Simple Man Politics

Hi ya’ll, its time for the 2nd installment of my blogging subject of the week, immigration and border security. The target of today’s discussion is Barack Obama and his policies on the afore-mentioned subjects. Let’s see if we can make a go of understanding where he is coming from, and looking at his policy on comprehensive immigration reform.

First let’s discuss border security. Obama says he believes in the preservation of our borders though additional personnel, infrastructure, and technology at the border, and our ports of entry, as well as better real time intelligence. I really couldn’t find anything else that he has said on the subject. However, I might add that Obama has stated that he doesn’t see securing our borders as a matter of national defense.

Second is the subject of immigration, and here he seems to have a more complex plan. First of all, he believes that our current immigration system is broken and has been exploited by politicians to divide the country, rather than finding real solutions. He states that this has allowed the problem of illegal immigration to worsen. As a result he has played a leading role in crafting comprehensive immigration reform.

Some of the things in his immigration reform policy include bringing people out of hiding. He believes these people would like to become full members of our society. For those trying to play by the rules, he supports a system whereby they pay a fine, learn English, go to the back of the line to get in, and obey the laws of our nation. Another important piece of legislation he supports is a bill that would increase the speed and accuracy of F.B.I. background checks on immigrants. He also wants to go after employers that hire undocumented workers, and create an employment eligibility verification system so employers can identify legally eligible workers in the U.S.

Last but not least, and something I very much believe in, is his support for honoring our immigrant troops. Better than 69,000 foreign born people serve in our country’s military, and roughly 29,000 are not U.S. citizens, and more than 100 of these immigrant soldiers have died in combat. He believes these soldiers should have an expedited path to citizenship.

As far as I can ascertain, these are Obama’s positions on immigration and border security. Of course you can read his policy paper on this for yourself, and I recommend you do. That is all I have on Obama for this right now, but I will keep watching him to see what he says and does between now and election day, because I’m sure that if he has the opportunity he will make the Dream Act a reality, and everything I wrote will be off the table and all bets are off. Have a great day, and I’ll see you on Friday for part 3 of these subjects as it pertains to Governor Janet Napolitano of my state Arizona, and my final words on these very important subjects.

Well we're at week # 2. So what should I write about today, or even for the whole week? Let me think… I know, we’re going to discuss immigration, border security, and the candidates’ positions on these subjects. For good measure, we'll also discuss these subjects as they pertain to the Governor of my state, Arizona, and her positions. We'll do this in three parts, each a separate post. We'll start with John McCain, then second Barack Obama, and then third Governor Janet Napolitano. So hold on…here we go.

John McCain’s original position was one of the co-sponsor of a bill, known as the dream act with Senator Ted Kennedy, which would have given virtually immediate amnesty to 12 million illegal aliens currently in the U.S. without securing our borders first, if at all. He has since reversed his position and has stated that he wouldn’t vote for his bill if it came to the floor of the senate for a vote. Currently McCain is committed to a two step program on immigration and border security, although he is still for some sort of path to citizenship for illegal aliens after the border is secured.

Step one involves the use of barriers, both physical and virtual, on our borders, as well as funding for training and infrastructure and US Attorneys offices in the Border States. It also involves contracting the use of Department of Homeland Security software and infrastructure, and the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and other appropriate aircraft for the border regions. This step also requires the continued application of the US-VISIT comprehensive visitor security program.

Step two involves prosecuting employers who continue to hire illegal aliens by using an electronic employment verification system. The system will use biometric data and be user friendly with regard to verification of a workers identity and ability to work legally within the USA, by providing quick responses to potential employer’s inquiry. It will also protect the employees' identity and allow both employer and employee to correct any errors in information within the system.

Target auditing by the Department of Labor to cut out employers abusing the system is also a part of step two. It attempts to meet America’s labor needs by implementing temporary worker programs for both low and highly skilled workers reflecting the labor needs of the US while protecting the employment opportunities of US workers. This also ensures that highly skilled workers trained and educated in the US can stay and work after graduation. McCain also plans to reform the cap system for the H-1B visa program and the H-2A visa program to reflect market conditions. This would make sure that qualified Americans have a fair chance to apply for available positions. It insures that workers return to their own countries after their temporary period in the US.

John McCain also said he would address undocumented living and working in the US, and require them to enroll in programs to resolve their status. This program will also use background checks to identify criminals for prosecution and deportation. The remaining undocumented will learn English, pay back Taxes and fines, and pass a citizenship course as part of their path to legal status. It insures that no illegal person receives a green card before those legally waiting. It will account for all social security numbers attained illegally, and will make all undocumented immigrants either leave or follow the path to legal residence. He states that he will also eliminate the family backlog of people waiting for their green cards legally outside the country for as long as 20 years.

Well there is John McCain’s position on border security and immigration as simple as I can make it. I hope this gives you a good idea of where he stands. It seems that he has given a lot more thought to keeping these people here than to border security, but that is just my opinion - you have to decide for yourself. See you on Wednesday for part two of this week’s blogging effort. 'Till we meet again, have a great day.

Well, I think it's time for the Friday post, and I have given today's subject a lot of thought, and today's subject is the VA, and voter registration. So sit tight while I sort through this mess.

On April 5th, the Department of Veterans Affairs issued Directive 2008-023 allowing voter registration drives in VA hospitals. On May 5th, they issued Directive 2008-025 reversing itself and disallowing voter registration drives, prompting an immediate response for Senators John Kerry, (D-MA), and Diane Feinstein, (D-Ca) in a letter dated May 6th to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs James B, Peake was very skeptical of the The action taken the DVA.

The position fo the DVA is that voter registration drives in VA hospitals will disrupt it's employees from its primary mission, which is the welfare, well being, and treatment of wounded, and disabled veterans of our current, and past military conflicts. And that due to the Hatch Act, voter rigistration drives are not permitted, as federal employees may not engage in political partisan activities. They also feel, that being designated a voter registration agency would divert substantial resources from their primary mission if they were given the designation under the Voter Registration Act. Under the current directive, patients would have to request help to register individually.

The above mentioned senators, in their letter to the Mr. Peake, asked him to explain what sort of disruptions he felt might occur, if voter registration drives were held in the VA hospitals, since these kind of functions were operated by organizations such as The League of Women Voters, or veterans organizations, and why any potential disruption's couldn't be handled by a less restrictive means It is also clear from many policy statements from the Office of Special Counsel, that federal employees can participate in non partisan voter registration drives on federal property. It was also noted, that the veterans the VA should support, are not subject to the Hatch Act, because they are not federal employees.

In a letter similar to the one sent by the senator's, California Secreatary of State Mary Bowen asked Mr. Peake, to register the DVA, as a Voter Registration Agency. She wrote that offering to register, or re-register is very important for veterans who change their addresses as a result of accepting federal benefits, such as entering a VA nursing home, emergency housing, or rehabilitative care center.

Now I don't know what all of you might think about all of this, but I will tell you what I think. I think, that regardless of wether or not it took two democrats to jump to the defense of our wounded vets, Mr. Peake, and company better come up with the right answer for this very serious disinfranchisement of our wounded and disabled veterans who are in their care, or there will be serious problems for both Mr. Peake, and the DVA. And mark this on your calenders as a day where I actually agree with two democrats on a subject pertaining to our military personnel. I will see all of you on Monday, have a great weekend.

Well folks, it's time for another post, so here we go, and this one is on the candidates energy policy. So bear with me, while I sort through it for you.


Lets start with Obama today. He says he realizes the pain Americans are feeling at the pump, so he agrees we should be exploring, and drilling for more oil. However, he says we should not drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, nor on the Outer Continental Shelf, but instead should concentrate on the areas already under lease, and available for these things. He also said he would roll back the Bush tax cuts that were given to the oil companies, for exploration, and drilling. He said as president he would invest 150 billion dollars over ten years, to advance the next generation of carbon fuels, and fuel infrastructure. He said he would invest federal resources to deploy cellulosic ethanol, with the goal of having the first 2 billion gallons in the system by 2013. He also states that his plan will reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil by at least 35 percent, by 2030. He will also institute programs for the development, of other energy technologies such as wind, solar, and geothermal. As well as promote new fuel efficient cars being manufactured here, rather than overseas. From what I can see, he has many different ideas for bringing us to, or near energy independence in the next 30 years.

McCain also believes we should explore for, and drill for more oil, including on the Outer Continental Shelf. However, he also doesn't believe we should do anything in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also stated that he would increase the tax cuts for the oil industry. He is also interested in developing clean energy resources, extracting our natural gas resources, and reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and achieving strategic independence. He says we can do this by 2025. McCain also says he is for a temporary federal gas tax holiday, to alleviate pain at the pump. He wants to increase the roll of flex fuel vehicles in our transportation sector. He is promoting a 300 million dollar prize to promote battery technology for full commercial development, of plug in hybrid, and fully electric automobiles.

They both seem to have very similar ideas when it comes to their energy policies. However I would ask Mr. Obama, what could possibly be the benefit of removing the tax cuts awarded to the oil companies, and raising the taxes against them when the federal government already makes more profit from taxes on a barrel of oil, and a gallon of gasoline, than the oil companies make in net profit on the same barrel, and gallon, and the federal government does absolutely nothing for this revenue now. And while I agree, that we should do everything in our power to achieve strategic oil independence from foreign oil, I am also aware that most of the experts state we couldn't see any relief at the consumer end of the problem for at least 5, to 7 years. There are a few differing opinions on that subject saying it could be as soon as 1, to 2 years. Again, it is an opinion also. We would have to manufacture new refining facilities, as part of the new infrastructure, that would need to be created for the exploration, and drilling of new locations, and these refineries would need to be completed before the reserves were pulled out of the ground. I also believe that if there is as much oil in ANWR, as we are led to believe, I see no reason why we shouldn't go, and get it. We would require only 2000 acres, of the 20 million up there for the purpose, and according to the industry experts, you wouldn't even know we had been there. One other point, that has been failed to be mentioned by either candidate to any of the voting public, is what it would cost the tax payer, to implement any of their plan's, and just how much more damage, can the average consumer sustain, to accomplish these task's they have laid out for us.

That's it in a nutshell folk's. Now it's up to you to decide whose policies you support. Just remember to ask yourselves, the question's you believe are important to you, and your decision, do some research of your own, and then decide. See you all on Friday.

Well, here is my first post, and it is only fitting that it be about Americans with Disabilities, because my son is a 16 year old Trisomy 21 downs syndrome teen, and today is his birthday. So today, I'm going to write about our presidential candidates position's, on how they will deal with Americans with disabilities.

After considerable research, I have discovered that John McCain voted for the Americans with Disabilities act, but might not vote for the proposed ADA Restoration Act, because it changes drastically, the way being disabled is defined. However some disability groups do claim that McCain does support the bill, I have found no direct evidence, that John McCain has said this. There is also another piece of legislation known as the Community Choice Act of 2007. John McCain is definitely not in support of this legislation, even declaring it so to a disabled individual at a town hall meeting, saying he doesn't think it's the right sort of legislation. He didn't expand on why he thought it wasn't the right sort of legislation though. I will try to find out more about this, and let you all know why he took the position he did on that piece of legislation. And while McCain has not voted for every piece of legislation pertaining to the disabled, he does have a record, of being an advocate for the disabled.

On the other hand, I found out that Barack Obama does support both the ADA Reform act, and the Community Choice Act of 2007. Obama states that he supports the ADA Reform Act, because it will allow a more broader definition by the government of what it means to be disabled, so as to more easily qualify for programs like SSDI, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid. He also wants to scheduling flexibility in the definition of "reasonable accommodation" under the ADA. He also supports the Community Choice Act of 2007, and said he would sign the bill into law once in office. Obama has also laid out a four point plan for dealing with disabled Americans, which I have read. I hope you read it as well.

Knowing, what I now know, on these candidates positions, in regard to how they will deal with the question, of Americans with Disabilities. I can only deduce that I can trust John McCain to keep the price tags as low as possible, being that he is such a hawk on finance, and budget matters. I can also deduce, that Obama has put a lot of thought into his four point plan, as well as willingness to greatly expand the ability to qualify, for the above mentioned government entitlement programs. I can also say, that I'm sure they will cost the taxpayer a lot of money, and I have to wonder how Obama plans to get it. Considering his economic policies, I'm sure the answer to that question is abundantly clear.

This introduction will be brief. I am starting this blog, in an effort to make politics simple, for the average working class person.

Let me state here for the record, that I'm a registered n.p.a. (no party affiliation) I have no allegiance to either the republican party, or the democratic party, or any other party that exists in the good ole USA. Which means, that if in my opinion, any of their candidates screw up, I'm going to say so, no matter what the subject. I will also manage to sing their praises, if they manage to get anything right to, so politicians beware!!!!!

If you want to know what some of my political belief's are, I consider myself to be a fiscal conservative, a social moderate, and a believer in a strong national defense. I believe in smaller government, low taxes, the death penalty, I am pro life, but believe in a woman's right to choose, an ecology minded energy plan, and that our military be the strongest, and the best in the world, and have no problem proving it when the time is right.

I will for the present at least, be posting here 2, to 3 times per week, starting July 21, 2008 . I hope you all enjoy this blog, and that it sparks serious debate, emotion, and thought, as to the current, and future state, of our great nation, in the readers of this blog both here, and around the world.