PUBLIC MARKS from jasontromm with tag illegal

The controversial movement to merge the U.S., Mexico and Canada into what critics call a "North American Union" – in the face of what is already a massive, national illegal immigration and border security crisis – tops the list of the 10 most "spiked" or underreported stories of the last year, according to an annual WND survey. At the end of each year, news organizations typically present their retrospective replays of what they consider to have been the top news stories in the previous 12 months. WND's editors, however, have long considered it far more newsworthy to publicize the most important unreported or underreported news events of the year – to highlight perhaps for one last time major news stories that were undeservedly "spiked" by the establishment press.

While the military "quagmire" in Iraq was said to tip the scales of power in the U.S. midterm elections, most Americans have no idea more of their fellow citizens – men, women and children – were murdered this year by illegal aliens than the combined death toll of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since those military campaigns began.

Advertising works – some better than other, but advertising works. So, why has the government’s $1.4 billion advertising campaign to get young people to stay away from drugs been such a dismal failure? According to the Government Accountability Office, a $1.4 billion anti-drug advertising campaign conducted by the U.S. government since 1998 does not appear to have helped reduce drug use and instead might have convinced some youths that taking illegal drugs is normal. So, it’s possible that not only did the campaign fail; it may have had the exact opposite effect. ()() I think the answer is simple. We give kids mixed messages about drugs. Alcohol and cigarettes are arguably more dangerous than marijuana, but both are completely legal. Unlike cigarettes, marijuana has been shown to have some medical benefits like curing nausea in cancer patients.

Half a dozen abortion clinics in Florida and Alabama have had their doors locked after state health boards became concerned by alleged rule and drug violations, including claims of an illegal late-term procedure in Florida.

In an age when we continue to debate "a woman's right to choose" when it comes to a girl aborting her baby and we are told that it is the girl's body and no one else should make decisions affecting it, a boy has no such rights. A girl can be given birth control by the school nurse and even abortion information without her parents knowledge or consent, but a boy can be prohibited from making decisions that affect his life and body. At least the courts are consistent. They forbid parental involvement in either case. In some states, though, parents are held responsible for their kids' illegal and anti-social behavior. Why is it that parents supposedly have power to keep their kids from committing crimes, but can be denied power when it comes to their child's health and welfare?

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is warning that the immigration bill favored by Senate Republicans will permit up to 36 million illegal aliens, as opposed to the 11 million being cited by proponents, to remain in the U.S. – a number that will make the average American "furious" when learned and will hurt the GOP.

With the federal government having a perceived do-nothing attitude to stop the ongoing invasion of illegal aliens into the U.S., fed-up Americans are logging on to the Internet to fight their own battle. A number of websites have popped up in recent days to not only help authorities identify and locate the unlawful workers, but also expose the employers who provide them jobs and help consumers patronize businesses that hire only legal citizens.

While a series of marches focused much of the nation's attention on the plight of illegal immigrants, scores of other Americans quietly seethed. Now, with the same full-throated cry expressed by those in the country illegally, they are shouting back. Congressional leaders in Washington have gotten bricks in the mail from a group that advocates building a border fence, states in the West and South have drawn up tough anti-immigrant laws, and ordinary citizens, such as Janis McDonald of Pennsylvania, who considers herself a liberal, are not mincing words in expressing their displeasure.

Jorge Bush finally found a point of difference with his amigos who support illegal aliens. Asked whether the national anthem should be sung in English or Spanish, el presidente didn't miss a beat. "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English, and I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English," he said without equivocation -- at least for now.

A website run by opponents of illegal immigration highlights the tactics of Hispanic activists who defend unlawful aliens, including the use of hate speech, profanity and calls for whites to be deported.

President Bush accuses those of us who want to secure America's borders and fully enforce our immigration laws of lacking "compassion." Huh. Well, I have yet to hear an ounce of compassion from President Bush for America's countless casualties of lax immigration enforcement. Where's the sympathy for innocent, law-abiding citizens who have lost their lives at the hands of illegal aliens and their open-borders enablers?

President George W. Bush, seeking to refocus the immigration debate in Congress, said the U.S. must attack the "underground industry" that thrive on illegal immigrants while treating undocumented workers "with respect." ()() Why? Illegal aliens (not undocumented workers) have no respect for US or our laws. It won't take massive deportations, just deport 1% and the rest will get the message that they have to obey our laws.

The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that it would be implementing a new, revolutionary, cutting-edge, state-of-the-art approach to the illegal immigration problem. What is this “new” approach? Believe it or not, the department declared that the U.S. would now be cracking down on employers who “knowingly and recklessly” hire illegal aliens. In other words, they are going to try a “new” program called “enforcing existing laws.” Guess what? It works!

This is the only country on Earth that thinks it's not sporting to consider our own interests in choosing immigrants. Try showing up in any other country on the planet, illiterate and penniless, and announcing: "I've seen pictures of your country and it looks great. I think I'd like to live here! Oh, and by the way, would you mind changing all your government and business phone messages, street signs and ballots into my native language? Thanks!" They would laugh you out of the country.