Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Chris Cannon Immigration

I contacted Chris Cannon's office and asked for a point by point stance on immigration from him. They emailed the following to me, which, as I understand it, has also been published in the Deseret News. It's good information:

Please give — point by point — your solution to the U.S. illegal immigration problem?

Point 1: Complete the Border Fence. I voted for and support and continue to staff up the Border Patrol to cover the entire southwest border.

Point 2: Institute a tamper-proof ID card for all immigrants seeking to work in the United States. This ID card would employ biometrics and interface with an entry-exit database.

Point 3: Strengthen E-verify for employers to eliminate excuses and confusion inherent in our current work verification process. Employers should know in minutes if an applicant is legal.

Point 4: Require any immigrant seeking US Citizenship to demonstrate a proficiency in English, American History, and Civics.

Point 5: Institute "Catch and Deport" while mandating that after a certain date, any person found in the US illegally, would be barred from re-entry for any reason for 10, 20, or more years.

Point 6: Create a process whereby anyone currently in the United States illegally can come forward, pay a fine, receive a criminal background check, go to the end of the line if interested in becoming a US citizen, receive a temporary work status, forfeit all Social Security monies earned, be required to either have employer provided health insurance or a Health Savings Account. If anyone is found to have a criminal history of any kind, they are to be deported and barred from re-entry. If anyone is found after the grace period, they are to be deported and barred from re-entry.

Point 7: Enforce the law and the new programs from day 1.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Chaffetz to Hold Town Meetings

Republican House challenger Jason Chaffetz is holding a series of four town hall gatherings, billed as "Ask Jason Anything" meetings, where voters can gather and explore the candidate's views.
Chaffetz is challenging six-term Rep. Chris Cannon for the GOP nomination in the 3rd Congressional District.

The meetings, which all begin at 7 p.m., are scheduled to be held:

* June 10 at the South Jordan Library;
* June 12 at the Provo City Library;
* June 17 at the Hunter Library in West Valley City;
* And June 19 at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Orem.

Here's your chance to listen to the man and make a decision for yourselves. I urge you to listen carefully and demand a "plan of action" for each point.

I was speaking to a gentleman the other day who had a nice sit-down with Chaffetz. He really pushed him on the issues and he found what I've found, Jason Chaffetz is a shallow candidate. Meaning, he can trot out the proper phrases, but he can't deliver the goods. He doesn't even understand the Constitution of the United States or what our fundamental rights and responsibilities are as Americans. So again, I say, listen very carefully and be sure to question him just as thoroughly.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Hannity's Top 10 Items for Victory

I love the way Sean Hannity thinks. He has written, and posted on his website, 10 things he believes that politicians should hold dear to their hearts, and should be the standard of the Republican Party. While I am beginning to believe the Republican Party cannot be saved, I love the 10 things Sean came up with as standards for a political candidate. Here they are:
Hannity's Top 10 Items for Victory
1) To be the Candidate of National security:
  • Victory in Iraq
  • Fully support NSA, Patriot act, tough interrogations, keeping Gitmo open
  • Candidate that pledges to NOT demean our military while they are fighting for their Country. eg Harry Reid: "the surge has failed", "the war is lost"
  • Candidate that promises to ensure that our veterans can live out their lives in dignity.
2) The Candidate who pledges to oppose Appeasement:
  • The Candidate will oppose any and all efforts to negotiate with dictators of the world in places like Iran, Syria, N.Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela without "pre-conditions"
3) The Candidate Pledges to support Tax CUTS, and fiscal responsibility:
  • The American people are NOT under taxed, Government Spends too much
  • The Candidate who Pledges to ELIMINATE and VOTE AGAINST ALL Earmarks
  • The Candidate pledges to BALANCE the budget
4) The Candidate Pledges to be a supporter of "Energy Independence"
  • supports Immediate drilling in Anwar and the 48 states
  • Building new refineries
  • Begin building and using Nuclear Facilities
  • expand coal mining
  • realistic steward of the environment
While simultaneously working with private industry to develop the new energy technologies for the future, with the goal being that America becomes completely energy independent within the next 15 years.

5) The Candidate pledges to secure our borders completely within 12 months:
  • build all necessary fences
  • use all available technology to help and support agents at the border
  • train and hire agents as needed
6) Healthcare:

The Candidate will look for Free-Market solutions to the problems facing the Healthcare industry, and will vigorously oppose any efforts to "nationalize healthcare".
  • The Candidate will fight for Individual health savings accounts, that includes "catastrophic insurance" for every American, so people can control their own healthcare choices.
7) Education:
  • The Candidate pledges to "save" American children from the failing educational system
  • The Candidate will fight to break the unholy alliance of the Democratic party and teachers unions, which at best has institutionalized mediocrity, and has failed children across the country
  • fight for "CHOICE" in education and let parents decide
  • fight for vouchers for parents
8) Social Security and Medicare:
  • The Candidate will "save" social security and medicare from bankruptcy.
  • Options will include "private retirement" funds so people can "control" their own destiny.
9) Judges
  • The Candidate vows to support ONLY judges who recognize that their job is to interpret the Constitution, and NOT legislate from the bench.
10) American Dream:

The Candidate accepts as their duty and responsibility to educate, inform, and remind people that with the blessings of Freedom comes a Great responsibility. That Government's primary goal is to preserve, protect and defend our God given gift of freedom.

That Government's do not have the ability to solve all of our problems, and to take away all of our fears and concerns. We need their pledge that we will be the candidate that promotes Individual liberty, Capitalism, a strong national defense and will support policies that encourage such...

It is our fundamental belief that limited Government, and Greater individual responsibility will insure the continued prosperity and success for future generations.

We the people who believe in the words of Ronald Reagan, that we are "the best last hope for man on this earth," "a shining city on a hill," and that our best days are before us if our Government will simply trust the American people.
I agree with Sean Hannity, 100%. These are the things I want in my political candidates. These are the values, standards and stances on the issues I want my candidate to not only agree to, I want this to be the standard by which he or she conducts themselves.

Excellent job, Sean. Thank you for articulating what every Conservative in the nation believes. I'm sending this entire thing to my Congressman, I urged each of you to do the same.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Call to Convention for County Delegates

Call to Convention
Utah County Republican Party

Saturday ∙ April 26, 2008
Orem High School
175 South 400 East
Orem, UT

Delegate Credentials -- begins 6:30 a.m.
Central Committee Meeting -- 7:30 a.m.
Senate District Caucuses -- 8:00 a.m. Sharp
House District Caucuses -- 8:45 a.m.
General Session -- 9:30 a.m.

Credentialing will end at 9:45 a.m. Please bring photo ID for check in. In order to vote in House and Senate races, you must attend the caucus meeting for your House or Senate District.

See you at Convention!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Meet with Opponents: Brad Daw & Linda Houskeeper

BOTH Linda Houskeeper and Brad Daw agreed upon a meeting this coming Wednesday at 6:30pm. Kip Meacham has proposed and both have accepted the following format:

Date: Wednesday, 4/16/08
Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Place: Tahitian Noni Auditorium (Place could change, check back here for latest details.)
Moderator: Either Kip Meacham (Orem 27 Precinct Chair) or Ivan Keller (Legislative District 60 Chair)

Agenda:

1. Coin toss - winner chooses to go first with opening statement or closing statement

2. Candidate 1 introduction (10-15 minutes)

3. Candidate 2 introduction (10-15 minutes)

4. Questions from the attendees directed to individual candidates or to both--giving both candidates an opportunity to respond or comment on the questions (55 minutes)

5. Candidate 2 conclusion (2 minutes)

6. Candidate 1 conclusion (2 minutes)

Email Kip Meacham with questions for candidates.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Delegate Meeting with House Representative Brad Daw

Not a lot of delegates showed up last night, which was a shame. But for those of us who did we were able to really question Brad about what he's done as our Representative as well as what he intends to do in the future. These are the issues effecting District 60 and what Brad has done, in his own words:

Accountability and Transparency in Government

Transparency and accountability for government officials has been an issue since the divinely inspired creation of our nation's constitution. To better bring this transparency to light, in the General Session of 2008 Representative Daw sponsored and passed HB 29.

HB 29 Election Law: Financial Reporting brings a greater transparency in Government, including at the local level, leaving a greater accountability of our elected officials to the people they represent.

Transportation

As our community continues to grow, the needs for proper transportation planning become increasingly important. To address the needs of our district Representative Daw helped in the moving forward needed reconstruction on I-15 in Utah County. He also serves as the Vice-Chair of the House Transportation Committee and has had great influence over the planning for how to best move forward to meet the community and state's transportation needs.

Those in attendance last night asked Brad to be certain that the sections of I-15 laid in Utah County are of high quality and durability. We expressed, vehemently, that we do not want to pay for the same stretch of freeway five times over because the job wasn't done right the first time. He agreed.

We also asked that there be efficient oversight of the contractors so that the debacle which occurred in Salt Lake City with their freeway redo does not happen in Utah County. He also agreed with that.

Illegal Immigration

Of all the talk on how to deal with the issue of illegal immigration recently, only two pieces of legislation passed in the 2008 General Session; SB 81, loosely based on how Arizona is handling their illegal immigrants, which Representative Daw voted for, and HB 171 which Representative Daw sponsored.

HB 171 Driving Privilege Card Amendment restricts the use of the Drivers' privilege card to its original intentions. It clarifies the card may not be used as a form of identification for voting or any other government function. As well, it restricts its use as a form of identification acceptable for the purchase of alcohol, tobacco or firearms.

I'll admit, I have problems with HB 171, but Brad made an excellent point last night. He wrote this bill to protect Utahns from uninsured illegal aliens. He said that 75% of illegal aliens with Driving Privilege Cards have automobile insurance. This is a good thing, certainly.

But let me point out the obvious here! If we know that 75% of illegal aliens have Driving Privilege Cards and insurance . . . why are they still here?

Prescription Drug Addiction

This issue has become a plague of epidemic proportion in our community, with hundreds of deaths annually, other lives ruined, and the devastation of the families of those addicted to pain medication as a result. Representative Daw has taken the lead in combating this devastating erosion of our community. He sponsored and passed HB 137 and HB 119.

HB 137 Pain Medication Management and Education (passed in the 2007 General Session and received continued funding in the 2008 General Session) provided funding for the Health Department to implement a campaign to properly educate the population on prescription drug addiction and its dangers.

HB 119 Controlled Substance Database (passed in the 2008 General Session) provides Physicians, Pharmacies and Public Safety with a real-time database of the prescriptions for controlled substances, halting the ability of an addict or distributor to duplicate a prescription or receive multiple prescriptions of controlled substances unbeknown to the prescribing physician. This tool will help Utah to lead the nation in combating prescription drug addiction, and more importantly save lives.

I know this to be a viciously pervasive problem in Utah. We experienced it personally with a neighbor across the street (who no longer lives there). She was addicted to painkillers and would do anything, including break into your home or con you into picking up her "prescription," anything to get her hands on those painkillers. She was in and out of rehab and finally arrested when her prescription fraud was finally noticed. Brad's bills to combat this are a good thing.

Internet Pornography

Pornography is an insidious problem in our community. While pornography has been a problem for many years, the internet has made it far more widespread and allowed it to claim far more victims than it would have otherwise.

HCR 3 Resolution Urging Congress to Stop Internet Pornography to Children and Employees. This resolution affirmed the legislature's ongoing commitment to keeping pornography away from children and those who do not wish to see it. Since the passage of the resolution, Representative Daw has been working with government and civic leaders to find ways to accomplish this.

I questioned Brad on this thoroughly. He talked about a sweet wi-fi spot at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City. From that point, you can apparently access multiple wireless connection and cruise whatever sites you want. His point is to have everyone with a wireless network lock it down with a security key, given only to those who should have access, in order to prevent children from access pornographic sites.

Economic Growth

Utah has a wonderful and dynamic higher education system that produces world class research and development in many areas. Bringing university research together with the business community is a great way to create good jobs right here in the state.

HB125 Centers of Excellence Amendments. This bill cleared the way to bring market savvy entrepreneurs together with university research and create new business opportunities in the state.

Brad has a watchful eye on our community and its economic growth.

Brad also talked about working with health care, vouchers and a few other things.

I have linked every single one of Brad's bills, so please read through them so that you are able to see what he has accomplished in office. I am emailing Brad and Linda Houskeeper, his opponent, a list of questions. I will ask for further information on health care and vouchers, as well as any other issues Brad feels are important. Brad has already committed to answer them and allowing me to put them on this blog. It is my hope Linda will do the same. I anticipate having those interviews in place some time next week.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Meet with Brad Daw Tonight

County Delegates: This is your chance to meet with Representative Brad Daw, the incumbent in the District 60 race for the House seat.

Tahitian Noni Conference Room
(Follow the signs)
333 River Park Dr
Provo, UT 84604

6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

Bring your questions and concerns.

We are also arranging a meeting with Linda Houskeeper, his opponent. She refused to come at the same time as Brad, so we're shooting for a separate meeting.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Jason Chaffetz Views on Illegal Immigration

This is what I know of Jason, he played football at BYU. That's all I know, but here is his Illegal Immigration plan:
Becoming a citizen of the United States of America is earned and means something special. We are the envy of the world and it is no wonder why. We are the nation that empowers the individual with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are also a nation of laws, guided by a Constitution, to ensure those rights.

The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility “to establish a uniform rule of naturalization.” We have a duty and responsibility to the legal citizens to set the terms of entry and exit. Currently, we are being unfairly asked to subsidize and tolerate a mass of illegal people flooding our country. This is a failure of Congress and an unprecedented unfunded mandate upon the states.

An Immoral Position: The status-quo is in many ways immoral. Current government policy, including the lack of political will to enforce the existing laws, unfairly exploits people who were enticed, encouraged, and incentivized to come to the United States of America illegally. As a country, we have given millions of illegal aliens access to jobs and taxpayer-supported entitlements including health care and education. It is morally wrong to tacitly approve breaking our laws. This must be fixed.

Most illegal aliens are good, hard working, decent people who have made a significant contribution to our country and our economy, but it often comes at an incalculable expense of other resources and jobs. We can accept that people are often simply trying to improve their lives for themselves and their families, but we should reject exploitation and return to the rule of law.

What To Do: Our first priority should be to legal citizens, and then we should prioritize those who want to come here legally. Our current system is failing by giving those with closest proximity and a willingness to break our laws favor over those who are willing to enter the country legally.

It is time to do right. Everyone will benefit. It is for this reason we must elect political leaders willing to solve this difficult issue.

As your Congressman, I will vote based on these principles:

▪ FIX LEGAL IMMIGRATION
▪ REJECT AMNESTY
▪ LOCK DOWN THE BORDER, ENFORCE VISAS
▪ HAVE THE POLITICAL WILL TO ENFORCE THE CURRENT LAWS
▪ GET RID OF REWARDS & INCENTIVES TO BE HERE ILLEGALLY
▪ GIVE BUSINESS THE TOOLS & ALIGN FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
▪ INSIST ON ASSIMILATION

~ Jason Chaffetz

Fix illegal immigration: There are millions of people from around the world who seek to legally become a citizen of the United States of America. Unfortunately, the system is failing. Last year the Wall Street Journal stated the current green-card backlog includes applicants who face a 22-year wait time. This doesn’t work for anybody. We need to implement the leadership necessary to fix this problem and appropriate the money needed to thoroughly process applicants in a timely manner. Until legal immigration works, we will continue to have major problems.

Reject Amnesty: Restitution is something most of us learned by third grade. If you take a candy bar that is not yours, you need to give it back. Take money that is not yours, you need to return it. Cut in line, you go to the back of the line. I still believe what I learned in third grade.

I will not support or vote for amnesty in any way, shape or form. If you are here illegally, there is no pathway to citizenship except to apply from your country of origin.

Lock down border, enforce visas: Our porous borders open the way for illegal entry, drug trafficking and terrorism. We must appropriate the funding for physical barriers and technology to lock down the border. By some estimates, 40% of the people coming to the United States on a non-immigrant visa fail to depart as directed. This is unacceptable. Further, we should not issue visas, including student visas, for those coming from terrorist nations.

Have the Political will to enforce the current laws: The existing laws are not being enforced. As your Congressman, I will insist the law is enforced.

* Homeland Security believes we have 623,292 “fugitive aliens” who did not obey orders to leave the country. --Cases as of Aug. 2006, AP, March 27, 2007

*The Homeland Security Department Inspector General said, “Backlog fugitive alien cases have increased each fiscal year since program was started in Feb 2002” because of too little bed space, poor staffing and an inaccurate database.

As your Congressman, I will fight to solve these problems.

We need to expand federal prisons for those non-American citizens breaking the laws of the USA. Like the Western Governor’s Association, I, too, encourage the construction of western regional federal prisons to house criminal aliens who have been apprehended and convicted in state criminal justice systems. The federal government failed to carry out its constitutional responsibility to protect the borders and the resulting financial burden of detaining these criminals should not fall on the shoulders of the states.

Get ride of rewards and incentives to be here illegally: We exacerbate the situation by offering rewards and incentives, such as free health care, free education and driver’s licenses to those here illegally. Eliminate these incentives and we will help solve the problem.

* Illegal aliens should not get preferential treatment over United States citizens.

* Illegal immigration should be a felony aggravating factor.

* “According to 2006 audit by the Social Security inspector general, 17 of the 100 worst employers using employees with non-work numbers were government agencies. That means the government knows who those employees are, but usually does not go after them.” Deseret Morning News, 8/26/07. This is unacceptable.

* Birth in the USA should not automatically make you a citizen. I support legislation and/or a constitutional amendment eliminating the automatic granting of citizenship to those born in the United States of America. At least one parent should be a legal citizen to trigger birthright citizenship.

Give business the tools and align financial incentives: Most businesses operate legally and want to do the right thing. But for those that do not, we must impose stiffer fines and criminal penalties.

Once it has improved, employers should be required to validate social security numbers and employee names with E-Verify. Coupled with tough enforcement, this will help improve the current situation. Employers who knowingly hire illegals should be punished. They are breaking the laws of the nation.

For those entering our country on a non-immigrant visa (NIV), we should explore aligning financial incentives through employers and educational institutions to ensure timely departures. Financial bonding as an incentive to depart the country as planned will help motivate those tempted to stay beyond what was originally agreed upon. This must be backed up with severe economic penalties.

After the 9/11 terrorist attack, the FBI sought to interview 4,112 people in the United States on NIVs. Over half of those people could not be located because they no longer resided at the address they had registered with the government. If you are here on a NIV, you must be registered. If not, you should be considered in violation of the law with severe penalties, possible incarceration and deportation.

Insist on Assimilation: By becoming a citizen of the United States of America, you are pledging allegiance to our country and our flag. In essence, you are abandoning your previous allegiances in favor of your commitment to the U.S.A. We celebrate diversity and vast fabric of culture in this country, but we are bound together in our loyalty to the goodness of the United States of America.

* English should be the official language of the United States of America. Taxpayers should not pay additional money for translation and printing in other languages.

* Proof of citizenship to vote.

What should we do with those currently here illegally?

For those here illegally, the ONLY pathway to U.S. citizenship is to go home to their country of origin and apply from there. Period.

We must have the political will, including funding, to enforce the law. No amnesty.

In addition to the natural attrition that will occur as we implement the previously mentioned policies, we need a pathway to deportation. To facilitate this pathway to deportation, we should allow current illegal aliens to come forward and apply for a short term work visa if done in conjunction with a sponsoring legal business. The visa will be for a specified time. At the conclusion of the visa, the illegal alien must return to their country of origin, or face serious criminal consequences.

This should be a limited time offer and any adult person identified without this application in process should be detained and deported. This will allow us to identify illegal aliens and uniformly return illegal aliens to their country of origin while allowing a legal workforce, with proper documentation and background checks, to enter the country in a uniform fashion.

Consider this:

Roughly 10% of Mexico’s 107 million population now lives in the USA.

15% of the labor force is in the USA.

One in every seven Mexican workers comes to the USA.

¾ of the illegal aliens come from Mexico and Central America.

--San Francisco Chronicle, 5/21/06
* * *

Jason's big push is "if you want more status quo, vote Chris Cannon." In all honesty, Chris has been incredibly responsive to his constituents. Over the years, as I have contacted his office on a number of issues he has always responded. It didn't matter if it was over water rights (when Bill Clinton signed all of America's waters over to the U.N. Utah and Idaho were the only ones who kept their rights), immigration (and yes, we've gone the rounds on that), lands (Clinton again), business, national security, border patrol, energy independence . . . it simply didn't matter. He always responded by either mail, email or phone call. He listened to me and his other constituents and if the overwhelming number of us wanted a change in policy, he did it.

Point in case: Chris supported "No Child Left Behind." Hey, it was a nice idea but anytime you allow the federal government into any portion of your life chaos will reign, and it did. Chris recognized that and is the main push behind http://endfeded.com. So, don't be so quick to call Chris "status quo." Call him, talk to him and listen, really listen. But don't spout the standard expecting it to fly with those of us who have done our homework.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

David Leavitt's Stance on Illegal Immigration

I have two major problems with David Leavitt. His people called me several weeks in a row, as if they were approaching me for the first time, and asked me the same questions over and over. Shows a startling lack of efficiency and carelessness with budget. Then I found he was Mike Leavitt's brother. Yes, that's a problem for me too.

Putting those things aside, I have fairly considered the candidates and would like you to do the same:
Securing Our Borders: It is time to enforce current security measures which allow only persons with proper documentation into the United States. We welcome the tired, the poor, and the yearning masses who want to speak English, contribute to the economy, foster patriotism, and become citizens and who cross the borders legally. Government's laid back attitude toward border control has seriously burdened cities and states with a high population of illegal immigrants and opened our nation to terrorist attacks. Schools are crowded with students who do not speak fluent English. Hospitals are closing because care for uninsured immigrants is depleting their already strained budgets. For the protection of America, we must block anyone who has the potential to introduce a security or economic threat to our country.

Because government at a local level is more effective than at a federal level, states should have the authority to maintain and enforce border security. I will support appropriate legislation and funding as an incentive for border states to hire and train additional border patrol and customs agents, making sure they enforce laws already in place including tracking those with a visitor's visa whose time in the country is limited. This does not replace the federal government's responsibility to secure our borders. Government has the technology and the tools to do a better job. It is critical that we improve the present infrastructure to include updated border surveillance technology. The use of security cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based radar towers, and fencing, where feasible, will send the message that we mean business.

Providing Economic Prosperity: We recognize the economic need for legal migrant labor. Congress can begin to address this problem by implementing a worker-visa program which will provide a transition period where those who are here illegally can voluntarily leave the country and apply for a temporary work visa. This program will not guarantee citizenship. Those who wish to gain citizenship must continue to go through the already established process. It is necessary to adhere to justice while remembering that America is a humane nation. Employers will be responsible to hire legal workers and will be held accountable for circumventing laws. Businesses who hire illegal immigrants should be heavily fined and put on strict probation. We can sustain our labor force without disruption by providing a positive alternative amnesty.

Preserving the Rule of Law:
We must preserve our legal system or we will lose the principles upon which America was founded. The United States has always been a land of hope and opportunity for legal immigrants. They infuse the country with new life and invigorate the economy. However, amnesty for illegal immigrants is not an option. It erodes the rule of law and does not work. Countries that have chosen amnesty as a solution have done so repeatedly without solving the problem of illegal immigration.

We cannot create legality out of illegality. We cannot maintain the law if we simply pardon illegal immigrants in this country. Neither can we succeed as a union of states if members of that union do not uphold the laws passed by the national government. State and local governments not willing to uphold the law of the land and enforce immigration statutes should not receive federal appropriations. Illegal immigrants must return to the border if they wish to apply for the guest worker program. If they have a full-time job, no criminal record, and present documentation such as a card stamped by the local post office or other notarized evidence that they have been living in the country, they could be admitted as temporary guest-workers. However, such status would not be a path to citizenship.

These steps may not be quick, easy, or popular, but by exerting the political will to implement them, we can strengthen our borders, our economy, and our country. We will never know what might not have happened on September 11, 2001, if tight border controls and mandated follow-up on foreign visitors had been in force. We can learn from this tragedy and make provisions to protect our future. It is time to play by the rules, to do the hard thing, and to develop, implement, and fund a system that will safeguard our borders, strengthen our economy, and enforce the law.

Tomorrow, I'll post Jason Chaffetz views on Illegal Immigration. In the meantime, it would behoove all voters to ask David how he hopes to accomplish this.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Chris Cannon's Stance on Illegal Immigration

I've had a few people express concern about Chris's stance on immigration. He does favor a Worker ID program, but I popped over to his website and pulled the information straight from him.
Indeed, the time for action has come. Today, there may be as many as 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. For the most part, we have no real way to know with any certainty who they are, where they are, or what they are doing. What we do know is that the majority of these folks are in fact living in our communities, sending their kids to our schools and, yes, working in jobs that are absolutely essential to our local, state and national economies. But, since they entered the country illegally, they cannot let us know who they are, they cannot obtain reliable identification and they live in the shadows of our society. In our post 9-11 environment, it is simply not acceptable to have that many people living and working in those shadows.

There are some who maintain that the solution to illegal immigration is simple: We should just round all these folks up and send them home, wherever that might be.

And in the context of an election year, that approach might have some appeal, however, [it] is not a real solution. Our immigration bureaucracy today cannot even efficiently manage the flow of legal immigrants and guests-- much less find and deport 12 million illegal immigrants. Perhaps more importantly, it is not entirely clear that our economy could withstand the loss of what has become an essential part of our national workforce. As the Deseret News and many others have said, we need plausible solutions to the challenge of illegal immigration not simplistic rhetoric.

As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I have been deeply involved for several years in trying to achieve reasonable and practical solutions to this vexing issue. My efforts with regard to immigration policy have been, and continue to be, driven by a few very basic principles:

Secure Borders Protecting the Homeland: There is nothing more fundamental to national security than control of our borders -- knowing who is coming in and preventing entry by those who would do us harm. We can and must do a better, and smarter, job of meeting this most basic responsibility. Of course, a key requirement for secure borders is to have rational immigration laws and policies which allow us to focus our security expertise, state-of-the-art technology and resources on real threats.

Economic Security: The fact that we have millions of illegal aliens in the United States today is the result of some basic realities: Existing and past immigration policies that have not worked; a failure to adequately control our borders; and the law of supply and demand. America is still the Land of Opportunity, and it is opportunity that is driving the majority of illegal immigrants to go to extraordinary lengths to enter our country and fill jobs in vital sectors of our economy--including many right here in Utah. We need immigration policies that will allow those willing workers to meet the needs of willing employers and do so in such a way that does not endanger the jobs of American workers.

Fairness to Legal Immigrants: The term amnesty is tossed about in debates over immigration policy, and with good reason. Millions of hard working, tax-paying legal immigrants are today living in America and making tremendous contributions to society. In many instances, those immigrants endured years of patiently waiting and complying with the complicated process of legal entry. It is essential that any legislation or initiative to allow illegal immigrants who are already in the U.S. to gain some form of temporary status be equitable to those who are here legally. The key to that equity lies in placing strict work requirements, monetary penalties, or other reasonable burdens on those who wish to stay here and work here despite having entered illegally. I will only support legislation which encompasses such penalties and mandates a fair price of admission for all.

Reality-Based Immigration Laws: Americans, and particularly we Utahns, are fundamentally welcoming people. We understand that reasonable and robust levels of immigration are critical to the continued growth and well-being of our economy, our communities, and our entire nation. It is a simple fact that we would not today have millions of illegal immigrants if our immigration laws and policies were based upon reality. We must have a system which allows willing workers to come here legally if there are jobs to fill. Likewise, we cannot just ignore the fact that those millions of illegal immigrants are, in fact, here, using our health care facilities, sending their kids to our schools, and in most cases, paying taxes to our federal, state and local governments.

In short, our immigration laws and policies must reflect the realities we face today: Our economy demands a robust supply of willing workers; our security demands that we bring people who are here illegally out of the shadows and into the light of day; and common sense demands that we find realistic solutions to a system that is clearly not working. ~ Chris Cannon
I have spoken with Chris, in length, on this issue. Yes, I'd like to see every single illegal immigrant rounded up and deported. I'd like to see our borders completely secured. Barring the first, I'll unhappily recognize that rounding them all up might not work. Although I'd sure like it to.

My second desire is slowly being taken care of. Chris said he drove, he believes, 400 miles of border fence. Some of it he says is inadequate, some of it is good. He is working hard to get the fence up and secure.

On the first, Chris says there is no way to round up 12 to 15 million people and deport them. We don't have the budget or manpower for that. He stated that we have to come up with the alternative. He favors, as I said, the Worker ID program which will allow them to work here but not allow them to access our health care and welfare programs. Barring shipping them all out, which is still my favorite option, Chris' plan works for me.

Tomorrow I'll post David Leavitt's stance on immigration.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Voting Precinct Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer Duties

Voting Precinct Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer Duties
(Subject to County Leadership)

1. The Precinct Chair shall:
  • Direct Party affairs within their respective Precincts.
  • Organize and preside over their Precinct Caucus.
  • Assist the campaigns of Republican nominees’ (candidates unopposed by other Republican candidates) campaigns. Distribute election related materials within the precinct on behalf of the Republican Party and its nominees at the request of the County Chairman.
  • Assist the County Chairman in the recruitment of poll-watchers, election judges and volunteers for other county events.
  • Organize and direct Get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs.
  • Attend County Central Committee meetings.
  • Direct County fundraising programs in the Precinct and, together with the Precinct Treasurer, be responsible for all funds collected from precinct members.
  • Serve the Party generally, when needed, with events and general operations, at the request of the County Chairman.
  • Participate in the governance of the County Party by faithfully attending meetings of which each Precinct Chair is a member. When unable to attend an official meeting, it is expected that the precinct chairman will notify the county chairman or secretary in advance.
  • Serve a 2 year term (from the date elected to the adjournment of the precinct caucus in which a new chair is elected).
2. The Precinct Vice-Chair shall preside and direct the Voter Precinct caucus, and other precinct meetings, in the absence of their chair, and shall attend Central Committee meetings.

3. The Precinct Secretaries shall provide notice of precinct meetings to members, prepare agendas, record minutes of meetings at which the Chair presides, and shall maintain historical documents.

4. The Precinct Treasurer shall receive, account for, and turn in collected monies to the appropriate organization as directed and shall submit a financial report at each meeting of the precinct.

5. The powers and responsibilities of the other Legislative and Senate District chairs and Precinct Officers are as delegated by their county leadership and respective chairs.

This text should assist the members of the precinct in holding the Precinct Officers responsible for the discharge of their duty. Please feel free to contact these officers and make sure we’re doing our duties.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

My Conversation with Chris Cannon

Today, Alvin and I were able to spend two-and-a-half hours with Chris Cannon and a few other Precinct Chairs. He welcomed us into his home and it was great to listen to what he had to say, and to hear others stand up and talk about how impressed they've been with Chris and his time served in the Congress.

I have been a staunch supporter of Chris for many years. To learn of my experiences with Chris over the eleven years he has served as my congressman, read what I wrote on my personal blog: "Become a Partner With Chris Cannon."

Today I learned that one of his opponents has chosen to hammer him for not being present for various votes which needed to be cast by him. Chris is a hard-working congressman who fights for his constituents, the Constitution and this nation every minute, of every day, of every week, of every month and year. Today, one of his staff outlined for us what was going on in Chris' life when he missed those votes.

The first time his wife, Claudia, was having a baby. (She chimed in that she was old when this occurred and she needed Chris by her side.) Really, his opponent has a problem with Chris being by his wife's side when she gave birth to one of their children? That's not a man I'd want to vote for.

The second time was when his daughter, Rachel, was sick, so was the third time as she was reacting violently due to the medications she was being given. The fourth time he missed the vote was when his sweet daughter died. What kind of man would attack our congressman over these missed votes?

There was indeed one time when Chris missed a vote because he was working hard on some legislation and heard the buzzer too late to get the floor and cast his vote. He did say he felt pretty bad about that one.

Chris does not rush to the floor to vote on bills renaming post offices or roads, or other nonsensical matters which I am floored to find Congress dabbling in . . . but there you have it. Our Congressman was busy dealing with the bills he was writing, co-sponsoring or submitting in order to protect our rights and our lands here in Utah.

Again I ask . . . what opponent would challenge him on this?

So I brought up my concerns. I asked what was being done about our dependence on foreign oil. I knew this was a hot issue for him. He asked me if I knew how much was being sent out of the country? I nodded and replied, "$450 billion . . ." I was wrong. It is now $550 billion! Chris has been pushing hard to end of our reliance on foreign oil. He told us about reports stating we have five times the amount of shale oil in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah as they do in the Middle East. He explained the technology was in place, a company had purchased the rights to the technology and is prepared to begin drilling in the fall. They only have 47 government agencies which have to sign off on it. He feels pretty optimistic that it will come to pass. Until it does, he'll keep fighting for it.

In the meantime, the Democrats are fighting the Republicans tooth and nail. They want us to continue being reliant on foreign energy sources. The only answer to the myriad of problems we face in America is the taking back of the Senate and the House. Some say it can't be done. I say it will be deadly if it is not.

By the way . . . shale oil produces diesel and will drastically drop the diesel costs here in Utah. I'm guessing we will all want to start looking at diesel engines eventually. Just keep your eye on the news.

We also talked about immigration and how he and the other committee members drove along our southern border checking the fence which has been built. He talked about erroneous numbers coming out of Homeland Security, there's a surprise, and shared with us what he'd actually experienced.

He favors a worker ID program for the following reasons:

1. We don't know who is illegal in the U.S. and who is not. Finding out will cost a fortune.
2. We don't have the manpower to round them up and it will cost a fortune to hire all the policemen and agents needed to accomplish this monumental task.
3. He believes a worker ID program will restrict them being able to use our Emergency Rooms for their free medical visits and end their reliance on our welfare programs.
4. And finally he said we need to increase the number of citizenship spots available

I don't know if Chris is right, but I sure haven't heard a better plan. Yes, we need to close the borders. Fight with us to take the majority of the Senate and the House back and get the job done. It won't get done with the Democrats. Yes, we need to rectify the illegal immigration problem, this definitely won't get done with the Democrats. In other words, work with us to bring Conservative Republicans, like Chris, back into power so that we can get America back on the right track.

We spoke about universal health care. He's not a fan of it. Neither am I.

We spoke about the War on Terror. He thinks our efforts can be logistically improved, but that pulling out now would be the worst mistake we could make. I agree.

We spoke of honor, integrity, the courage to stand for the issues as well as the values and needs of Utahns despite all obstacles. He has done this.

I have spoken with Chris often over the last few years, as I outlined in the article on my personal blog linked at the top of this article, and he has always answered me. Whether by email, letter or phone call, Chris has been my support, in the congressional sense, when I stood helpless against issues only my congressman could fix. And he fixed them. He has never let me down. Ever.

You can go to Chris' website and learn where he stands and what he's done on the issues facing America today. You can check his record in Congress and see for yourself what he has done for the State of Utah and the constituents of the 3rd Congressional District.

In other words, it behooves you to investigate the claims made by the other candidates and learn for yourself why I stand behind Chris Cannon in his bid for the 3rd Congressional seat. The websites links of each of the candidates are available to the left of this article.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Responsibilities of a State Delegate

Kim Meacham, the Precinct Chair over at Orem 27 added this information on their precinct blog. I thought it was a great idea, so here you go:

2008-2010 STATE DELEGATE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Congratulations on being elected a State Delegate! Your willingness to participate in the Party and the political process is greatly appreciated. This sheet will hopefully provide a few details of your new responsibilities and what is expected.

First, remember that each State Delegate must be a registered affiliated Republican. To be seated the Utah Republican Party must have on file your name, telephone number and mailing address. The name you use should be the exact name you used to register to vote.

The term of service for all delegates is two years. Should you move or change addresses during that time, please inform your County Chair.

For the near future, your biggest responsibility is to attend and participate in the 2008 Utah Republican Party State Convention. It will be held on Saturday, May 10 in the David 0 McKay Center on the UVSC Campus in Orem. The official Call to Convention with credentials and instructions will be mailed to you. At the convention, state delegates, by casting ballots, will choose the Party’s nominees for elected office. The offices you will be voting for include Governor, Attorney General, State Auditor, State Treasurer and the U.S. House of Representatives. Some of you will also be voting in multi-county State Legislative races. In addition, all state delegates will vote for National Delegates and Alternates, Presidential Electors, and a National Committeeman and Committeewoman (the filing deadline for Presidential Elector, National Delegate, and National Committee member is 5:00 p.m. Thursday, April 10 at State GOP Headquarters). It is your responsibility to educate yourself about all the candidates. You will also have the chance to debate and vote on any changes to the State Party Constitution, Bylaws, Platform, Rules of the Convention, and possibly Resolutions.

You should also plan on attending the 2009 State Organizing Convention next year where the State Party Officers will be selected by the State Delegates. You are also encouraged to stay as involved as you can in your County Party.

If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call the State Party Office at 801-533-9777 or 1-800-230-UTAH or visit us at www.utgop.org . And again, thank you for your willingness to serve.

This text should assist the members of the precinct in holding the State Delegates responsible for the discharge of their duty.

As the delegates (of which I am one of three) are responsible “to educate [ourselves] about all the candidates” I am working to arrange meetings with the candidates in conjunction with other Republican precincts in LEG60, and will publish more on this as the meeting plans solidify.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Obama's Anger

by Ed Kaitz

This is a helpful article in helping Americans to gain some small understanding to the commotion surrounding Barack Obama, his former preacher/mentor and the angry rhetoric filling the airwaves and pulpits across the nation. Simply an FYI.

From www.AmericanThinker.com I found the following column written by Ed Kaitz and published on March 20, 2008:


"The anger is real. It is powerful, and to simply wish it away,
to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen
the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races."

- Barack Obama

Back in the late 1980s I was on a plane flying out of New Orleans and sitting next to me was a rather interesting and, according to Barack Obama, unusual black man. Friendly, gregarious, and wise beyond his years, we immediately hit it off. I had been working on Vietnamese commercial fishing boats for a few years based in southern Louisiana. The boats were owned by the recent wave of Vietnamese refugees who flooded into the familiar tropical environment after the war. Floating in calm seas out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, I would hear tearful songs and tales from ex-paratroopers about losing brothers, sisters, parents, children, lovers, and beautiful Vietnam itself to the communists.

In Bayou country I lived on boats and in doublewide trailers, and like the rest of the Vietnamese refugees, I shopped at Wal-Mart and ate a lot of rice. When they arrived in Louisiana the refugees had no money (the money that they had was used to bribe their way out of Vietnam and into refugee camps in Thailand), few friends, and a mostly unfriendly and suspicious local population.

They did however have strong families, a strong work ethic, and the "Audacity of Hope." Within a generation, with little or no knowledge of English, the Vietnamese had achieved dominance in the fishing industry there and their children were already achieving the top SAT scores in the state.

While I had been fishing my new black friend had been working as a prison psychologist in Missouri, and he was pursuing a higher degree in psychology. He was interested in my story, and after about an hour getting to know each other I asked him point blank why these Vietnamese refugees, with no money, friends, or knowledge of the language could be, within a generation, so successful. I also asked him why it was so difficult to convince young black men to abandon the streets and take advantage of the same kinds of opportunities that the Vietnamese had recently embraced.

His answer, only a few words, not only floored me but became sort of a razor that has allowed me ever since to slice through all of the rhetoric regarding race relations that Democrats shovel our way during election season:

"We're owed and they aren't."

In short, he concluded, "they're hungry and we think we're owed. It's crushing us, and as long as we think we're owed we're going nowhere."

A good test case for this theory is Katrina. Obama, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and assorted white apologists continue to express anger and outrage over the federal response to the Katrina disaster. But where were the Vietnamese "leaders" expressing their "anger?" The Vietnamese comprise a substantial part of the New Orleans population, and yet are absent was any report claiming that the Vietnamese were "owed" anything. This is not to say that the federal response was an adequate one, but we need to take this as a sign that maybe the problem has very little to do with racism and a lot to with a mindset.

The mindset that one is "owed" something in life has not only affected black mobility in business but black mobility in education as well. Remember Ward Churchill? About fifteen years ago he was my boss. After leaving the fishing boats, I attended graduate school at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I managed to get a job on campus teaching expository writing to minority students who had been accepted provisionally into the university on an affirmative action program. And although I never met him, Ward Churchill, in addition to teaching in the ethnic studies department, helped to develop and organize the minority writing program.

The job paid most of my bills, but what I witnessed there was absolutely horrifying. The students were encouraged to write essays attacking the white establishment from every conceivable angle and in addition to defend affirmative action and other government programs. Of the hundreds of papers that I read, there was not one original contribution to the problem of black mobility that strayed from the party line.

The irony of it all however is that the "white establishment" managed to get them into the college and pay their entire tuition. Instead of being encouraged to study international affairs, classical or modern languages, philosophy or art, most of these students became ethnic studies or sociology majors because it allowed them to remain in disciplines whose orientation justified their existence at the university. In short, it became a vicious cycle.

There was a student there I'll never forget. He was plucked out of the projects in Denver and given a free ride to the university. One day in my office he told me that his mother had said the following to him: "M.J., they owe you this. White people at that university owe you this." M.J.'s experience at the university was a glorious fulfillment of his mother's angst.

There were black student organizations and other clubs that "facilitated" the minority student's experience on the majority white and "racist" campus, in addition to a plethora of faculty members, both white and black, who encouraged the same animus toward the white establishment. While adding to their own bona fides as part of the trendy Left, these "facilitators" supplied M.J. with everything he needed to quench his and his mother's anger, but nothing in the way of advice about how to succeed in college. No one, in short, had told M.J. that he needed to study. But since he was "owed" everything, why put out any effort on his own?

In a fit of despair after failing most of his classes, M.J. wandered into my office one Friday afternoon in the middle of the semester and asked if I could help him out. I asked M.J. about his plans that evening, and he told me that he usually attended parties on Friday and Saturday nights. I told him that if he agreed to meet me in front of the university library at 6:00pm I would buy him dinner. At 6pm M.J. showed up, and for the next twenty minutes we wandered silently through the stacks, lounges, and study areas of the library. When we arrived back at the entrance I asked M.J. if he noticed anything interesting. As we headed up the hill to a popular burger joint, M.J. turned to me and said:

"They were all Asian. Everyone in there was Asian, and it was Friday night."

Nothing I could do, say, or show him, however, could match the fire power of his support system favoring anger. I was sad to hear of M.J. dropping out of school the following semester.

During my time teaching in the writing program, I watched Asians get transformed via leftist doublespeak from "minorities" to "model minorities" to "they're not minorities" in precise rhythm to their fortunes in business and education. Asians were "minorities" when they were struggling in this country, but they became "model minorities" when they achieved success. Keep in mind "model minority" did not mean what most of us think it means, i.e., something to emulate. "Model minority" meant that Asians had certain cultural advantages, such as a strong family tradition and a culture of scholarship that the black community lacked.

To suggest that intact families and a philosophy of self-reliance could be the ticket to success would have undermined the entire angst establishment. Because of this it was improper to use Asian success as a model. The contortions the left exercised in order to defend this ridiculous thesis helped to pave the way for the elimination of Asians altogether from the status of "minority."

This whole process took only a few years.

Eric Hoffer said:

"...you do not win the weak by sharing your wealth with them; it will but infect them with greed and resentment. You can win the weak only by sharing your pride, hope or hatred with them."

We now know that Barack Obama really has no interest in the "audacity of hope." With his race speech, Obama became a peddler of angst, resentment and despair. Too bad he doesn't direct that angst at the liberal establishment that has sold black people a bill of goods since the 1960s. What Obama seems angry about is America itself and what it stands for; the same America that has provided fabulous opportunities for what my black friend called "hungry" minorities. Strong families, self-reliance, and a spirit of entrepreneurship should be held up as ideals for all races to emulate.

In the end, we should be very suspicious about Obama's anger and the recent frothings of his close friend Reverend Wright. Says Eric Hoffer:

The fact seems to be that we are least open to precise knowledge concerning the things we are most vehement about. Vehemence is the expression of a blind effort to support and uphold something that can never stand on its own.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Elected Officials for Orem 28 Precinct

We had a small gathering of people join us at the Caucus tonight. Many of our standard families were not there tonight and they were sorely missed. But we had a whole new young group of Republicans move into our precinct and they are real go-getters! We also had some of our faith Republicans who turn out to every caucus and election. They are the backbone of our precinct and it is always so nice to see them.

We're planning on being a much more active precinct this year. We're planning a precinct Barbecue in June -- date to be announced on this blog -- and we're very excited about it! I'll do my best to get some of our candidates to come and mingle, answer questions, etc.

Tonight we elected the new officers for our precinct. Here's who they are and their contact information:

Precinct Officers

Precinct Chair: Candace E. Salima
Vice Chair: Dan Sinema
Secretary/Treasurer: Amy Stone

State Delegates

Dan Glahn
Brett Nielsen

County Delegates

Candace E. Salima
Dan Sinema
Scott Martin
Ronald Gubler
Toni Beard
Jill Nielsen

These are the duly elected officers of Orem 28 Precinct for the 2008-2010 election season.

Republican Party Caucuses Tonight!

Today is the day!

Your neighborhood caucus is your best chance to effect change in the political process at the grass roots level.

Tonight, Republicans across the state of Utah will be gathering in their local caucuses to elect delegates, precinct chairs, precinct vice-chairs and support staff. These people then go on to the county and state Republican conventions where the vast political field is whittled down to a single candidate, for example, Chris Cannon.

If that candidate cannot garner 60% of the vote at convention, then it will go to a primary between the two highest contenders. This is where you as the voter step in and choose one candidate to represent our part in the November elections.

It is an exciting political process our nation is founded on. Through this process, power has passed from American to American without any coups, revolutions or uprisings. This is a privilege that Americans enjoy and should be excited to participate in.

We have been admonished to choose honest and wise men to lead us in government.
Proverbs 29:2 reads: "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."
This is where it starts. The caucuses begin at 7:00 p.m. tonight. Mountain View High School is the place. Walk in and ask where Orem 28 is and they'll direct you right to us. Hire the babysitter, grab your husband and all those who are of voting age in your household and join us!

This is where it all begins!

Tomorrow I will post the new Precinct Leadership.

We are looking for an active precinct this year . . . so tell every one you know who lives North of 400 South, East of I-15, South of Center Street and West of 750 West to join us tonight.