraq is lawless. The security forces are incapable of bringing peace and security to the country--not when militias, gangs, and terrorist groups continue to have free reign of the nation.

The remaining people don't have the resources they need. Power is in short supply, food is mediocre, and medicine is scarce. Iraqis are leaving the country in droves--to the tune of 2 million and counting.

And Malaki's government? Completely incompetent and unable to govern. It is a weak representation of an equally weak notion that we could ever bring democracy to a country that was simply not ready for it.

Is this what we are fighting in Iraq for these days?

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX

SECRET IMMIGRATION BILL IS JUST MORE OF THE SAME: AMNESTY

I don't care what the government says. I've read the details and all I keep seeing stamped in bold black letters across the bill is the word: AMNESTY.

No matter what the legislation's authors say, count on the fact that there will be convenient loopholes added in for our politicians and big business to exploit in the future--all at the expense of the American taxpayer.

Call your Congressman. Write to your representative. Tell them that this bill is amnesty and you won't accept it.

After all, this country belongs to us. Not those who come here illegally and mooch off the system without consequence!

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX

SOME PEOPLE CAN BE SO WHINEY SOMETIMES

Can someone toss me a pacifier please?

Because apparently, someone in this state of ours obviously doesn't like to pay their fair of taxes! ("Make politicians accountable, okay?")

So what's this writer's solution? Punish our elected representatives by not voting for them because of a stupid little $30 car tab tax.

Oh the tragedy! Oh the humanity! What ever are we going to do?!

Cry about supporting what's a necessity in our communities? Things like schools? Road maintenance, and every other thing which cannot be generated through the usual state revenue channels?

Listen people: Without taxes, we won't have an infrastructure for our state or any other state in this country of ours. Most of the services which we rely on won't exist without taxes!

You think I'm joking? You think that you can get by without hospitals, public transportation, and everything else which we take for granted on a daily basis?

I'd like to see you try.

Try and live without something which is critical to your social needs. Like garbage pickup for instance.

Think about how much of a smell would emanate if you didn't have sanitation services to come and pick up your crap every day, or park services to keep your precious parks clean and inviting for future visitors.

Still think you pay too much in taxes? Then maybe you should stop and think about what you're getting, before you start complaining about the amount which you have to shell out on a yearly basis.

Because these things don't come cheap. Nor are they free. And that's where your tax monies come in to save the day.

So stop whining and grow up!

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX

GOVERNMENT OVERPLAYS ITS HAND ON THE WAR AGAINST TERROR

Not surprising, that the government would say that it stopped a major terror attack on US soil recently--in regards to an alleged plot against a military base in New Jersey.

But the simple fact of the matter, is that in incidents like these, only a third of such prosecuted cases in this country--since 9-11--are actually charged with terrorism, and the rest are simply given lesser charges like illegal immigration.

However, don't let this drive a wedge into the government's fantasies that these 6 suspects (three illegal immigrants, and two converted Muslims formally from Yugoslavia--one of them a pizza-delivery guy) are truly capable of mass-murdering hundreds of US soldiers--based on the far-fetched idea that they could actually penetrate a high-security military base using only automatic weapons and a crudely drawn map.

The government likes to hype up things up to make it look like these incidents are truly the work of Islamic radical fundamentalists abroad. But once the smoke clears and people start thinking with a clear head, we all see that these people are nothing more than victims of government fear-mongering and a bloated ego to match.

If these people were truly a threat to national security, and they were really terrorists, they wouldn't be needing to go to your local Supermart technology store to burn a copy of their so-called paintball "training video", now would they?

I'm not saying we shouldn't be vigilant against terrorism here at home, but having the government overplay its hand by making a mountain of a molehill in cases like this one, does more harm to us as a nation than it actually helps.

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX

IRAQI ADDICTION MAKES JOB OF GETTING OUT ALL THAT MUCH HARDER

Even as Cheney is in Iraq to tell the Iraqis to get their rears into gear, clearly the reality on the ground is: That's not going to happen anytime soon--even if the Iraqi Parliament takes its scheduled 2 month vacation.

And while some in our government is upset over this move, it's become clear that no amount of wishful thinking on Rice and Bush's part (as seen recently on PBS with Charlie Rose) is going to make everything alright in Iraq.

You can have all the time in the world--wanting more overburdened US troops in Iraq to pick up the slack which Iraq's security force is unable to do on its own, or some other "benchmark" which will never be met in the years to come--but the truth of the matter is this: The Iraqis are unable to stand on their own two feet.

Because they can't!

When we invaded, we practically undermined everything which kept the country together. And since the invasion, everything we've been doing so far has given the Iraqis a classic case of severe drug addiction. That being they relied on us for everything, and having little motivation to show that they can do things on their own accord.

And it's been proven time and again. The Iraqi government doesn't want us to leave because it can't do things on its own. All these glorious benchmarks which we had hoped would reduce our presence in the country, won't come to pass in the near future because of it.

So simply saying: "We need another year for the surge to work"--is giving the Iraqis another good fix for the coming months, with little to show for results.

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX

BUSH DOESN'T PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS

If anything, Bush has decided that vetoing what the people want is more important than just coming clean with the mandate which we gave Congress last November during the mid-terms: Demand a change in course in Iraq!

But Bush doesn't want to change course. He believes that setting timelines is signaling a victory to terrorists and sending the wrong message to the troops. But recent polls suggest that public support for Congress is clearly overshadowing the President's stubborn refusal to see that he no longer has a 'mandate' of his own.

So where did he get all these arrogant ideas that he alone is the "Commander guy"? That Congress and the American people no longer matter?

If anything, our President has an over inflated ego and an equally over inflated case of hubris to go along with it. And if anyone doesn't understand his "master plan", then he ignores them and shuts them out.

The only problem with that mentality, is that we do understand him, but we don't like how he's carrying out policies. And by ignoring the will of Congress and the people, our President has clearly shown that he refuses to play well with others.

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX

BUSH USES TROOPS AS SACRIFICIAL LAMBS

Naturally, we all saw this coming: Bush using only two vetoes in his entire Presidency.

While Democrats are saying that this latest stunt by Bush reflects his inability to compromise even at the most basic level, this veto shows once again how little Bush values our own military forces.

Instead of embracing the inevitable that this war will only come to an unsavory conclusion, Bush instead just wants to keep our stretched forces in the midst of a civil war for years on end.

He says that this legislation will only add to more chaos and destruction; not realizing that our very presence there has already done that and more. Bush also says that this legislation will only embolden our enemies.

Sorry. But that's already happened. Long before this legislation ever came into being in fact.

Our enemies are steadily pecking away at our strengths with each passing month. But instead of redeployment, Bush says: "Stay the course."

And with each passing year, our troops are coming back with less and less than what they originally started out with in 2003.

But does Bush care?

Nope. Our troops lives mean nothing to him! Just more sacrificial pawns for a politically sick game of "Risk"...

I shudder to think of what would happen if our nation was invaded by a much more powerful nation in the future. Will our might repel such an invasion or will it not be there to stem the flow?

Given what I see and hear in Iraq, I highly doubt it. Our military strength is being wasted for an ideological notion of faux paz democracy. With no end in sight.

That's the real tragedy here.

Schuyler Thorpe

xxxth Street xx #X001

Everett, WA 98204

(XXX)-XXX-XXXX