ANOTHER VIEW ON IMMIGRATION

MANY WERE DELIGHTED that the immigration bill failed in the Senate. Both those who saw it as an amnesty bill and those concerned about the drastic drop in wages in some areas of our country did a little jig. I have very strong ideas on the subject, so I will share them with you.

First of all, I love immigrants. Unless we are pure-blooded Native Americans, if we go back far enough, we come from at least one but usually two immigrants. Adam Teets (then spelled Deats) immigrated from Germany in the 1600's. Andrew Golz immigrated from Germany near the dawn of the twentieth century. So I, like you, come from immigrants. I have met many immigrants and the more I see, the more I perceive that many who have come to our country more recently believe in America more than those who have been here longer. So while I firmly believe that those who immigrate today should be required to study our nation's history, freedoms, and form of government, I also firmly believe that every person in this country should have to do the same. Perhaps it is a form of "confirmation". You know, true Christians teach that no one is born into the kingdom of God. We must come and make a decision to belong to Jesus Christ. Our nation is unique in that we automatically give citizenship to anyone born here. Therefore, if a pregnant woman can by any means possible be in this country when she delivers, presto, her baby is a citizen and chances are, she too will be one from then on. Now while it is politically impossible to remove natural-born citizenship from those born to American citizen parents, we can make history and civics a required part of every child's education, and every adult evening school could offer these for free to adults so that people will understand what they are a part of.

We have a crisis in simply getting loyalty from our OWN citizens. Man in the street polls consistently show that the vast majority of Americans have NO MEANINGFUL WORKING KNOWLEDGE of our country. Few know we live in a republic, and that we elect leaders to do what is right based upon their unique perspectives, not simply to follow polls which change by the day if not the hour. Pure domocracies have never survived historically. However, many of the ignorant and uniformed are advocating that today. President Bush has been pilloried because he stuck to his guns in Iraq. Tony Blair will be working a new job because he did the same in Great Britain. The Immigration Bill failed because people beseiged congress with their feelings that it would be a disaster, and Congresss voted accordingly. Now in this case, I believe the people saw that those in power had lost touch and did not truly understand what they were doing, but I would not like it one bit if Congress succombed to the people all the time. If 10,000,000 homosexuals sent emails, faxes, and crashed the phone lines to get gay marriage recognized nationally, and Congress voted to do so, I would would be really upset. They were put in office to do what is right, NOT to be marionettes controlled by the loudest voices.

That said, it would be an unmitigated disaster to allow millions more from Mexico with limited if any loyalty and who are not citizens to stay and keep coming. Study HISTORY to know that nations who allow that type of invasion will implode. It must be orderly, and in order to gain the rights and privileges of citizenship, one must prove themselves worthy.

It has been an epidemic in our society for people to try to come to Christ this way (refer to our older post, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION INTO THE KINGDOM). They want eternal life, but they do not want to turn their lives over to Jesus and let him be their Lord. The church is infected with millions who do not live in accordance with the Bible, whose language is not the language of salvation and holiness, and who want to take from God - money, healing, psychological wholeness - with no obligation on their part to be servants of God and to be his ambassadors in this world proclaining the kingdom of God and his righteousness. We have people running over our borders with no intent of supporting our country, but taking from it, signing up for social programs, getting educational, health, and other services with nothing required in return. Now the bill that was defeated called for accountability and called for fines, but we all know exactly how well those would be implemented by a government which cannot even tell who is who. I believe we need those measures, but the government must have credibility on the issue in order to be trusted with such a task. The last several adminstrations of both parties have been hopelessly inept on the issue.

Perhaps this bill got as far as it did because some senators have no more loyalty to our country than the illegals. Numerous Senators have proclaimed that the war is lost; politicians seem bent on our country being defeated and also becoming more like the failed European societies - societies with broken socialistic systems, high unemployment, and extreme weakness on the world stage. I do not hear these same sentiments from legal immigrants. I say let's open the gates to those who need us and those whom we need - but legally. I also say we need remedial education for Lindsay Graham (R), Ted Kennedy (D), President Bush(R) and others.

I hear the seeds of a national crisis in the voices of the illegal immigration proponents and demonstrators. I hear cries of anguish and hatred. I see loyalty to Mexico, a country with wretched leadership and endemic corruption, trump loyalty to the United States. I see not only a lack of desire in learning English, but a despising of English, a fierce nationalism, and a desire to function as a society within a society. Among the Asians who have come, there is often an unfortunate isolation as well, and language is a large part of it, but there is at least a willingness to try to learn some English and participate more in the institutions that mold our society.

First, let's control the border by making common sense rules and not tying the hands of the border guards.

Second, let's deal with those who have broken our laws. They will not be law-abiding citizens down the road if they justify the whole illegal way they came over. Even but significant punishment is needed.

Third, let's create a guest worker program, and assign that status to those who are contributing to our country.

Fourth, let's streamline the whole citizenship process.

Five, let's teach English, civics, and American History to all. It should be mandatory, and it should be done universally and widely. While not necessary in a dicatatorship, it is absolutely necessary if our form of government is to survive. We want full participation in the political arena that is impossible with a language barrier and with total ignorance in what it means to live and maintain this most unique country of the United States of America.

We need to pray for our country and for our leaders to solve the problems in a lawful and just fashion. If we say and do nothing, we are partners in unwise behavior.

We also need to pray for President Bush. At a time when his leadership in Iraq is most pressing, at a time when he needed to have political capital to be able to get a better judges appointed when the opportunity arises, he split wide his own party and severely damaged his credibility on other issues. That is what Satan loves to do, and he did it in this case. The foiled car bombings in London show we are at risk every day. Pray that he will trust God to restore his fortunes, and that he will be able to have this surge make a difference and be able to bring many of our troops back home.

I would like to see our country come together - people of all backgrounds and with many perspectives. It won't happen until we insist on loyalty to receive benefits, and it won't happen until American citizens stop believing in fringe ideas and politically-motivated ideas. We are two nations - and it isn't American and Mexican. Rather, the first nation consists of those who believe that all rights are given by our creator God, and they are given with the condition that man submits to God and follows the mandates of the Word of God. This first nation believes that God, not man, is best qualified to govern, and that ALL who govern do so as servants of God, responsible to God, and NOT the people. The first nation believes that all men are made in the image of God, and that rights are given by God without regard to race, sex, or national origin. They know to treat the foreigner and the alien well, knowing they themselves were once aliens. They will assimulate any who are willing and embrace them the same as anyone else. The second nation believes that we are all here by accident, and that man, not God, determines rights, and that man, not God. is best equipped to run this nation, and that man may change laws and offer rights willy-nilly to suit the lusts and sinful desires of mankind, and that anyone who objects is some narrow-minded stick-in-the-mud.

Which nation do you belong to? More importantly, do you pray that the members of the second nation will learn what it is to be an American, but even more importantly, what it means to be a true child of God, one washed in the blood of the lamb and proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord? Many in the first nation are still lost. We appreciate them for their loyalty to the country, and as Jesus said, those who are not against us are for us. However, we do not equate being a good American with being a child of God. What a tragedy to be a loyal and upstanding citizen of this wonderful country, but stop short of being a citizen of heaven. That is where our ultimate loyalty lies, and that is the nation that shall never be destroyed. Those who are citizens of heaven do not have to worry about backroom deals, corrupt elections, the effects of lobbyists, or unjust laws. Our God is perfect and he is never up for reelection. Our God never changes, and does not have a "living constitution"! The Word of God stands forever. We know his requirements, and we can build our lives on them because they NEVER change.

My friends, come into the kingdom of God and be a citizen of heaven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. My friends, God wants you to honor your earthly king, so honor your leader, whomever he or she is, and be sure to love your country and do what is right for her, contending for righteousness so that we may live in peace as so that justice will reign in the land. However, we live in an imperfect world, so set your ultimate sights on God, not man, and on the Bible, not the body of laws we live under, no matter how good it may be. Our lives here can be much better, but I am looking forward to the wonderful eternity that Jesus Christ has planned for me. How about you?

I COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT BETTER

This blog represents my thoughts on the issues - this is the first time I have included instead the thoughts of others, other than what readers may post on this blog. However, this speech by independent Senator Joe Lieberman to the Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership Meeting on May 16, 2007, Washington, DC are so salient, I will just post them verbatim. If only ALL politicians would think so clearly...

Thank you so much for that kind introduction. It is a pleasure to be here among so many friends.

Now, I know there are some who are probably wondering-what is a nice Independent Democrat from Connecticut doing at a Republican event like this? Well, a funny thing happened on the way to reelection last year. And as Rabbi Hillel said, the rest is commentary.

In all seriousness, many of you in this room stood with me last year through the long journey up a winding road that was my 2006 reelection campaign. You came to my side without regard for party affiliation, and you stayed there even after I ran as an Independent but said I would caucus with the Democrats. Your non-partisanship in my race is a model for what our politics should be. I thank you personally and deeply for it. I could not have won without it. And I pledge to you that I will do everything I can to vindicate your confidence.

We gather at a critical time for the future of our country. The war in Iraq has now become the defining issue for this Congress and for this presidency - although the decisions we will make in the weeks and months ahead about Iraq will have consequences that reach far beyond the terms of anyone now in office.

Part of the disagreement we face over Iraq comes down to a genuine difference of opinion.

On the one hand, there are those who believe, as I do, that the struggle against Islamist extremism really is the central challenge of our time, and that, as General David Petraeus - our commander in Iraq - recently said, "Iraq is now the central front of the war against Islamist extremism."

On the other hand, there are those who reject this view-who genuinely believe that the threat of Islamist extremism is overstated, or that Iraq is a distraction from the "real" war on terror, or that the war there is lost, or not worth fighting to win.

It is my deeply held conviction that these people are not only wrong, they are disastrously wrong - and that the withdrawal they demand would be a moral and security catastrophe for the United States, for Iraq, and for the entire Middle East, including Israel and our moderate Arab allies.

Let there be no doubt - an American defeat in Iraq would be a victory for Al Qaeda and Iran. the two most threatening enemies we face in the world today. It would vindicate the hope of our enemies that America is weak and that we can be driven to retreat by terrorism, and it would confirm the fear of our friends - not only in Iraq, but throughout the world-that we are unreliable allies who will abandon them in the face of danger.

The fact of the matter is, you cannot claim to be tough on terrorism while demanding that our military withdraw from Iraq, because it is the terrorists - particular Al Qaeda - that our military is fighting in Iraq. You cannot claim to be committed to defeating Al Qaeda, while demanding that we abandon the heart of the Middle East to Al Qaeda. And you cannot claim to be tough on Iran, while demanding the very thing that the mullahs want most of all-the retreat of the American military from the Middle East in defeat, leaving a vacuum that Iran will rush to fill.

I recognize that this war has been controversial, and there are those who oppose it on principle. I respect that. But too much of the debate we are having today about withdrawal from Iraq has little or nothing to do with principle, or with reality in Iraq. It is about politics and partisanship here in Washington.

For many Democrats, if President Bush is for it, they must be against it. If the war is going badly, it is bad for Republicans and it is good for Democrats. It is as simple as that, and it is as wrong as that.

For many Republicans, the unpopularity of this war and this President has begun to shake their will. They say that they have no choice but to abandon General Petraeus and his strategy because the American people tell the pollsters they want out. If previous generations of American leaders had allowed their conduct of war to be shaped by partisanship or public opinion polls, we would not be the strong and free nation we are blessed to be today.

Republicans in Congress delude themselves if they think they will be helping either themselves, their party, or their country if they now attempt to wash their hands of Iraq, out of a sudden sense of political anxiety. Democrats in Congress delude themselves if they think they will not be held accountable for the bloody consequences of the retreat from Iraq they seek.

The fact is, a loss to Al Qaeda and Iran in Iraq would be devastating to our security. These are fateful days and critical decisions we are making about Iraq. We must make them with our eye on the safety of America's next generation, not the outcome of America's next election.

It is to the everlasting credit of President Bush that in the war against Islamist extremism he has shown the courage and steadfastness to stand against the political passions of the moment.

I have never hesitated to express disagreement with the President on any issue when I felt he was wrong - and I have criticized his administration many times for the serious mistakes I believe it made in prosecuting the war in Iraq. But let me tell you this: I believe that each of us should be grateful that we have a commander-in-chief who does not believe that decisions about war should be driven by poll numbers. And each of us should be grateful that we have a commander-in-chief who does not confuse what is popular with what is right for our security as a nation. The public opinion polls may not reflect this today, but I believe history will tomorrow.

My friends, as Ronald Reagan once said, now is the time for choosing. If we stand united through the months ahead, if we stand firm against the terrorists who want to drive us to retreat, the war in Iraq can be won and the lives of millions of people can be saved. But if we surrender to the barbarism of suicide bombers and abandon the heart of the Middle East to fanatics and killers, to Al Qaeda and Iran, then all that our men and women in uniform have fought, and died for, will be lost, and we will be left a much less secure and free nation.

That is the choice we in Washington will make this summer and this fall. It is a choice not just about our foreign policy and our national security and our interests in the Middle East. It is about what our political leaders in both parties are prepared to stand for. It is about our very soul as a nation. It is about who we are, and who we want to be.

Will this be the moment in history when America gives up - when Al Qaeda breaks our will, when our enemies surge forward, when we turn our backs on our friends and begin a long retreat from our principles and promise as a nation?

Or will this be the moment when America steps forward, when we pull together, when we hold fast to the courage of our convictions, when - with a new strategy, and a new commander on the ground - we begin to turn the tide toward victory in this long and difficult war?

I know that we can rise above the anger and smallness of our politics. I know we can rise to the greatness that this moment demands of us. The question is-will we choose to do so?

I would like to close today by sharing with you a story from my last visit to Iraq a few months ago. It was in Anbar province in western Iraq - the center of the insurgency - a part of the country that conventional wisdom last year dismissed as hopeless.

In fact, on September 11, 2006, the Washington Post ran a front-page story reporting that even the chief of Marine Corps intelligence in Iraq had concluded that Anbar was "lost," and our position there was "beyond repair."

I was in Anbar last December, on a forward operating base just outside Ramadi, the capital of the province. As one of the briefings with our military commanders ended, a colonel who had been sitting in the back of the room came up to me. He said something that I carry with me to this day - something that I hope you will carry with you as well.

He said: "Sir, I want you to know on behalf of the soldiers in my unit and myself that we believe in why we are fighting here, we want to finish this fight. And we know we can win it."

Today, five months later, Anbar has been dramatically transformed. Thanks to the bravery, ingenuity, and commitment of our men and women in uniform, shops and schools have reopened, Al Qaeda is on the run, thousands of Iraqis have joined the local police, and - yes - no less than the New York Times reports that we have turned the corner there.

My friends, now is not the time for despair. Now is the time for resolve.

Now is not the time for reflexive partisanship and pandering to public opinion. Now is the time for the kind of patriotism and principle America's voters have always honored.

I ask you to plead with every member of Congress you can in the days and weeks ahead-

Do not surrender to hopelessness.

Do not succumb to defeat.

Do not give in to fear.

Rise above the political pressures of the moment to do what is right for America.

Believe, like that colonel, in why we are fighting in Iraq, and know, as he and his soldiers know, that we can and must win there.

TWO FANTASY GOP DEBATE ANSWERS

I never dreamt that tuning into the GOP debate tonight would be entertaining. With ten candidates on the stage, it was surely more of a Q&A than a debate. A debate is best between two people - that's the way I like it. How can you go for the jugular of nine other people at the same time??? Actually, the funniest moment was going on CNN's website to see that over half their voters loved Ron Paul's performance. It shows how far out of the mainstream CNN's shrinking audience truly is. Amazing.

The inevitable question of abortion came up to Rudy Guliani. He was giving his standard unsatisfying answer when lightning occurred there in New Hampshire and messed up his mike. All the others backed away from him and he looked up to see if something worse would happen to him. What a great moment. The audience loved it.

My fantasy answer from Rudy Guliani (after all, he was by far the most convincing on the war on terror and most "presidential" if you ask me - you didn't!)

"I know you feel you have to ask me this question. You always ask me this question. I want to say that I learned a lot from Mitt Romney. You know I have always said that I am personally against abortion. A leader of the United States has to have passion to make wise decisions. The kind of passion that I had leading New York through some mighty dark days. I have decided that what I personally feel is very important. What I feel about the war on terror has defined my candidacy. I have long felt personally that the terror experienced by the almost born and yet to be born is every bit as brutal as the Islamofascist killings of our soldiers. The pain of the innocents is crying out for justice. I declare that I will seek to convince women all over our country to forsake abortion for better alternatives. More women are spurning abortion each year, and I will lend my weight to make it as unacceptable to have an abortion as it is to smoke. The unborn will be be born and flourish and we will have a kinder, gentler, and more morally upright society. People will clamor for a law that will enshrine this new respect for life, and I will sign it."

The inevitable question of evolution also came up. Pastor, uh candidate Huckabee made a valiant effort. But he ended up contradicting the Bible. These guys are scared to death to be labelled a Yahoo for believing the Bible. He lost a chance to forever distginguish himself fro the other wannabees. I wish I would have heard:

"I know exactly what you want to hear. I am not a scientist, but in this matter, I believe similarly to hundreds of PhD Scientists (dramatically tosses a fanfold computer printout of the hundreds of scientists who believe the Bible from the Answers in Genesis Website). I believe James Joule, Louis Pasteur, Lord Kelvin, George Washington Carver, and many others should be asked the same question. I would offer the same response. It is God who created us as human beings in his image, and everything good in our civilization has stemmed from those who believe they are to act in a manner consistent with God's character and not in accordance with animal instincts. Frankly I do not understand why everyone here is so quick to say they believe in God but refuse to believe what God gimself wrote on the tablet given to Moses in Exodus 20:1. God wrote For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day... Unlike some of you folks at CNN, I do not view the changing and fallable theories of man as superior to a rather unique occurrance in history when God physically wrote something down. All the scientists on this printout, unlike the atheistic activist Stephen Hawking acknolwedge the Sovereignty of God. If as a country we insist on limiting our children's knowledge to fallable theories which have resulted in untold moral degeneration, perhaps there will be a third occurrence similar to when in the days of Daniel God sent a hand to write on the wall about the downfall of a then great nation. Perhaps a visit to the creation museum in Kentucky would give some balance to the educational monopoly of those who teach concepts which defy the obvious. I believe the Bible above the ideas of man, and we have a nation such as this, by consensus deemed the greatest nation in the world, because we based our society on the ideals of God as described in the Bible. The ideals of freedom, the ideals of liberty, the ideals of moral rightness and the ideals of a nation able to be a light to the world. If we as a nation abandoned those ideals, there is nothing to distinguish us from those parts of the world where exploitation, poverty, disease, and injustice are the order of the day. If you want to live in such a fallen nation, vote for someone without clarity and unashamed loyalty to our Lord. If you still believe in the America so many have died to preserve, vote for someone who is not afraid of a ridiculing press, not afraid of a fickle public, and not afraid to take stands which reflect the truths I know."

If either candidate gave an answer like either of these two fantasies, would not a huge percentage of the voters support them with uncommon energy and devotion? The fact that these candidates still dance around the essentials gives me pause. Who will stand? Who will not be afraid?

John Teets