Since the party split of 1824 when the Democrat-Republican party became 2 separate parties, progressives or liberal democrats have sought more government oversight and fewer individual rights. Federalists, Whigs and later Republicans, who believed that the rights granted in the Constitution were necessary to achieve the type of nation they sought to create, were loudest and garnered the most support for their position. It was not until the Progressive movement from 1890-1920 that progressives began to take a stand and raise their voice. Progressives were able to grab the platforms of Womens Suffarage, income taxes and prohibition and focus their voice and energy on engaging Conservatives on them. Progressives were not done with these issues, instead Roosevelt came along in the 30’s during the Great Depression and promised his “New Deal” promising to pull America out of it’s darkest days. Roosevelt’s new deal was a giant new step in the Progressive movement. In fact, the “First New Deal” and subsequent “Second New Deal” became a comprehensive redistribution of wealth and power in America and lead the country away from the intended nation of the founding fathers and more towords a socialist state. Roosevelt has since become the great legacy of the progressives. Since that time, there has been a constant battle between conservatives and progressives(now called liberals) regarding how the country should be run. From Roosevelt and perhaps Kennedy, although his term was too short to determine how progressive he actually was, until Jimmy Carter, there was not a strong voice either way and the role of the President seemed to be assumed by moderates from either side with one scandal after another. Carter was, well he was an abomination as a President. He failed at just about everything he tried and while that is not necessarily a reason to disqualify someone (see Lincoln) in the case of Jimmy Carter, he not only failed but took America with him. Carter forced conservation and encouraged wearing sweaters (shades of tire guages?) in his attempt to solve the 1970’s energy crisis. Carter didn’t go after new domestic sources of oil, instead he favored sweaters and wood burning stoves. Carter’s progressive support base waned as the energy crisis dragged on and by 1980 when Ronald Reagan ran against Carter for the White House, Americans were fed up with the socialist lack of answers. Reagan ran on a platform of “bold colors, not pale pastels”. He highlighted the differences between socialist progressives and free market conservatives. Reagan appealed to many Americans because he promised to get the government out of the way and let the people themselves define the answers and solutions to the problems America faced. Progressives were increasingly quieted during his two terms in office because they saw that America was not going to listen to them. Reagan drew distinctions betweent he socialist regime in Russia, where freedoms Americans held dear were not granted and where the slightest hint of possible dissention to government control often led to death. It was because of Reagan’s strong language in condenming the socialists in Russia, that the progressive voice was silenced. Since Reagan the trend toword more moderate Presidents has happened again. George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush cannot be considered boldly different from one another. While all their positions differ from each other, there is too much common ground to classify them as remarkably different from any of the others. During this time Progressives have seen an opportunity to increase their influence. Especially during the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq which pushed George W. Bush’s approval rating to the lowest marks recorded, progresives have been more apt to speak out with their ideas. As the recent economic and energy crisies have caused a larger divide between Conservative principled ideas and Socialist liberal agendas, liberal Democrats like Maxine Waters and Barack Obama have been more bold than ever in speaking out in favor of socialism. Not even during the Roosevelt or Carter campaigns were the words socialized or universal used to describe big government ventures. Now, with Obama leading in the polls, progrssives like Maxine Waters, who said at a recent hearing with oil executives that she “would be all about socializing..I mean the government taking over, and running all of your companies”, are becoming more brazen in the use of the words socialize, socilists and universal. Liberal Democrats from New York to San Francisico are beginning to push forward the agenda of the government stepping in and taking over banks, energy companies, oil companies, healthcare companies, insurance companies and educational institutions. Progressives have been able to build their ranks throughout the years and positioned many of their own within the higher education system, the political arena and in major business areas. The progresive sphere of influence continues to grow as the generations cycle and more and more of our children become indoctrinated that the government knows best. Much like the Russians quietly buying up energy sources and the Chinese disguising their communism with free enterprise business markets, socialist liberals have quietly infiltrated and taken over schools like Harvard, Yale, NYU, Princeton and other major Universities. With Obama as the new party leader, pushing forth a socilist agenda behind the façade of a historic moment, the progressive movement had begun to flourish. While the language still permeates the landscape, recent poll numbers show that not all of America is buying into the hype. It appears there are still some Americans who can look past the color of Baracks skin and focus on the content of his message and character. This may be the biggest blunder progressives have made since prohibition.

Breaking reports today suggest that Barack Obama will select Joseph R. BidenJr. as his Vice President tomorrow. I happen to know a little about Senator Biden having had to endure his candidacy as a resident of Delaware for the last 28+ years. Senator Biden is possibly the most bigoted, angry and arrogant individual in the US Senate. He consistently believes he is the smartest person in the room and could not have an intelligent and thoughtful debate with anyone. Democrats often talk about Republicans being warmongers and yet they have one in their own ranks. Biden has voted to go to war in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He has then claimed that the war in Iraq was a mistake. He has also favored sending troops into Sudan. Yet, on the issues of Iran and North Korea, Biden has favored a lackadaisical stand of direct diplomacy. Biden has also been a top foreign policy critic of Obama. Biden has consistently voted in favor of abortion including not mandating parental notification of abortions for children and not banning abortions from taking place at military hospitals which are funded by tax payer dollars. Biden is against providing vouchers to parents allowing them to exercise complete choice in the education of their children and has consistently stood behind the teachers union in direct opposition to bettering the U.S. education system. Joe Biden has been in favor of big government programs and raising taxes. As a U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate, Biden has consistently raised opposition to the Bush tax cuts for working class Americans. Senator Biden has been a vocal and often disrespectful critic of judges whose positions differ from his own. He has been an outspoken leader in the Global Warming hoax and has consistently voted to pass bio fuel promoting bills that would favor using our food supply to create energy. Such bills have driven up fuel prices and have actually caused more damage to the environment than would non ethanol blended fuels. He has in fact referred to those who want to expand oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico as wanting to “rape the continental shelf”. Biden has also been a large promoter through his votes of pork barrel spending bills especially in terms of Agricultural bills that would benefit farmers in the state of Delaware which he represents. Joe Biden has also fought against the Constitutional rights of Americans to own guns. Biden has rejected the 2nd Amendment on numerous occasions and has voted against a prohibition of lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Biden believes that the citizens of the United States are unable to think for themselves and that elitists like himself are uniquely qualified to decide what rights we are permitted to enjoy. Biden also supports a path to citizenship and allowing illegal immigrants access to social security and healthcare options. He also supports nationalizing healthcare and not privatizing the bankrupted Social Security system that the government has created. Instead of allowing people to invest their social security dollars how they see fit, he instead thinks that the same government, who has in effect destroyed the current Social Security system, is best prepared to fix it. He is opposed to issuing vouchers or tax credits to Americans to allow them to choose their own healthcare plans and instead believes that the same government who has spent the country into trillions of dollars of debt and bankrupted the sole source of retirement funds for millions of Americans should manage the healthcare in the United States. It is clear that Biden feels that Americans who are not part of his elite status quo are ill equipped to answer the questions presented to them in their daily lives.

John McCain participated in the civil forum with Rick Warren at Saddleback Church this weekend in Lake Forest, California.  McCain was setup to participate in the second half of the forum after Barack Obama.  During the forum, Pastor Rick Warren asked each candidate identical questions about concerns from the faith based world.  While Obama was busy flipping and flopping and generally further tarnishing his leadership and decision making abilities, McCain stepped to the plate and smacked one out of the park.  McCain gave sharp, clear and concise answers to the initial questions from Pastor Warren and was able to work in antecdotes and stories from his own life that brought the American people a little closer to who John McCain really is.  While Obama's party line rhetoric twittered as he attempted to encompass views from all sides of the issues, McCain's answers seemed genuine and sincere.  As Obama appeared to force himself through the forum without the use of a teleprompter, McCain thrived while thinking on his feet.  It didn't even appear that McCain had to think very much.  He was able to respond firmly and quickly while Obama couldn't quite decide if some of the issues were even on his level.  While Obama refused to take a position on abortion and when life begins, McCain consisely stated human rights begin at conception.  While Obama stated he would not have nominated Justice Clarence Thomas becuase he disagreed with his interpretations of the constitution and because Justice Thomas apparently did not have the qualifications to be a Justice when he was nominated, McCain rattled off the names of the most liberal justices who legislate from the bench much more than they interpret the constitution.  In fact, the only cause for concern during the forum came after McCain's pro-life comment when he stated that he supported stem cell research.   Let's examine Senator McCain's stance on stem cell reasearch and abortion.  Senator McCain believes that life begins at conception, when the sperm fertilizes the egg, however, he also believes that the embryos created for invitro fertilization that will be destroyed if unused, should be used for research.  For those who are against stem cell research, and who believe human life begins at conception, the question is, how can you justify simply destroying the embryo?  As a pro-life supporter myself, I would much rather the cells from the embryo be put into research to help others, than simply destroyed (murdered).  If we can condemn stem cell research performed in this fashion, how can we then condone organ donation?  I think it's extremely difficult to not merge these issues and I think that John McCain actually has a pretty good stance on this issue.  With that said, all in all, John McCain completely outperformed Obama during this forum.  As we transition from the Obama media controlled summer months to the fall debates, McCain has the chance to catcha dn pass Obama in the polls.  With Obama's terrible showings away from the teleprompter and McCain's ability to think on his feet,  McCain's chance at winning the election is coming.

This weekend, Pastor Rick Warren from the Saddleback Church held a Civil Forum with presumptive presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama.  The foum was setup with Obama going first and McCain unable to hear Obama's answers.  During the forum, Pastor Warren asked a number of identical questions of each of the candidates.  Most of the questions asked by Pastor Warren were faith based concerns as submitted by friends of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.  While the candidates no doubt had time to research and formulate answers to the general categories, they were not totally prepared for the specific questions.  No where was this more apparent than during Obama's half of the forum.  Time and time again Obama stumbled over his words, paused, seemed unsure of his answers or flat out skated around the entire question itself.  Pastor Warren never challenged him, not that anyone expected a minister to press either candidate for an answer, but it turns out Obama should have begged him to do so.  Obama was able to make himself look completely foolish in front of millions simply by being himself.  This time Obama has no one to blame for his failure but himself.  I mean, McCain wasn't even in the room so Obama can't claim that the old, racist war monger scared him by glaring across the stage.  He can't claim that Pastor Warren was too tough on him, I mean, Pastor Warren couldn't have been more kind if Obama was his own child.  He can't blame Fox News or Talk Radio for distorting his answers because, well there weren't any.  On the question posed by Warren of when human life truly begins, Obama stuttered and finally blurted out, " That's a bit above my paygrade...".  Meanwhile McCain was firm when asked the same question stating that human life begins at conception.  The silver lining for Obama?  He has an EXTREMELY talented and numerous press corps who was able to go out and spin his failure to place the blame on McCain.  The media was able to attack the credibility of Pastor Warren by not only insinuating but flat out calling him a liar (see NYT headline, "Despite Assurances, McCain wasn't in a 'Cone of Silence'").  The Obama media is shameful in its worship of the "Messiah" (Thanks Rush!).  They have stooped again to the level of not only bashing John McCain simply for not being Barack Obama, but also the non-partisan moderator of the civil forum for simply asking the same questions of both candidates.  Since the media can't seem to get it right, call it as it was or even not slant the coverage to Obama's advantage no matter how badly he performs, I supposed we'll have to leave it to Fox News and talk radio AGAIN!

Anyone in attendance at the Middletown Peach Festival on August 16th could not help but notice a lot of white, green and blue floating throughout the crowds. Hundreds of balloons and stickers with the unmistakable colors of Republican Senator and candidate for Lt. Governor Charlie Copeland made their way through the throngs who gathered and walked among the streets of Middletown. More than a dozen Copeland Cadets were on hand to help spread the word about the Charlie’s campaign for Lt. Governor of Delaware. As the crowds gathered, Copeland Cadets dispersed into the crowds to disseminate stickers and balloons to the parade goers. During the parade, Charlie walked, shaking hands with many along the route. He even took time to introduce people to his faithful canine companion Spotty, who seems to accompany Charlie on many of his adventures throughout the state. During the parade, Copeland Cadets handed out more balloons and stickers and tossed candy all along the parade route. Afterwards, most of the cadets moved to the Copeland booth while Charlie walked out among the crowds stopping for photos and to speak with the festival goers. One of the highlights was when Charlie received a visit by an enthusiastic independent voter who initially mistook Charlie for a Democrat because of his colors. The man promptly asked why Barack Obama had removed the flag from his airplane to which Charlie responded, “I don’t have a good answer for that.” The man then commented that at all of the Democrat booths he had stopped asked quickly shooed him away when he asked the same question and refused to answer it. All in all Senator Copeland’s campaign was able to make a big impression at the festival. Even in the absence of the large groups of supporters that were in attendance for other candidates, Charlie was able to succeed in getting his name out among the people and in a big and positive way.

After the 2004 summer Olympics when China finished third in the overall medal count behind the US and Russia and second to America’s 36 gold medals with a total of 32 gold’s, the ruling party devised a project aimed at defeating America. Project 119 is named for the number of gold medals earned in 2004 in the sports it focuses on, such as track and field, swimming, rowing, sailing and more.    So what’s wrong with China wanting to improve their medal count? There are two reasons that Americans ought to be closely watching the Chinese this year. 

First, the project was created not only because China wants to be the best in the world but specifically because China wants to be better than America. On the surface this appears to be only an athletic competition between countries, but digging deeper into the problems that exist between the US and China one finds that China is expanding its interests into every area that the U.S. currently excels in. Energy, technology and service based industries are just some of the other more “important” areas where the U.S. has been a world leader until recently. Recent Chinese projects focused on surpassing the U.S. as a provider in these areas such as the agreement with Cuba to begin drilling for oil off the coast of Florida display the progress that China is making into areas of influence that were previous U.S. strongholds. Diplomatically, China has taken on an increasingly more powerful role within Asian affairs and has become one of the strongest negotiators with countries like North Korea and Iran. One look at the landscape in Beijing can tell you that in the run up to the 2008 Olympics, China’s ruling party wanted to make a clear and decisive statement that they have arrived on the world scene. In the eight years since China was awarded the 2008 games the Beijing landscape has been drastically altered. Extreme feats of technological and architectural design were erected in almost less time than most would even dream possible. Venues like the water cube, surrounded by water and wrapped in ETFE (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) with a capacity of 17,000 and covering 7.9 acres of space, have revolutionized the technology used in building the structures that host Olympic events. China has upped the ante on global architecture in general with the construction of the Water Cube, The Birds Nest and the CCTV building. There are only two areas where China has failed to deliver their promises. China promised early on that air quality would not be a factor and yet it has so far clearly been just that. Watching the games on TV gives the worldwide audience a glimpse of the thick smog and soot that clouds the Beijing air and samples have shown contaminants ranging from carbon emissions to particulate metals and other pollutants. China also claimed to be able to not only affect the weather but to control it. Rain dampened the spirits of riders during the 150 mile long distance bike race on the 2^nd day of the games. They were fortunate to escape the rain during the opening ceremonies but so far, all the Tai Chi and rockets in the world have been unable to brighten the sky and disperse the thick smog that settles over Beijing every morning. 

Second, the Olympics aren’t simply a sport like Baseball or Soccer. The Olympics are the largest collection of sporting contests in the world. The Olympic audience is bigger than the audiences for the Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, NBA Championship and World Cup combined. In fact, the U.S. vs. China Preliminary Round Basketball game on Sunday drew an estimated audience of hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide and may have reached into the billions. Not only are the Olympics a widely followed contest, they were originally designed to showcase military talents. Anyone who knows the story of the Olympics, (if you are unsure yourself, ask the sports nut on the edge of the couch during the track and field or swimming events) can tell you that the Ancient Greeks developed the games as a way to not only display their athletic talents but to find and recruit new warriors for their army. Events like the 100 meter dash and hurdles were developed to display speed and agility. The hammer throw, shot put and discus were designed to show off strength. Marathons displayed their endurance while sports like wrestling and boxing were designed to show fighting prowess. As times progressed the games changed, some were removed and some were added but looking at nearly every event, one can find some form of military or tactical skill displayed. Sports like Archery and shooting are obvious displays of military prowess whereas the unit cohesion element of team sports like soccer or baseball is less exposed. Even events like swimming and gymnastics are designed to show speed, strength, endurance and agility. These days the motives of the Olympics are obfuscated by the names and stories of the athletes, by the individual records, goals and accomplishments and by the rivalries such as that of the French and American 4x100 Freestyle swim teams at this year’s games. Worldwide the results of the games are still viewed much as they were in the early days of the games centuries ago. Need further proof? Let’s look at Russia in the 60’s and 70’s, especially with regards to the Winter Olympics (although before the soviet breakup the Russians did well at the summer games, the winter games had been their stronghold). In a singular sport we can see a change in the world. The Soviet machine dominated the world of Olympic hockey. Year in and year out the red rockets would dispatch team after team, they were bigger, stronger, and faster and had more skill and they showed it. Time and time again the Soviets rode their big victories to greatness even to the extent of a world power. The Soviet team won all but two Olympic ice hockey gold medals between 1956 and 1988. The Americans defeated the Soviets in 1960 and again in 1980. During the 1980’s the Soviet dominance diminished and won a final time in 1992 shortly after the dissolve of the country. 

I’m not suggesting that so goes the Olympics goes the world, but history itself has shown that the Olympic Games are anything but “games”. The worldwide stage has prompted protests and demonstrations, even displays of human rights abuses and terrorism. No one who knows the Olympics or who is over the age of 45 can lay claim to not remember the 1972 Munich massacre in which 11 Jewish hostages were murdered by Arab terrorists. While the Olympic Games have become the largest stage to showcase individual talents, it has also remained a major factor in world politics and those countries that perform well are widely considered to be world powers. Keep your eyes on China during this year’s Olympic events.

President Bush held a press conference on Saturday in Beijing and called for an end to the Russian invasion of neighbor and former Soviet territory Georgia.

 "Georgia is a sovereign nation and its territorial integrity must be respected," Bush told reporters in Beijing where he is attending the Olympic Games.

"We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a standdown by all troops," he said.

"We call for an end to the Russian bombings and a return by the parties to the status quo of August 6."

Last night, Bob Costas, a sports analyst who has recently been named as a possible successor to Tim Russert on Meet the Press,  took time to ask President Bush about the recently initiated conflict in Georgia. 

Costas – “Moving away from China for just a second, during the opening ceremonies we saw you conferring with Vladimir Putin. We now know you were talking about the conflict that had erupted that day with Georgia. Now Georgia is a former Soviet Republic, that is sympathetic to the west and that is attempting to embody many western values. but just as you need China, you need Russia strategically around the globe, You've gotta walk a fine line. What did you say to Putin?”

Bush – “I said that the violence is unacceptable. I not only said it to Vladimir Putin, I said it to the President of the country, Dmitri Medvedev. And my administration has been engaged with both, both sides in this, trying to get a cease fire and saying that the status quo ante for all troops should be August 6th. And uh, look, I expressed my grave concerns about the disproportionate response of Russia. And that uhm, we strongly condemn uh, bombing outside of South Ossetia. It was just interesting to me that he we are trying to promote peace and harmony and we're witnessing a conflict take place.”

Costas –“Right, No Olympic truce in this case.”

Bush – “No, and I was very firm with Vladimir Purtin, Putin and he and i have got a good relationship. uh. Just like i was firm with the Russian president and uh hopefully this will get resolved peacefully there needs to be a uh, international mediation there for South Ossetia issue.”

Reaction after the fact to the President’s remarks has been surprisingly positive. In fact, some people with whom I have spoken, who had previously called Bush “a bumbling idiot” have said, “I have a whole new level of respect for Bush, in fact, after that interview alone, I have to say, I even like him now.” Some liberal commentators and propagandists have continued to degrade Bush and talk about how he stumbled over his words during the interview but on the whole I think American reaction has to be considered positive. Realistically, what did Bush say? He spoke firmly to Putin and Medvedev and condemned the violence. He wants a peaceful resolution, even as an invasion is taking place. The administration and president Bush hasn’t pledged assistance to Georgia, instead they’ve called for the UN to step in. Democrats have and will continue to characterize Bush’s statements as weak but, he is simply following the protocols set forth by the left. So the question arises, which one is it? Should we be unilateral in our support of a nation such as we were in Iraq, or should we hang on the coattails of the UN? By the way, any UN resolution would need to be voted on by the UN Security Council and Russia sits on that council with veto power. Also, Russia has control of most of the oil market in Europe including nearly every single energy resource in Eastern Europe. They’ve already cut off energy to Georgia and threatened to cut off or drastically increase energy prices to European countries who oppose them. Russia is actively engaged in buying up as many energy resources worldwide as it can along with China. Some of us have seen this sort of thing before, in fact, most of us where on the opposite side of this in the 1980’s when President Reagan positioned the US to be an energy leader in the world.   During this same period, Reagan initiated the Star Wars program and instigated conflicts that forced Russia to spend, spend, spend and stretch themselves into oblivion. Once the Russians were stretched and spending wildly, the US then collapsed the price of oil causing the Russians to lose billions of dollars in revenue on the world stage. In fact, the Russians lost so much money that the entire country weakened and eventually collapsed under the pressure. Today, Russia has turned the tables on the western world. Russia has upped the ante, using China, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and other Socialist nations with interests in the energy market to advance their agenda they have caught the free western nations in a vice and they are squeezing. Russia knows that the US is stretched militarily, fighting in both Afghanistan and Iraq and that we are no threat to their military advances into Georgia. They also know that the UN is inept at best and that even if the UN had some control, their veto power on the Security Council renders the UN useless to counter Russian policy. Russia has also timed its rise to coincide with a political upheaval in the US, where they know that for them, at best the liberals who control congress and who may control the White House at year’s end are socialists at worst inept politicians and likely Russian sympathizers. The Russians know that America and the rest of the free west are in an economic crisis, due largely to concerns over the price of energy that Russia and her allies control. How can we question that Russia has planned this over time and has carefully chosen this time to tighten their vice? The time for America to thwart this plan is now. President Bush’s hands are tied. There’s little more he can do on his own. He, indeed America needs her people to come together, to rise up and to meet this challenge. We must reestablish control of our own destiny and step into the role we have carved out in this world. We must get back to leading the way to peace and prosperity by becoming a role model for other countries. We must show that the US can survive economic, military and energy crises and pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. We can do it.

Let me initiate this column by stating, I have nothing against Latin Americans, Hispanics or whatever tag line we are using this week to represent the segment of our population made up of Immigrants from Latin countries.  I myself am Portuguese and would be self deprecating if I expressed hatred for a people with whom I share an origin. Last week 3 of our Delaware Gubernatorial candidates took part in a debate in Dover on behalf of Hispanics in Delaware. Mike Protack, Lt. Gov. Carney and Treasurer Jack Markell sat down and debated their ideas for how to help the Hispanic Community in Delaware. Among the ideas presented by all three candidates was public school funding for the children of illegal immigrants. In fact, the entire debate featured three candidates pandering to the Hispanic population in Delaware. Combine that with Bill Lee’s brilliant idea to give illegal immigrants’ drivers’ licenses and what you see in Delaware is a lack of the backbone to express conservative values in a way that doesn’t appear mean spirited and racist. It may seem that my frustrations here are born of hatred for an entire race of people; this could not be further from the truth. Instead my frustrations are born of two distinctly different aspects of reality. First is my sense of patriotism and love of America. I love this country so much, and specifically I love Delaware enough to consider this influx of illegal immigrants an affront to everything I hold dear. Second, and not a distant second either, is a desire to see people come to this country and achieve their dreams, especially those who come from the same backgrounds and have a similar heritage to my own. 

In our current scenario, human beings are packed into the sweltering trailers of semi trucks along with the cargo or in SUV’s (such as the 19 that died today in AZ) like sardines in a can and driven thousands of miles to be dropped off in whatever hole in the wall town the driver stops at, of course, as we saw in AZ, some never even make it to the hole in the wall town. They are then forced to work beneath the law on farms, or doing jobs that are almost subhuman for below minimum wage. For those of us who stand up, myself included, and scream about no to the idea of reparations for the atrocities of slavery committed 150 years ago, touting the fact that we don’t have the same views as those slave owners, nor were we even born anywhere close to that time frame and had no opportunity to choose for ourselves which side to be on, we are on the verge of becoming hypocritical if we allow illegal immigrants to continue to be enslaved. How can they be slaves if they are being compensated? Five dollars an hour buys next to nothing in an economy where gasoline is near $4 per gallon. At three times that hourly rate it is difficult to make any kind of life for a family of three. Often illegal immigrant families are much larger than 3 persons and can any of us imagine supporting a family of 5 or 6 or more on $5 or even $15 per hour? Then there is the fact that estimates of the origins of current gang members done as recently as 2006 show that about 49% of all gang members in America are Hispanic. Many of those gang members are illegal immigrants and some of the most notorious gangs in America are comprised almost entirely of illegal immigrants. The 18^th Street Gang is one whose illegal immigrant makeup is estimated at over 60%. If for no other reason than a love for human kind, we must consider that compassion may be best served with these illegal immigrants, who risked their lives trying to get to a country where they can feel accepted, by returning them to their countries of origin and asking them to return to our country legally just as fast as they can. This way they can live above the radar not below it, and become productive members of a great society. 

It’s the disproportionate population of illegal immigrants who commit crimes, join gangs and subvert the government combined with 911 that forces us to consider illegal immigration a severe threat to our national security. Illegal immigration is not just a threat to our national security; it is also a threat to our economy, our society and our way of life. Too many candidates in all political spectrums pander to a Hispanic population who in my opinion, given the facts, would all but physically send their illegal breather back to their homelands themselves. Political strategists, candidates and staffers give so little credit to the Hispanic population of our country that they come up with schemes like drivers’ licenses and tolerance for illegal immigrants that appear to make them compassionate. The fact is that these ridiculous schemes actually make our politicians look like, well, politicians. Compassion doesn’t mean that we sit back and ignore atrocities being committed against undocumented aliens or that we advocate for these criminals to be allowed to participate in social programs which should be reserved for legal US citizens. Instead, compassion for Hispanic Americans should come in the following form.

Too often Hispanic Americans are labeled distastefully due to the vast majority of illegal immigrants being Hispanic in origin, especially in the Delaware area where many of these immigrants work on farms, manufacturing plants or in southern PA mushroom houses. Stereotypes, as distasteful as they may be, are applied to many immigrants regardless of their immigration status. Many in the Hispanic population are legal, hard working citizens who pay their taxes, and are productive citizens. It’s unfair that they be labeled within the same category as illegal immigrants who subvert the law and live below the radar often turning to crime as a way to make a living, and subjecting themselves and their families to living conditions akin to those of the slaves in the early days of our country. Legitimizing illegal immigrants by granting drivers licenses or public funding for social programs only serves to blur the lines and create more damaging stereotypes for the Hispanic community. The best way to combat these stereotypes is to work within the Hispanic American community to weed out those who have broken the law to get into the country and continue to break the law by not paying taxes, joining gangs, committing crimes against citizens, and provide false identities. The best way to be compassionate is to show Hispanic American citizens that we value their hard work and dedication to the American way of life. We should be working with Hispanic Americans to show them that we do want to offer them the same advantages that all Americans are given the rights to enjoy by our Constitution. We need to show Hispanic Americans that we are concerned about the stereotypes unfairly applied to far too many of our nation’s hardest workers and work to ensure that those stereotypes are struck down by ending illegal immigration. Through community outreach by local law enforcement and increasing communications with ICE we can help to restore a positive look to the Hispanic American community and ensure that everyone is given the same chance to succeed free from the burdens of immigration status concerns. 

By ending illegal immigration in Delaware we will not only restore the good name of our Hispanic American brothers and sisters, but we will help our economy, reduce crime and reduce stress on our public school system and social programs.   Unfortunately our mainstream candidates seem to be stuck on offering platitudes and slogans to our Hispanic American community and not really addressing the issues that they face. When are Delaware’s citizens, specifically the Hispanic Americans going to wake up and realize that what the Democrats and even our left leaning Republican candidates are offering is nothing short of a bait and switch to get votes? There’s no substance, there’s no answer here and there is no real solution being offered by any of these candidates. It’s time for new, fresh, young ideas for Delaware. 

I am so energized by todays events.  Before noon today Nancy Pelosi led Senate Democrats in a runaway motion to adjourn Congress until September.  Republicans and even some Democrats opposed the motion (some reports are that the motion passed 213-212).  Republicans were so upset by the vote that they continued to press Pelosi to take up a vote on an energy bill being offered by Reps. John Peterson (R-PA) and Neil Abercrombie (D-HI).  As Pelosi refused to take up the bill, House Republicans protested the partisan move and called for Congress to come back and hammer out an agreement.  Pelosi had the CSPAN cameras shut down and the lights and microphones turned off.  She even made sure to call the police to remove reporters wanting answers about the chaos.   "This is the people's House," Rep, Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) said. "This is not Pelosi's politiburo."  Democrat aides, furious at being held up on running from the Capitol for their "vacation" snapped at reporters saying,  "You're not covering this, are you?"  and even calling the Republicans seeking an end to America's energy woes "morons".  It looks like Republicans are going to rotate in the House and continue to put public pressure on the left to come back and work a deal.  Chances are that House Democrats will take their vacation as planned, ignoring the public sentiment and allowing the country to go through yet another congressional break without an energy deal.  It's about time that the Republicans stood up and fought for Americans.  Until this event it seemed like Republicans were content to sit back and spout rhetoric.  It's refreshing to see GOP congressional members not just talking but doing something about it.  GO GOP!!!!!