- The Christian Science Monitor recently published a report
that noted that U.S. Border Patrol agents are demoralized and feeling betrayed
by their own government.
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- This is because President Bush ? the Enron Kid, as I
call him (Enron had contributed more than $600,000 to his political aspirations)
? has increased the incentive for more illegal immigrants to cross our
borders with his proposed stupid guest-worker program. No wonder the agents
are down in the dumps. They literally risk their lives and work long and
hard hours trying to protect our borders while Mr. Know-Nothing tells people
the world over that we are prepared to reward law-breakers by giving them
legal status. Of course this is the same Know-Nothing who recently signed
an official economic report that said the loss of American jobs to cheap-labor
countries was a good thing. We need to do three things.
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- One, Congress must reduce the number of legal immigrants
admitted to the United States. The number (around 600,000 a year) is way
out of kilter in the year 2004.
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- Two, the Border Patrol should receive 100-percent support
from the U.S. government, which is not likely with the Bush administration.
Instead of support, it is scheming to gut the Patrol's union, now that
the Border Patrol is part of the so-called Department of Homeland Security.
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- And, three, the United States needs to get tough with
Mexico. The ruling elites in Mexico have for decades failed to provide
opportunities for the great mass of the Mexican people. It's no surprise.
These relatively few families own practically the whole country and live
the luxurious lives of the old conquistadores. The Mexican government encourages
its poor to cross the U.S. border. Better they violate American laws, change
our culture and send money back to Mexico than fester in Mexican poverty
and perhaps one day rebel against their exploiters. Instead of speaking
out against this wrong policy on the part of Mexico, the U.S. government
has insanely rewarded it.
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- First, it established the maquiladora program, which
encouraged American companies to put their factories on the Mexican side
of the border and distribution facilities on the U.S. side. This allowed
corporations to exploit Mexican workers and pollute the Mexican landscape
while laying off thousands of American workers. As if that weren't bad
enough, the United States signed the North American Free Trade Agreement.
This allowed the American big three in the grain-export business to impoverish
what was left of the small Mexican farmers as well as encourage more American
corporations to move their jobs south, where, for the price of a few bribes,
they need not concern themselves with such bothers as decent wages and
health, safety and environmental regulations. Americans should not worry
about terrorists.
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- Our own corrupt politicians and greedy corporations are
gutting the nation from within, while much of the corporate media do a
poor job of informing the American people, except of course in the area
of entertainment.
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- The Enron Kid likes to talk about national security.
Well, the first and foremost task of national security is to protect the
borders of the United States. This he is miserably failing to do. And the
Congress, so riddled with lobbyists' influence, is failing with him. If
you've never seen a great nation commit national suicide, stick around.
You're watching it. The United States today is already unrecognizable from
the United States I grew up in, and I fear it will be even more so, in
a negative way, for my grandchildren.
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- Everything that made America great ? a government people
could trust, the work ethic and frugality, high moral standards, a fine
education system, and patriotism based on America's historic values ? is
being undermined by the present-day corporate and political elite.
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- Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years, reporting
on everything from sports to politics. From 1969?71, he worked as a campaign
staffer for gubernatorial, senatorial and congressional races in several
states. He was an editor, assistant to the publisher, and columnist for
the Orlando Sentinel from 1971 to 2001. He now writes a syndicated column
which is carried on LewRockwell.com. Reese served two years active duty
in the U.S. Army as a tank gunner. Write to Charley Reese at P.O. Box 2446,
Orlando, FL 32802.
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- © 2004 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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