“The Way I See It” is an attempt by the guest columnist to enlighten readers on a subject, as he views it,
and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

Amnesty: National Sovereignty or National Suicide

The proposed Amnesty for illegals is intentional destruction of our country, culture, economy, and even civilization by the Socialist Democrats; there is no attempt at securing the border. And now the RINOs, cheap labor profiteers and their lobbyists, and assorted other STUPID PARTY political pundits that listen to the media and fantasize about “Illegal Aliens With Family Values Will Vote Republican??” all want to join the Dems in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Suicide Pact!?!

Look what happened last time!! The Democrats promised “border security” for Amnesty for 3-4 million in ‘86, but turned into an influx of 20-30 million over the next 25 years, and another 11 or 12 million illegals that the government and media will admit to (but are really 20-25 million), still no border security, no follow-up on expired visas, and a constantly increasing threat from terrorists, smugglers, Islamists, socialists, Reconquista guerrillas, welfare parasites, and other criminals coming in with “the poor hard-working people just wanting a better life”. And now they object to “Illegal Alien”, then how about – “Criminal Invader”? Their children, even when born here, do not deserve automatic citizenship because they are not born here “under US jurisdiction” as required by the 14th Amendment, but in defiance of it! Now, wealthy people from many third-world countries fly their women here on tourist visas to give birth and get automatic American citizenship for the child. Allowing this is plain stupid! The 14th Amendment was meant for legal permanent residents, not “tourists” or criminal invaders.

Because of our proximity to Mexico, our problems may seem mostly from Mexican illegals, but they are only a part of it. The real problem is with the non-existent border, anyone with a tourist visa to Mexico (or Canada) can get in. More and more suspected Jihadist terrorists are caught, often given a court date and released, while hundreds more are not caught. Mexicans call us “racist” for defending our border, but check out Mexican law on immigration – no rights, prison and deportation for any visa violation or other crime, any political protest is a crime, and it is enforced (or you pay ‘mordita’, bribes). You can buy resident visas, work permits are expensive and difficult to get, but full citizenship and voting rights are almost impossible, even if you live there for years and have invested millions. So “Shut Up!” you Libtard whiny-babies about the USA being “racist” for not welcoming Criminal Invaders!

We are facing an economic catastrophe. An explosion of the Welfare State, massive unemployment, a shrinking tax base, and the buffoons in Washington want to make these criminal invaders “legal”? The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA) of 2006 that would have granted amnesty to millions of illegal aliens (but much fewer than exist today) was estimated to add 103 million LEGAL immigrants over the next 20 years due to “chain immigration”. This is due to legal immigrants being able to ‘sponsor’ family members and they get priority treatment. This no longer requires a ‘Bond’ to ensure that they do not go on welfare. Also there will be a huge surge in illegal immigration after passage, before and during implementation. From 1/3 to 1/2 would qualify for welfare or food stamps, today probably even more. Not just Mexicans, but millions of Africans and Middle Easterners in the north, most with minimal education and skills. This new Obamunist Amnesty has provisions (Sections 2318 – 2322 of the amnesty bill, S. 744) to “fast-track” untold millions of Muslims for visas and citizenship. This is a huge bill written in Government Gobblygook; no one know what it all means. All this and no border security. We know what Liberal Democrat promises are worth about border security. Most of the new immigrants have little or no understanding of a Constitutional Republic and will support socialist politicians for welfare and other “free stuff”. This is a historical fact; it takes about a generation and good education for most poor people to even want to be independent and free. The Socialist Democrats know this, that is why they demand citizenship and voting rights for illegals, because they are easy to fool. Their proposals could easily add over 150 million new residents with about 1/3 of them Muslims in the next 20 years.

Any amnesty and immigration must be based on assimilation. Those illegals who do not, or will not, assimilate and obey our laws must be deported. Those who intentionally break our laws, try to change our culture and laws, and refuse to assimilate must be deported, or we are simply surrendering. With this proposed mass “Amnesty”, Hispanic-Americans, especially those who have assimilated economically, will be the first big losers, also all poor and working class Americans, and probably Blacks will be hardest hit.

The Lib/Progs have intentionally upset immigration law since 1965. S.744 is another Obamunist horror show, the “ObamaCare” of Immigration Bills. Stop this huge and overly complex bill. Separate it into several steps that make sense. Any successful “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” must start with secure borders with aggressive but fair enforcement aimed at facilitating assimilation of existing immigrants into Americans, not political maneuvering to facilitate an Agenda, or allow exploitation of cheap labor and encourage welfare dependency. Extreme care must be taken not to flood the economy with low end labor in a recessive economy and immigration must not be encouraged with welfare programs or easy access to citizenship. Criminals and terrorist threats must be immediately deported. Issue temporary and conditional work permits to working illegals. Deport the welfare cheats and parasites. Redefine in Federal Law “Citizenship” based on the Constitution, the Amendments, and existing Federal Law. Welfare programs should only be for citizens, not immigrants, and certainly not for illegals. Enforce the Federal laws as written, and deport the violators. Then we can talk about Green Cards, and with 5 years of law abiding employment, taxes paid, reasonable English and understanding of Constitutional law, possibly then we can start on citizenship. It is truly a question of “Sovereignty or Suicide” for us as a successful economy, a culture of freedom, and a Nation. And the hard fact must be addressed that immigration must be curtailed or stopped until the economy improves and Americans and current immigrants have full employment.

The first step for “immigration reform” should be building the Keystone XL pipeline and putting people back to work for energy independence. Not “amnesty” or dictating a higher minimum wage; these only lead to more unemployment and inflation. We need more real jobs, and economic growth, so we could afford legalizing the immigrants already here.

Update 2/7/14: It is widely reported that House Speaker Boehner will block a House vote on the Senate bill, at least for now. DO NOT BE FOOLED! This is not going away, and if the House doesn’t strongly demand Border Security and enforcement of existing law, the situation will continue to get worse. Obama and Holder are not enforcing the laws and are refusing intentionally because they want the problems to get worse. This is in direct violation of their Oaths of Office, and an Impeachable offense, but they think they can avoid conviction in a very politicized Democrat-controlled Senate. Must have votes of 2/3 of sitting members to convict.

Part XII: The Elections Are Coming!
Run For Your Lives!

What follows is a non-partisan analysis. The two major American political parties will be referred to as “one party” and “the other party”. The candidates, or likely candidates, will be referred to as “this candidate”, “that candidate”, and “yet another candidate”.

As we all know, the primary purposes of election campaigns are to generate revenues for television networks and to drive people crazy. The former purpose of informing the voting public so as to assist them in choosing for whom to vote has become outmoded and irrelevant.

Elections are held on the first Tuesday in November, but prospective voters must first endure, or enjoy, depending on how masochistic one might be, the phenomenon known as the state presidential primaries. Primaries are necessary because typically more than one candidate wants to be his or her party’s presidential nominee who will then compete against the opposing party’s presidential nominee in the general election. The winner of the general election will then be the office holder for a term of years.

The campaign for the state primaries allows the several candidates to travel the country bad mouthing each other in speeches and making promises designed to influence the voters. Of course, because this activity is part of an election campaign, the candidates are excused from the inconvenient burden of telling the truth. A truthful election campaign would not effectively enhance the process of democracy in action. Another part of the primary election campaign involves what are known as debates, which are televised. Televised election campaign debates are not at all similar to what occurs in high school, college, or “debating societies”, where reasonable arguments are used to make a point and rebut the opposing argument. In televised election campaign debates, candidates strive to deploy strategically crafted statements, known as “zingers” into intelligent context. Viewers should be cautious, however, because neither intelligence nor context are required and both are entirely optional in televised election campaign debates. Unfortunately for the candidates, but fortunately for political cartoonists, candidates sometimes make a statement known as a “gaffe”. A gaffe occurs when a candidate inadvertently tells the truth, or when he or she says something to a small group of the “right” kind of people but it is also heard by a usually larger group of the “wrong” kind of people. Candidates who have made a gaffe will then defend their gaffe by saying it was taken out of context.

These debates also allow candidates to “solidify”, or “pander”, to the party’s “base”. A political party’s base consists of those voters who can be relied upon to vote for that party’s candidate as long as such candidate has a pulse. This election campaign technique is also known as “throwing red meat”. Particular needs and desires of the base are sometimes determined by the geographical location of the debate, which is usually held in the state conducting the primary. This allows the candidate to “tailor” his or her “stance on the issues” to a specific state’s voters, up to and including adopting diametrically opposing positions on the same issue. El Hyena will remind his readers that consistency has no useful function in election campaigns.

As the primaries progress, varying candidates will emerge as “frontrunners”, also known as “flavors” of the month”. As this occurs, the other candidates will either reconsider their campaigns or increase frothing at the mouth. After the votes in each state’s primary are counted, the winner will be awarded the allegiance of that state’s delegates. At the end of the state primary “season”, the party will hold its convention in a large city in a state where the party’s general election candidate is expected to receive the most votes, and each state’s delegates will attend such convention for the purpose of nominating the party’s presidential candidate for the general election in November. The delegates nominate their party’s candidate by staying in expensive hotels, drinking copious amounts of festive adult beverages, wearing funny hats, screaming themselves hoarse or being moved to tears by inspirational video presentations and, if there’s time, casting their ballots for the party’s presidential nominee.

After each party’s convention, each party’s candidate will then focus their campaigns specifically for the general election when our nation’s electorate will cast their votes. The candidates do this by gratefully receiving endorsements from their former opponents in the state primaries who will have magically forgotten the less than flattering things they have previously said about the party’s presidential candidate, by “re-evaluating” some of his or her previous “stances on the issues”, and by “clarifying” some of his or her previous statements. Each party’s presidential candidate may take comfort in the knowledge that the crucial deciding factors in the presidential election are that they are not the candidate of the other party, or that they are the “lesser of two evils”.

Finally, and mercifully, Election Day will arrive, and the voters will cast their ballots. While many voters will at this time discover that they are expected to vote for candidates seeking election to other elected offices, they are able to do this by voting for candidates whose names are followed by the same letter of the alphabet in parentheses as that of their preferred presidential candidate.

A couple of months later, the winner of the election will be crowned, and he or she will then begin “governing”, as opposed to keeping promises made in the previous campaign. Our nation will then be restored to greatness or its decline will be accelerated, depending on each citizen’s outlook. Meanwhile, the newly elected President must immediately begin his or her campaign for the next election by “tailoring” his or her political agenda to “how it will play” in such next election.

Is this a great country or what?

The Calhoun Republican Club will meet on Monday, March 3, 2014, at the Grace Episcopal Church Community Room, Corner of Austin St (Hwy238) and Guadalupe. Chris Cobler, Editor, Victoria Advocate is the featured speaker.

Dinner ($5) is served from 5pm-5:45pm by reservation. Please call 552-0917 for reservations. Meeting is 6pm – 7:30pm.

Public is invited.

Occasionally you are blessed with being able to review once again a film that made a heavy impression upon you. And so it was with the film LILLIES OF THE FIELD starring Sidney Poitier and Lilia Skala. A film that renews individual faith, hope and lots of charity; one that restores strength and lots of humor plus showing the hardheadedness of the Mother Superior. But Sidney Poitier once again showed his incredible acting ability.

And frequently you have the opportunity to renew acquaintance with a previously enjoyed book and its author, although it is one you’ve read before. But this time around, by rereading it, you learn more than was captured in the beginning. And this is what I recently discovered when I read David Baldacci’s first book, ABSOLUTE POWER. The plot is very unusual; his characters are extremely well drawn; bit by bit of each with even facial expressions or just the general attitude and posture. These are people you would be drawn to; either because you really want to know them more, or because you don’t want to be anywhere near them. However, I found in his second book a change of writing; his sentences are somewhat shorter, but still very descriptive; thereby making each paragraph possibly somewhat easier to read. But Baldacci will remain an incredible author and one you can enjoy for many years to come.

Three books by Jill Churchill next captured my attention; I found these extremely informative about a period of time I know very little about, and also what would be classified as light reading, but thoroughly enjoyable. The books are set in the 1930’s following the result of the stock market crash and the Depression. They’re set in a small town in upstate New York State near Hyde Park, the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The two protagonists, brother and sister, Robert and Lily Brewster, find themselves in their late uncle’s mansion, Grace & Favor, totally penniless, but apparently living quite well. Their father had played on the stock market earlier, as had many, and lost everything; to save himself, he jumped out the many storied window of his stockbroker, thereby ending his problems but creating those for his children who had grown up in the lap of luxury.

Each book, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME; IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT; and WHO’S SORRY NOW? details their life in their Uncle’s mansion, but are complicated by somehow becoming involved in the discovery of a murder, whether on their property (in one book), or in town.

Robert and Lily are fun folks; they’re people you’d like to know; and there’s more than a little humor apparent on each page. What is really interesting is their take on the other characters in each book.

These books are fun to read; but definitely do give you the idea of life in a previous generation, battling the economy to feed themselves and their families.

“When an old person dies, A Library burns down.”
Karin Gillespie

Officially, we have been in Port O’Connor nineteen years! We came the second Sunday of February, 1995, at the invitation of six people who wanted to start a church in this community. What changes we have seen in this community and at the Chapel. We began in a 35’ by 35’ Morgan building on Adams Street. Before 1995 came to a close, we had purchased the present building on Main, which had been the Intercoastal Lumber Company, from Joe Bright. The only person still around that was present those first days is Joyce Rhyne. This building has had a build-up metal roof installed and a youth room with two bathrooms added. The many out-buildings that served as “lumber racks” have been destroyed and Papaw’s wood-working shop, a storage room, a fish cleaning station and the parsonage have replaced them. The former “dry storage building” has been almost completely refurbished. It now houses two efficiency apartments and a “Retreat Center” that is 99% completed! When finished, the Retreat Center will allow 24 people to come to Port O’Connor for a time of relaxation, and it will add additional space for our Bible Classes to expand. In the words of an old song: “Just look what the Lord has done!”

But, our major achievement is not meant to be measured in buildings restored or replaced or re-purposed. Our goal was not to come “build a church BUILDING,” BUT TO “build a Church!” The Chapel is here because there are many people who attend and find their Christian community here. We are a congregation that is multi-cultured and multi-ethnic, but who is bonded together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our goal is simple – to be a congregation of loving individuals who will work together to build the Lord’s Kingdom here in Port O’Connor. We could not accomplish what we have without the support of this community. We would not be what we are if people from Seadrift, Port Lavaca, and the surrounding communities did not come. We would not be what we are if people from Seadrift, Port Lavaca, and the surrounding communities did not come. We would be missing a lot if it were not for our “winter” sojourners – not just numbers, but friendships and fellowship..

Our activities over the years have increased as we have sought new ways to impact people’s lives. Our Sunday Bible Study is continuing to expand as we grow. Our Morning Service features more special music, and we trust the preaching has improved. The Sunday Evening Service is a testimony of God’s grace that we love to share with others. The Tuesday evening Fisherman’s Bible Institute (FBI) has given well over 100 people a solid introduction to the whole Bible. The Wednesday midweek service is the refueling station to help us continue the “good fight of faith”. Friday Nigh Youth is providing the youth of our community a wholesome atmosphere and a safe place for them to come and enjoy being with their friends. Our special ladies’ meetings and men’s fellowships provide a basis for us to mature as adults and find friendships that help mold us into better people.

We are not resting on our past accomplishments, but are always learning and seeking better ways to serve this community. We provide opportunities for not only English speaking, but also Spanish speaking congregants.

Our annual Meeting of the Members will be on Sunday evening, February 23. At that meeting, we will be sharing our financial report with all interested. We will be electing our Board of Directors and looking at new opportunities for growth. Everyone is welcomed.

The Chapel has always been and remains an interdenominational congregation whose goal is to see Jesus Christ exalted in our individual lives. We seek to be a friendly place where everyone can come and praise the Lord in their own unique way. We believe the Bible to be the pattern for our daily living and contain the answers to life’s problems. You will always find a warm welcome at the Chapel, and are urged to, “Come, grow with us!”