April 2006 Archives

Hmmm. Just read this story on the SL Tribune website. There's a community health clinic in Salt Lake which provides free or steeply discounted medical and dental care for American Indians that live in urban areas like Salt Lake City. The center and others like it are facing a possible cut in federal funding if legislation proposed by the Bush administration is passed.

Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson rallied.

"The U.S. government has a shameful history of breaking treaties with Native Americans," (Rocky Anderson) said.

If Congress approves the cuts, Anderson said, American Indians' health will suffer because many are uninsured and don't know where else to go for help.

This is exactly the kind of stuff that just really irks me about liberal political perspectives -- especially that of Mr. Anderson.

Native Americans can get jobs, health insurance, real doctors, etc. like the rest of us. It's arguable the predicament so many Native Americans that "live at or below the poverty line" face is because of government subsidies, grants, programs, etc. that give many Native Americans no incentive to contribute to the nation's economy.

Kudos to George Bush for trying to cut some government spending. Hope he does some more of it! Spiballs of shame on Rocky Anderson for still not "getting it."

I've been thinking a lot lately about the illegal immigration issue that is so hot in the political scene right now. The major pieces of legislation to "reform" immigration seem to be full of holes so I've been thinking about what the ultimate reform should be.

Here are some of the issues, as I see them. First, we can't grant amnesty because that rewards people for illegal behavior. The temporary worker permit idea floated by the president and others has some merit, but in the end, it's mostly amnesty because it still rewards people for illegal behavior.

Before dealing with the current illegal aliens in the U.S., the government needs to start enforcing the border effectively. Until we effectively stop the flow of illegal aliens through our southern border, it makes no sense talking about how we're doing to deal with the those already here.

After all, that's how we got to where we are now. In 1986, congress passed the Immigration Reform & Control Act. President Reagan signed this bill into law and thereby granted amnesty to nearly three million illegal aliens in the United States.

What message did this send to those who were still in Mexico, Venezuela, etc.? "Come to the United States! We'll give you jobs and, eventually, you'll be legal!" It sounds great!