Letters page
Welcome to the OFIR Letters and Op-Eds section. Here you can read Letters to the Editor and Op-Eds that have been published in various newspapers and news sources.
The Nov. 18 news article, “Family of man shot by police files lawsuit” is a good example why citizens have lost so much respect for the news media.
Nowhere in the article did it state that Juventino Bermudez- Arenas was reported as an illegal alien who had no right to be in our country in the first place.
The murder of Parker Moore never should have happened. There is plenty of blame to go around: A president who openly advocates for illegal immigration, a state that forbids police officers from proactively arresting illegal aliens, reporters and news media who run cover for them and businesses that openly hire them.
There are 136 inmates classified as “criminal aliens” incarcerated for homicide by the Oregon Department of Corrections. That number doesn’t account for the murderers who have been shipped to federal prisons. Josh Marquis, the Clatsop County district attorney, estimates it costs about $1 million to prosecute a murder trial in Oregon. That means we have spent at least $136 million on trial costs alone. That $136 million doesn’t include yearly incarceration costs, health care or public legal counsel provided free to criminal aliens. There is, of course, no way to compensate the families of the murder victims. Just another dead American at the hands of another illegal alien.
Thank God we elected Donald Trump for president.
An interesting note: With all of the attention from the recent election that is being paid to sanctuary cities, I was very confused. I began some online research. I went to Google and was amazed at what I found.
It seems that there are not only sanctuary cities, but counties, too. Coos County is one of them (only seven Oregon counties are not). As of April 14, 2016, the sheriff's department made the decision that it will not honor ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detainee orders without a court order or warrant. I found a quote by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California proclaiming that the local jurisdiction must cooperate with federal authorities if federal authorities ask them to hold an individual. Many of us recall the tragic shooting of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco by an undocumented immigrant who had been convicted of a felony and deported five times, the federal authorities were not informed of his release from jail because she was in a sanctuary city.
I was hoping that maybe The World newspaper could do some better research than I for the citizens of the county, as I'm understanding that any jurisdiction that does not comply with the mandated orders under the Trump administration will most likely be loosing federal funding, and since we are already short of funds, that would probably not be a good thing to have happen. Thank you.
It is not difficult to understand why the Democrats lost the presidential election: law and order and the environment. Manufacturing has been going to Mexico and China, the most destructive countries in the world to our climate.
Entering and living in the U.S.A. without permission is not immigration, it is a crime. We do not reward criminals. When Clinton said she would introduce legislation to fast-track the process for 11 million illegals to receive legal status, she lost my vote and probably the election.
Even for an uneducated, white, rural, registered Democrat male, it’s simple to understand.
Recently, Oregon Speaker of the House Tina Kotek and a coterie of the state’s business and agricultural interests called for federal “comprehensive immigration reform” and an increase in the number of foreigners admitted to the United States on work visas. To bolster their case, Kotek et al touted a study by the Michael Bloomberg-founded Partnership for a New American Economy that purported to prove immigrants’ “enormous contributions” to Oregon’s economy.
In lionizing immigrants, however, PNAE’s study shortchanged American workers’ value to our state and national economies — the benefits to which they, as U.S. citizens, should have foremost claim. And it ignored the fact that immigrants, who are disproportionately lower-skilled, deprive our most nomically-vulnerable citizens of desperately-needed jobs.
The details:
Some 400,000 immigrants, both legal and illegal, reside in Oregon. Almost three-quarters of them, PNAE noted, are between 25 and 64 — “in the prime of their working years.” And of those, the study said, some one-third, or 100,000, “have less than a high-school education.”
How do so many poorly educated, working-age immigrants affect Oregon’s lower-skilled U.S. citizens?
The law of supply and demand is simple: A huge influx of lower-skilled immigrants will create an oversupply of labor in U.S. industries that rely heavily on manual workers. That oversupply will intensify competition between immigrant and native-born workers for those industries’ jobs. And it will depress wages for those jobs to the point, often, where American workers can’t afford to take them — but lower-skilled immigrants will.
One inevitable result: Immigrants, as PNAE noted, now comprise disproportionate percentages of the workforces in industries like “fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty foods” (45.3 percent), “crop production” (48.4 percent) and “services to buildings and dwellings” (30.9 percent). Another: Immigrants in our state, noted the study, have come to be “35 percent more likely to work than native-born Oregonians.”
And these developments, in turn, have contributed to this: In September, according to the Oregon Employment Department, more than 220,000 people in our state were officially unemployed, “marginally attached to the labor force” or part-time workers wanting full-time work.
But absent so many lower-skilled immigrants? Many of Oregon’s unemployed and underemployed, the great majority of whom are American, would have jobs those immigrants hold — and at better wages to boot.
Some of PNAE’s analysis was transparently self-serving. “When a state receives 100 H-2B visas” for lower-skilled foreign workers such as cooks, maids and landscapers, the study asserted, “464 jobs are created for U.S.-born workers in the seven years that follow.”
That may be. But if so, wouldn’t filling those 100 jobs with unemployed Americans have the same effect? There’s no shortage here of available lower-skilled workers: “Nearly half of all working-age Americans without a high-school diploma are out of work,” writes Jim Robb, vice president of the immigration-reform group NumbersUSA. What would better help our economy: Bringing those Americans into the workforce — or importing an oversupply of foreign workers who will take jobs those Americans need?
“America is a country,” says Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., “not a spreadsheet. A country puts the needs of its own citizens first.” When our government imports people from abroad who overinflate the labor supply, depress wages and displace Americans from the workforce, it savages that responsibility. Contra Speaker Kotek, PNAE and the financial beneficiaries of cheap foreign labor, our economy would be better served by a policy that dramatically reduces immigration and foreign work visas and strives instead to fully employ American citizens.
— Richard F. LaMountain is vice president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform.
For eight years the American people, specifically European-Americans, have had to put up with a president who has not had our best interests at heart.
He has gone out of his way to undermine the very fabric of this country. This country cannot deal with the influx of illegal immigrants and inflow of Muslims being pushed on us.
Our veterans are being ignored and living on the streets, while those immigrants are living in the lap of luxury. Now we have a new president who is going to work for the American people. Give him a chance.
In the upcoming election, it matters who wins. If you live in House District 23, it matters even more!
State Rep. Mike Nearman is running for re-election. In his first term as representative, Nearman arrived with his principles firmly in place. They are still intact today.
While it’s important to work together to solve our state’s problems, Nearman’s opponent, Jim Thompson, made matters worse by crossing the aisle to help Democrats pass expensive, controversial and dead-end legislation, including the disastrous Cover Oregon debacle which cost millions of taxpayer dollars. Thompson voted to pass tax increases that voters had rejected.
The once-upon-a-time Republican candidate, Thompson, is now running as everything but a Republican and is accepting campaign contributions from big city special interest groups that don’t have rural Oregon’s best interests in mind.
Nearman is true to his principles. He is committed to open, transparent government and to pinching every penny to get the most for our tax dollars.
Nearman deserves to continue his work at the Oregon Legislature. Re-elect Mike Nearman for state representative for House District 23.
WMIcentral.com
The White Mountain Independent’s Online Edition
I want my America back
November 4, 2016
Jan DeGennaro |
I want the America back that I grew up in and learned about in the 60’s and 70’s; when legal immigrants embraced our country, our flag, our culture, and our people, when illegal immigrants were never heard of (only seasonal migrant workers), when every car, television, radio, stereo system, piece of furniture, article of clothing, and toy was Made In USA, when steel mills and paper mills were abundant, when factories large and small were in every town and city, when businesses were everywhere and so were jobs, when a person could leave his home or property to his children freely without an estate tax possibly making it impossible for his children to inherit the property, when we actually learned the three R’s in school along with real science, geography, history, and civics.
I want my America back; when Americans were Americans and not invasive freeloaders and usurpers, when even poor children could be happy because we were free people living in a free land and the American dream was achievable. Even poor children had that hope of the American dream; if all we would ever achieve was ownership of a $25,000 home on a 1/4 acre lot, we could know that we would have something to leave our children. Donald Trump speaks and I have deja vu about the America I once lived in.
I want my America back, when citizen-statesmen were elected to serve a term or two and then returned to their vocations, when people voted on PAPER BALLOTS and the ballots were hand-counted or counted mechanically instead of electronically.
I want my America back, when the government was rarely heard from except in matters of national security, when the news media was actually composed of real journalists who were investigative and who reported only the facts. I want my America back; when we didn’t hear about Islam every single hour of the day, when any Muslim who lived here (and there were not many) assimilated. I want my America back where I, as a poor single mother, could deposit a mere $10 in the bank and let it sit there and have 5-10% interest compounded daily.
The America I long for is the America where even a poor person could have hope Yes, it may have taken us a lot longer and lot more work to achieve even a tenth of what other people had, but it was achievable. I miss my country; I’ve sat and wept, grieving the loss of my country. Donald Trump must win because I want my America back.
Jan DeGennaro,
Springerville
http://www.wmicentral.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/i-want-my-america-ba...
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The Winchester Star
November 4, 2016
‘Lawlessness’ seen first-hand
I work for a major U.S. airline and, late last month, I had a flight from a Texas city on the Mexican border to another U.S. destination. Fourteen illegal immigrants were on my flight, and they were supposed to have ICE escorts [Immigration & Customs Enforcement]. No escorts from ICE arrived and it turned out that all the illegals were unaccompanied minors under the age of 18.
Every one of these minors was connecting to another flight farther into the interior of the United States, with most destinations being on the East Coast. The gate agents where this flight originated told me this situation has been happening on numerous other flights recently because the government wants to get these people dispersed into the country before the election.
This is another example of the rampant lawlessness of the current administration. Those who disagree need to ask themselves why taxpayers should pay to give airplane rides to lawbreakers, making it easier for them to remain in our country.
By staying in this country they will compete for jobs with law-abiding Americans and help to drive wages lower. Why have laws if elected politicians from both parties and unelected bureaucrats refuse to follow them?
As a taxpayer, I am incensed this is happening with obvious government support.
John J. Fox
Winchester
http://www.winchesterstar.com/opinions/letters/letters-to-the-editor-nov/article_94133d34-d22f-5e7b-9065-6a04576b5b23.html
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TRIB LIVE
Why your vote is important
Nov. 3, 2016
Mr. Trump needs to tell his voters why it's so important to vote in this election.
Hillary Clinton has stated that if she is elected, she will have open borders. Illegal aliens will pour into our country in an unbelievable rate.
Voters are not only voting for the next four years; they are voting for their children and grandchildren for the next 20 to 30 years.
If Hillary wins, illegal immigrants will be running our country in 30 years. They will be the majority of our population by 2050. Women need to bury their pride. They're living with a man who has said the same thing about women — on the golf course, hunting trips, etc. It's an ego trip. Men like to brag about what they have done or not done.
Democrats don't care about our country or its future. They will say anything and do anything to get elected.
I have seven grandchildren and I worry about their future. They will be burdened with two things the Democrats created:
1) Obama doubled our national debt in the last eight years
2) How are they going to support the flood of illegal immigrants who will cross our borders in the next four years?
A grandparent's vote for Trump this election would be worth more than any gift left to their grandchildren.
Donald Leslie
Saxonburg
http://triblive.com/opinion/letters/11401169-74/anything-democrats-elected
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Quad-City
Q Times
Letter: Clinton wants open borders
November 3, 2016
Hillary Clinton states it is a right for immigrants and refugees to come into our country. This is inaccurate and not a true statement. It is a privilege and an honor to come into our country.
The government admits individuals for resettlement with the U.S. only after a thorough individual screening abroad to ensure both that they meet the legal definition of a refugee and that they in no way pose a national security or health threat.
It is critical that only those refugees who believe in our Constitution, embrace American values, a tolerant American society, and expect to flourish in our country will be considered by visa. They must not sympathize with extremist groups or support bigotry.
The Democratic Party platform encourages an open door policy on immigration and refugees. The Republican Party platform opposes any form of amnesty for those who have entered our country illegally and cannot be carefully vetted, specifically those whose homelands have been a breeding ground for terrorism.
Hillary Clinton, in a speech to Brazilian bankers stated “let’s bring 600 million southern hemisphere immigrants to America.” This would include many undesirables, convicts, drug lords and their cartels and others.
Clinton states we need to bring 117,000 immigrants in 2017, a 550 percent increase. This will have a profound affect on our country.
Terror-related deaths in the U.S. have risen 800 percent since 2010. The President Obama/Clinton foreign policy has encouraged the rise of terrorism.
It is obvious a change in Washington is greatly needed.
Kenneth L. Heinze
Milan
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Tribune Chronicle
Trump is true patriot
Nov 2, 2016
DEAR EDITOR:
I attended the Donald Trump rally in Geneva recently.
The traffic was heavy and the long line to get in was daunting. People from many walks of life were in line. There were teenagers, bikers, the well dressed, retired, working men and as many women. Despite what the media projects, women can think for themselves.
There were even two older people in line with walkers and some with canes. Absent were any protesters. Perhaps George Soros gave them the day off; he certainly didn’t run out of money. Getting in took an hour, and the security screening was the same as at an airport or courthouse.
Once inside, we got about 40 feet away from the stage. By the time the first speaker started, we were packed like sardines in the huge indoor soccer field of the Spire Institute with more than 1,000 outside watching on TV monitors. The enthusiasm and excitement were riveting, and it was standing room only. Mr. Trump’s speech focused on the economy, taxes, unfair trade, second amendment and the constitution, illegal immigration, rising crime, our inner cities, veterans, healthcare, radical Islam and the dressing down of the corrupt politicians in power now. Even after he conducted three rallies hundreds of miles apart that day, he was impressive in his poise, message, energy and genuine sincerity.
At first I dismissed Mr. Trump in the primaries as a comedy act. After seeing through the haze of his outrageous behavior I began to listen to his message. After reading his book “Crippled America,” what he’s all about became crystal clear. He’s a modern patriot and a true American with all the country’s citizens’ welfare and freedoms at heart first. His rivals and detractors on both sides of the aisle in congress, the White House and media would have us believe the church of globalization and open borders would bring us happiness and prosperity.
Open your eyes and look around, RG Steel, Warren Steel Holdings, Ohio Lamp, Delphi and Peerless Electric for example. The Globalism our elitist leaders has enslaved us with both in trade, failed foreign policy, values and wars has brought many many Americas nothing but pain, poverty and hopelessness for the future for more than 40 years. The choice is simple. We can vote for a corrupt Globalist Puppet or a True Patriot and drain the swamp in Washington, D.C.
ALAN T. MASAITIS
Warren
http://www.tribtoday.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2016/11/trump-is-true-patriot/
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BOWLING GREEN
Daily News
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Trump is the right choice for president
November 2, 2016
Vote for Donald Trump for president.
Fellow Christians, don’t be intimidated by Mr. Ezell and his ilk falsely calling us “hypocrites.” Like the “devils,” he is a classic “false accuser.” Trump was not my first choice, but he is far better than the proven chronic liar he is running against. We are not electing a church leader. Regardless of what you may think of Trump’s character, so brutally targeted and assassinated by the Clinton campaign, he is right about our nation’s crucial issues: exploding national debt, jobs exported by unfair trade, excess regulations, careless immigration policies, American “globalists” selling American interests, judges perverting the Constitution, vanishing mining and manufacturing and more.
Mrs. Clinton has taken the wrong side on all of these issues. She also said that she will appoint more judges like Sotomayor, who cast the fifth and deciding vote to force every state, city and county in the U.S. to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Hillary boldly approved. Only two years before, that same five struck down the “Defense of Marriage Act” that a bipartisan Congress signed into law in the 1990s, arguing that marriage is only a state issue.
Four to five of these judges were (Bill) Clinton or Obama appointees. Justice Scalia called it the worst decision in Supreme Court history. Regarding sexual morality, we know that Trump is better than Bill Clinton or John Kennedy. One could hardly get worse on this issue than these two Democrat presidents who were proven chronic promiscuous adulterers, doing much more than talking about it.
Jerry Reynolds
Bowling Green
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Lebanon Daily News
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Letters: Presidential candidates
November 2, 2016
Who to chose for president, by the issues
Of the millions of citizens in this country, it is hard to believe the presidential choices we have are the best we could elect. This is the state of our nation.
Our society has been deteriorating for years and we have sunk to a new low. Everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes. What used to be right and good is now politically incorrect. The things that used to be socially unacceptable and immoral are now celebrated as good. Is it any wonder our choices are between an arrogant pathological liar and an arrogant big mouth that was elected in protest of politicians? Our progressive political leaders have been slowly eroding away morality and freedom, and it is we, the American people who are to blame. Perhaps it is easier to do what feels good instead of doing what is right.
There is so much mud slinging it's hard to see a clear picture. But if you ignore all of the smut and consider the facts, the decision becomes easier. Let's look at the issues and choices we face:
The U.S. Constitution: If the constitution and our freedoms are important to you, Trump is your choice. He will uphold the constitution and appoint constitutionalists to the Supreme Court. The Democrats have been slowly and consistently revoking our rights and Hillary is on that bandwagon. If elected, Hillary will select liberal Supreme Court justices who are also of the same mindset and will accelerate the process of chiseling away our freedoms. Please note: President Obama ignored the constitution and did whatever he pleased. He ignored our system of checks and balances and Hillary wants to continue to do the same.
Military: If you want a strong military, Trump is your choice. President Obama has cut back our military forces and Hillary wants to continue to do the same. Most of all, remember how Hillary handled the attack on Benghazi? Her apathy and inability to make a decision cost precious American lives. Then she lied to the American people about it and later shrugged it off as old news. It is not old news to the families who will never see their loved ones again. Vote for the best Commander in Chief.
Taxes: If you want more taxes, Hillary is your choice. According to the Tax Foundation, Sept. 23, 2016 selected taxpayers will see an increase of $176. With Trump's plan on average taxpayers will receive a tax cut of $1,818.
Affordable Care Act: If you are pleased with the ever increasing cost and diminished coverage of your health insurance, vote Hillary. If you are not pleased with the effects of Obamacare, vote Trump who wants to repeal it.
Energy: If you want to rely on the Middle East for energy, vote Hillary. If you want to see the U.S. become energy independent, vote Trump.
Illegal Immigration: If you only want to see legal immigrants coming into our country, and you want to see our borders protected, vote Trump. If you want to open the borders of our country, letting improperly vetted refugees, and illegal aliens into the U.S. who do not have the burning desire to become Americans, learn our language and hold to our American traditions as those in past history, vote Hillary.
Economy: You can either vote for Hillary, a 30-year life-long politician whose plan will shrink the economy and lose 300,000 jobs or elect Trump, a successful businessman who employs tens of thousands of people. His plan will grow almost 2 million jobs. (Tax Foundation, Sept. 19, 2016).
Be an educated voter, go to the candidates' websites and see where they stand on the issues. Remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, our government "is of the people, by the people, for the people". Which candidate is more likely to honor this view of government? Which candidate stands with your beliefs?
Third party candidates have never won, the differences between the Democratic and Republican candidates are great. Don't stay home, brave men and women died so you could have the freedom to vote! Choose wisely. Vote!
-Stephanie Hammer and Family, Myerstown
http://www.ldnews.com/story/opinion/2016/11/02/letters-presidential-candidates/93160122/
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The Columbus Dispatch
Letter: Trump had reason to criticize pontiff
November 2, 2016 5:35
I respond to the Friday letter "'Outrage' has curious timing" from David Boulware. U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi R-Genoa Township, is appalled by negative comments attributed to Clinton campaign officials through WikiLeaks about the Catholic Church and the fact that Tiberi ignored a Feb. 18 statement by Republican candidate Donald Trump, who called Pope Francis "disgraceful."
It is obvious Boulware is a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and, like most liberals, only tells the side of the story that benefits his agenda.
Trump did say that the pope is "disgraceful," but only after Pope Francis said some negative things about Trump building a wall to keep illegal immigrants out of the United States. Remember the pope has a wall around his city in Rome. The pope should stick to religious matters and stay out of politics. Pope Francis was wrong in his comments on Trump.
I have been a member of the Roman Catholic Church for the past 61 years, and I ask Boulware which is more appalling: Trump saying the pope is disgraceful for his comments, or supporting Clinton who supports late-term abortion. The Catholic Church is adamant against abortions.
There are many things I do not like about Trump, but I am voting for him because of appointments to the Supreme Court, his pro-life stance and his stand on illegal immigration.
Jeff Groom
Columbus
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The Intelligencer
theintell.com
LTE: The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a bad trade deal
November 1, 2016
The more one reads about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal, the worse it gets. President Obama will be pushing hard to ram it through Congress after the election, making whatever concessions are necessary to pass it.
Besides giving about 9,000 corporations the right to circumvent our courts and challenge the laws that protect our health, safety and welfare, if future corporate profits are impacted; besides making drugs more expensive by extending drug patents; besides internet restrictions; besides massive trade deficits; besides more wealth inequality (and so much more), under Chapter 10 of the agreement, foreign companies can compete with U.S. companies, but those foreign companies don't have to hire American workers. They can send in their own foreign workforce to the U.S., even if Americans are qualified to do the job, and they need not pay American wages to their workers. They can pay less. In fact, there may be more insourcing of jobs than outsourcing.
Since Hillary Clinton wants illegal aliens to be able to buy health insurance through the exchanges, will these foreign workers have the same opportunity? We can pick up the tab for that, too.
Is it any wonder that the TPP is called NAFTA on steroids? For a pleasant change, our lawmakers might try writing a trade deal that is for the American people instead of against them. Real security comes from a strong economy and a strong middle class.
Elaine Hughes
Ambler
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Teton Valley News
empowering the community
TPP - The Devil is in the Details
Nov 1, 2016
ObamaCare – Affordable Care Act - has about 2500 pages. Tax penalty for 2016 for those who do not have medical insurance: The Higher of: 2.5% of income OR $695 per adult and $347 per child. Maximum of $2085.ObamaTrade – Trans-Pacific Partnership – TPP, so-called free-trade agreement has 5,554 pages. Lots of room for details! Senator Jeff Sessions ( R-Ala.) warned that: “Among the TPPs endless pages are rules for labor, environment, immigration and every aspect of global commerce – and a new international regulatory structure to promulgate, implement and enforce these rules. This new structure is known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Commission – which meets, appoints un-elected bureaucrats, adopts rules and changes the agreement after adoption.” The TPP, Sessions charges, “puts those who make the rules out of reach of those who live under them, empowering un-elected regulators who cannot be recalled or voted out of office. In turn it diminishes the power of the people's bulwark: their constitutionally-formed Congress. These 5.554 pages are like the Lilliputians binding down Gulliver. They will enmesh our country, and economy, in a global commission where bureaucrats from Brunei have the same vote as the United States.” TPP is A “Living,” “Evolving” Agreement, which is the very antithesis of the rule of law, since it have no fixed meaning and can be changed to vindicate any usurpation or violation. Results of 20 years of experience with so-call Free Trade Agreements: On 23 March 2016, 19 US House members, Republicans and Democrats, from New York sent a letter to Obama: “Western New York bears the scars of poorly negotiated past free trade agreements: scars like lost jobs, shuttered factories, and a generation lost to economic opportunities that were outsourced to foreign competitors.”....”I cannot support a trade agreement that once again threatens America's working middle class.”...”Like many Americans, New Yorkers have grown increasingly disillusioned with our nation's international trading relationships and are rightly skeptical that the TPP will fare better than previous agreements.” Senator Mike Crapo has studied it and is now opposed. TPP will be voted on in the lame duck session of congress following the elections. Senator Jim Risch has not answered my letter requesting his position. Rep Mike Simpson is enamored with reputed benefits and ignores warnings of loss of sovereignty. He violates his oath of office by transferring power to international government. Call 208-334-1953 and tell him to vote NO Candidate positions: Trump is opposed. Darrell Castle – Constitution Party – is opposed. Hillary Clinton is opposed. However I would expect her to flip-flop and certainly if she is elected, she will sign it. Evan McMullin is for the TPP.
Robert E. Strange
Newdale, Idaho
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Green Valley
YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1964
IN MY VIEW: This tree is why we need Donald Trump
November 1, 2016
This is a “Rape Tree.” They are common, scattered among the migrant trails along the 1,900 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. The Mexican guides (coyotes) bring groups of migrants illegally across the border. Once in the United States, they will stop the group and single out a female, forcing her up the trail to a “Rape Tree.” For every act of sexual assault, one of the victim’s undergarments is hung in the tree to boast to fellow coyotes following along the trail.
Illegal activity will always create its own collateral damage and will attract criminals to exploit and prey on the players with impunity. In Arizona the high Sonoran Desert has all the dangers of the wilderness, the crime of a big city and no law. Unprotected borders attract and fester heinous crimes, violence, heroin and the highly addictive meth smuggling, and gang activity that spreads throughout our country.
For the record, this crime wave is all due to illegal immigration and the people coming here illegally are just as much of the problem because they will do nothing to report or help abate the collateral damage. Illegal immigrants and their silence do nothing to make their desired new home safe from the crime that follows their illegal activity and does not contribute to a better America or make them a positive addition to our society. This is happening here and it is up to our country to aggressively address the issues of illegal immigration and intervene to stop the crime and victimization along our borders through tough and impenetrable border security and comprehensive immigration screening.
Yes, we are a county of immigrants, but my grandfather and the many of our ancestors who came here did so legally, they were screened and did not bring suitcases of heroin and meth to Ellis Island. They did not rob and exploit their fellow countrymen in epidemic proportions or commit rampant rape on our shores.
Like it or not, Mr. Donald Trump is the only candidate to address this in the harsh terms that are required to face these facts in probably the most critical domestic American crisis.
Gang members from the notorious El Salvadorian gang MS13 were first smuggled into this country in the 1980s by humanitarian groups without any screening and have grown to the largest and most violent gang in the US today and have spread worldwide.
Karl W. Hoffman is a photojournalist who has covered both sides of the border for eight years; he lives in Arivaca. Learn more at: www.livingontheborder.com.
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The Washington Times
Sick and tired of Democrats
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES - - Tuesday, November 1, 2016
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
I am a Chinese immigrant and have been a supporter of the Democratic Party since I got my U.S. citizenship. I have voted in Maryland for Rep. Chris Van Hollen several times, but I won’t be voting for him this year as he runs for the Senate. I won’t vote for him at any time in the future, either. My family and I have had enough of the Democrats.
We have had enough injustice and unfairness from Democratic leaders in government at all levels. The last straw was a car accident involving my father and an illegal immigrant last December. The illegal immigrant apparently ran a red light and severely damaged my father’s car. Despite much evidence that the accident was the other driver’s fault, the local police department refused to investigate the case. On the contrary, they protected the woman. As a result, my father was not able to get any compensation from her.
When we shared our story with others we found that our experience was just the tip of the iceberg. If people have accidents with illegal immigrants, there is no way for the victims to get any compensation from the violators because illegal immigrants are protected by the Democratic leaders in Montgomery County, Maryland, in Congress and in the White House. Illegals are like ‘super citizens’ here.
We need law and order. Therefore I call on all my fellow Chinese Americans to vote for the Republican Party this election: Kathy Szeliga for Senate and Donald Trump for president. I am proud of becoming a “deplorable and irredeemable Republican.” Let’s make America great again.
HAIYING LI
Rockville, Md.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/1/letter-to-the-editor-sick-and-tired-of-democrats/
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November 1, 2016
Disaster looming
I see disaster looming with the likely election of Hillary Clinton to the presidency. Dissatisfied voters who vote third party or simply stay home are surely voting for Hillary. Citizens should vote for Mrs. Clinton if they want the following three things:
A liberalized Supreme Court that will, among other things, reinterpret the 2nd Amendment to find private gun ownership restricted or unconstitutional. The last look at the issue came down to a 5 to 4 decision upholding current law.
Open borders with unrestricted immigration. All illegal aliens will eventually be granted citizenship and all will vote Democrat thus assuring there will likely never be another conservative in the White House.
No retreat from “Obamacare.” However, as the current system is unworkable health care will be moved to single payer, i.e. the government. Of course that was the plan all along.
I understand people being angry with Donald Trump. He really is a mess. However, we are not voting for a president to be a friend, a devout Christian or even a nice man. We need a rough tough president who can deal with the current spate of lawlessness in our country, can reign in the unrestrained frivolous spending, rebuild our military and deal with hard-nosed world leaders like Putin. Does that sound like Hillary? Do you really want to stay home or vote third party?
James L. McAfee, Belleville
http://www.bnd.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article111958912.html
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Observer- Reporter
Illegal immigrants are a burden
November 1, 2016
Abraham Lincoln once stated, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
Americans desperately need to wake up and face the condition this country is in. We are not the caretakers of the world. The United States needs to concentrate on the welfare of its citizens. Taking care of and accepting more illegal immigrants will cost Americans their jobs, and force us to be taxed again and again. Taxpayers will have to bear the burden of paying for the housing, health care and education of illegal immigrants.
Those who plan on voting for Hillary Clinton should take this into account. We have citizens who can’t make ends meet, yet Clinton wants to keep illegal immigrants in this country, keep our borders open and accept more illegals.
I want a president who will stand up in the face of danger and protect the American people. I want a president who cares about putting Americans back to work. But most of all, I want a president who wants to make America great again.
James Henderson
Washington
http://www.observer-reporter.com/20161101/illegal_immigrants_are_a_burden
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Public Opinion
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Letters: Don't be fooled
Chambersburg Public Opinion November 1, 2016
Don't be fooled
Americans, don't fall for the Democratic-ruled media fool you with their propaganda! The media ignores Hillary's crimes and there's only one reason to delete 33,000 subpoenaed emails, evidence of federal crimes. They also make up lies about Trump to discredit him!
A reminder to everyone of the 2008 Obama ad about Hillary Clinton, "She’ll say 'anything' and change 'nothing'!" She has been a 'do nothing' politician for 30 years. She says that she is worried about toddlers being near guns but approves of abortions just like cutting down a 'blade of grass.' Babies are not grass, they are human beings. Hillary will do anything dishonest to become President and her supporters seem to be OK with that. She doesn't know the difference between 'classified & unclassified' emails and she announced to the world what our nuclear arms response time was! Bill doesn't know what a sexual act is, a federal judge had to explain it to him during his impeachment trial after he lied to the judge and the American people! Hillary and Obama hate guns unless the guns are protecting them or their families but they are anxious to take guns from the average law-abiding citizens to prevent them from protecting themselves from criminals.
The Center For Immigration Studies says that in the first 5 years, 'each and every' refugee from the Middle East will cost taxpayers $64,370 a year - 12 times more than what the U.N. says it would cost to care for them in neighboring Middle Eastern countries. Multiply that by 100,000 refugees 'per year'! How many years? At least 4. The cost of resettlement includes welfare, SNAP and cash assistance. Given the high costs of resettling refugees in the USA as opposed to a Muslim nation, it's clear that Obama and Hillary have a plan. Turn America, which was built by Judeo-Christians, into a non-Christian socialist country! If you remember the prior Islamist terrorists who killed Americans were said to be 'nice people' and their friends and family knew of their terrorist plans but chose to keep quiet! Prior immigrants from European descent 'wanted' to be Americans, they wanted to work just like our founding fathers and they were proud to be Americans! They were not catered to or given anything for 'free' nor did they expect anything for free!
We have 305 million citizens and 11 million illegal aliens in the USA. In 2012 there were over 109,631,000 people on welfare and 7,849,000 unemployed – that equals over 117,480,000 people who are 'not' contributing to their own living expenses and is more than the people who have full-time jobs. These figures are 'before' the Syrian refugee influx! Originally, Social Security was promised to only American citizens who contributed to it for retirement. It wasn't and shouldn't be for every Tom, Jose and Mohammad that wants a free ride and didn't pay a penny into it! We can't afford to support illegals and refugees that hate us.
Donald Trump will save our Constitutional rights, our religious rights and keep the foreign criminals and terrorists out of America. May God Bless America and May God Bless Donald Trump, who cares so much about America's future that he was willing to turn his life upside down to eliminate the corruption!
Gary and Gladys Mowles, Chambersburg
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/story/opinion/2016/11/01/letters-dont-fooled/93103648/
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stardem.com
THE STAR DEMOCRAT
Deported five times, man sparked forest fire
November 1, 2016
Wofford Heights., Calif., from the Washington Times this week:
“Angel Gilberto Garcia-Avalos had been deported five times in just the past four years, yet each time he has managed to sneak from Mexico back into the U.S., where he ended up in more mischief: driving without a license, attempted burglary, and felony weapons charges.
“In August, he graduated to full-fledged mayhem, sparking a fire in the Sequoia National Forest that has has already cost the government $61 million and left some of the country’s most beautiful landscape scarred for years to come.”
Hillary Clinton has said she wants to admit 500% more immigrants from Syria Does this sound like a candidate for president who will protect and defend our people and our country? We have seen several so-called “vetted Syrian immigrants” arrested by the FBI for plotting to kill and maim Americans.
It’s way past time to protect our borders and our people from illegal aliens and criminals.
MIKE FINLEY
Easton
http://www.stardem.com/print/lettereditor/article_0783548a-9673-58fb-a20a-38f082ff05e5.html
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Tribune Chronicle
Election letters to the editor
Nov 1, 2016
Trump will rid politics as usual
DEAR EDITOR:
What kind of a person would vote for Hillary Clinton? I believe it’s someone who wants the corruption in Washington to continue; or only those with their head in the sand.
Donald Trump at least gives us a chance to rid our nation of politics as usual. Why would anyone not give him a chance?
Every one of his positions on issues is in line with protecting our country. We need to get back to protecting the First and Second amendments. He will bring back jobs, will ban immigrants until they are properly screened, will keep our Supreme Court honest, will build up and respect the military and much more. What’s wrong with this?
The Clintons are only out for themselves while making fortunes for their foundation.
JAMES COLLINS
Warren
http://www.tribtoday.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2016/11/election-letters-to-the-editor-2/
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Carroll County Times
Letter: Vote on candidates' policies, your beliefs
OCTOBER 31, 2016
As Election Day approaches, voters must determine which candidate's policies align with their beliefs. The focus must be policies. This election determines whether we remain a republic or embrace socialism.
Trump is a political unknown. Support comes from working people who value democracy and freedom. He claims he will set a conservative course, uphold the Constitution and secure the borders. Trump has a list of judges that conservatives feel will maintain constitutional integrity. He will seek to protect U.S. borders and require a path to citizenship. He has made millions in business and dealt with fiscal deficits. His business transactions have been within the scope of the law. Ben Carson has spoken well of his corporate boardroom demeanor. It remains to be seen what he can or cannot do in the political arena.
Clinton has a record of public service. Much support comes from leftist organizations, the Communist Party, George Soros and Muslims. She has promised to follow the path of Barack Obama. Clinton will appoint leftist judges giving the left control of the Supreme Court. They will dismantle the Constitution, and the right to bear arms will probably be eliminated. Appointments of Muslim judges could open courts to Sharia Law, which my research has shown to be oppressive to women and non-Muslims. Borders will be opened and illegal aliens will be on the fast track to citizenship. Who will check to see if they are "yearning to be free" or ISIS extremists? Who will pay for medical benefits for new citizens? Where will they get jobs? Many Muslims will enter as evidenced by the communities being planned for them throughout the country. Women who fled Islamic countries tell of beatings, bruises and broken bones. They warn against the Islamimization of the U.S. European countries that welcomed Muslims are reporting increased disappearances of children and rapes of women. Some are closing their borders. Clinton willfully violated governmental policies — government documents were destroyed, lost, and sent over unsecured phones and servers. Concerning Benghazi, Americans died — Hilary lied. Clinton promises increased taxes. She has given billions of dollars, strategic technology, and 20 percent of U.S. uranium to other countries — some our avowed enemies. Will her behavior patterns change?
Responsible voters must research each candidate's policies, try to project the impact of those policies over time, and vote for the person whose policies will create the country they desire for their children.
Jennifer Reed
Sykesville
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/opinion/letters/ph-cc-letters-110116-reed-20161031-story.html
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The Augusta Chronicle
Opinion | Editorials | Letters | Columns | Send a letter to the editor
Letter: Embrace change, Trump
By Norma Valentine
Wagener, S.C.
Monday, Oct. 31, 2016
Donald Trump has laid out a plan for his first 100 days in office where he will tackle the most serious problems facing our nation, such as illegal immigration and ISIS.
In Gettysburg, Pa., recently he said that if opponents are doing all of this to him with all of his resources, imagine what they’re really doing to us! This strikes a chord with the average voter, like me.
America can no longer afford to have Hillary Clinton get out of her legal scrapes by using her position and her power and her money, when an average citizen who may have done things that Clinton also has done would be facing or serving jail time.
It’s time to embrace change and clean out the swamp in Washington! Vote Donald Trump for president!
http://chronicle.augusta.com/opinion/letters/2016-10-31/letter-embrace-change-trump
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The Modesto Bee
October 31, 2016
Israel Leon: Voting to secure our borders and keep America great
Re “Standing for Trump stands for hate” (Letters, Oct. 30): I’m Hispanic and I also received a nice letter and a picture of Jeff Denham’s family. I am glad they are standing firm in the belief that America has a right to a secure border; that this nation is a nation of laws and we should uphold them regardless of what or how we feel; that this country is more important than our feelings; that no one will let somebody walk into their house without knocking and then welcome them.
I was born in the Central Valley, and I have heard racist comments all my life. But I know America is not a racist nation, but a righteous nation with an ideal that is the source or our greatness. The belief that our rights come from God, not man. I will stand for America on Nov. 8 vote for a secure border and to keep America great.
Israel Leon, Modesto
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article111709172.html
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MERCED SUN-STAR
October 31, 2016 2:58 PM
Melvin Ladousier: Trump right about impact of immigrants on crime
Re “Little evidence to back Trump claims of immigrant crime” (Page 12A, Oct. 29): How short-sighted and biased is your staff? Donald Trump is not running for President of just California, yet you publish an article with just a California-specific case. He is running for president of the whole country and is commenting on the crime participation of illegals throughout the nation.
“While illegal immigrants account for about 3.5 percent of the U.S population, they represented 36.7 percent of federal sentences in 2014 following criminal convictions,” according to federal sentencing data obtained by Breitbart News. In California, the Hispanic prison population is 41.3 percent of the total incarcerated, according to Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Estimates and Statistical Analysis in 2013. California’s total Hispanic population as of 2014 was 32.4 percent. Illegal (undocumented aliens) residents make up 6 percent of the state’s population. A skilled researcher can break it down even further.
All of the statistics are available from state and federal agencies which support the basis of Trump’s statements regarding the illegal’s impact on crime and imprisonment. You need to research the facts before you publish. Last I heard, this is a national election and Trump’s statements are based on national statistics.
Melvin Ladousier, Merced
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article111685272.html
In an Oct. 11 article concerning controversy about Syrian refugees, the Chronicle quoted Gov. Bullock’s spokesman saying, “The governor’s number one priority is the safety of Montanans.” But he vetoed 2013’s HB 50, which would have prevented Montana cities from declaring themselves illegal-alien sanctuaries, so one would never guess that protecting Montanans from dangerous foreigners concerns Bullock.
Indeed, Helena and Butte are sanctuary cities: If their cops spot an illegal-alien gang-banger who’s back after deportation, they can’t detain him for the illegal-reentry felony and remand him to the feds. Instead, they must wait for the alien to commit a non-immigration crime before arresting him. There were flagrant cases nationwide of illegal aliens committing such “other crimes” well before 2015’s horrifying murder of Kate Steinle in San Francisco.
Cluelessly, Bullock’s veto message (April 5, 2013) claimed that “no jurisdiction in Montana has enacted such a policy.” Plus he missed the basic point that state actions to dissuade illegal aliens from targeting Montana are the best way to forestall illegal immigration from becoming a huge problem here, as in so many other states.
Face it, Montanans: Awareness and foresight aren’t qualities to associate with Gov. Bullock.
There are more people in South and Central America than there are available jobs in the U.S. Yet President Obama is airlifting illegal aliens and other dubious asylum seekers into Lackland Airforce Base and others through an unauthorized program called the Central American Minors and Refugee program. Not only will these minors receive permission to resettle, but so will their relatives, parents and former caregivers if their parents illegally preceded them. Encouraged by the news, land-crossing illegal aliens are on pace this year to surpass the great border surge of 2014.
Is this policy compassionate? It isn’t compassionate to underemployed Americans, minorities and homeless vets whose concerns go ignored. So whom does this massive influx serve? Consider the globalist agenda of George Soros’ Open Society Institute. Hacked Soros documents describe his desire to advance globalism through relentless political campaigning for open border policies and mass immigration. To this end, his billions finance nongovernmental organizations and lure politicians to erase national borders.
Unfortunately, so many Americans reflexively accept the globalist definition of compassion that they don’t flinch at Hillary Clinton’s promise to increase immigration even more — especially of Syrian refugees and terrorist-producing countries. When we let people such as Soros define compassion according to his purposes, we allow him and other elitists to eventually replace the American electorate with a more compliant and dependent workforce. Overwhelming immigration never helps Americans.
Do illegal immigrants benefit Oregon's economy? Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek and Sen. Michael Dembrow believe so.
Both Portland Democrats recently called for federal action to legalize the presence of many so-called "undocumented" workers. To make their case, Kotek and Dembrow leaned heavily on a study titled "The Contributions of New Americans in Oregon," published recently by the Michael Bloomberg-founded Partnership for a New American Economy.
The study, however, is riddled with omissions and misrepresentations that mask illegal immigrants' harm to Oregonians — particularly the most economically vulnerable among them. One of the study's most dubious claims: Oregon's illegal immigrants "are not displacing the U.S.-born, but rather taking jobs few Americans are interested in pursuing."
The study places the number of illegal immigrants in Oregon at about 114,000. (The immigration control advocacy group, Federation for American Immigration Reform, however, puts the number at 170,000.) Eighty-five percent of them, says the Partnership for a New American Economy, are "in the prime of their working years, or ranging in age from 25 to 64." The great majority of illegal immigrants are also poorly-educated: "It is currently estimated that 57 percent of the adult illegal-immigrant population (has) not completed high school," Vernon M. Briggs Jr., professor emeritus at Cornell University, wrote recently.
What does that mean for the job prospects of Oregon's lower-skilled U.S. citizens? The law of supply and demand is simple: A huge influx of lower-skilled illegal immigrants will create an oversupply of labor in industries that rely heavily on manual workers. That oversupply will intensify competition between illegal immigrants and lower-skilled American workers. And it will depress wages to the point where many American workers can't afford to take them — but illegal immigrants will.
Illegal immigrants comprise some 5 percent of the U.S. labor force. In Oregon in 2014, they "made up 13.3 percent of all employees in (the) accommodation and food-services industry, a sector that includes dishwashers, food-preparation workers, and short-order cooks," the Partnership for a New American Economy report says. "They also accounted for more than 1 in 10 workers employed in the administrative, support, and waste-management services sector, as well as 28.1 percent of workers in the agriculture industry."
Is this evidence that Americans shy from physically-arduous jobs? No. In Montana, South Dakota, Vermont and other lower-immigration states, crops still get harvested, lawns mowed and tables bussed — overwhelmingly by U.S. citizens. As per Americans and manual work, "the only catch is that they want to make enough money to actually be able to support their families," writes David Seminara of the Center for Immigration Studies. "When companies offer attractive wages and benefits, they generally have little trouble finding American workers to do jobs in ... fields like garbage collection, custodial work and dishwashing."
But when illegal immigrants overinflate the labor supply, take jobs, and drive down wages and benefits, they contribute to environments like in Oregon. Here, some 220,000 people — most of them American — are officially unemployed, "marginally attached to the labor force" or part-time workers wanting full-time work, according to the state Employment Department.
Clearly, a plethora of cheap illegal labor harms Oregon's lowest-skilled U.S. citizens. Rather than champion illegal immigrants, Kotek and Dembrow should introduce bills in the 2017 legislative session mandating that state employers use the federal E-Verify system to vet new hires for proof of legal U.S. presence. This would help shrink Oregon's illegal-immigrant population and, in doing so, re-employ jobless Americans — the people to whom elected state officials are responsible.
Richard F. LaMountain, a Cedar Mill resident, is vice president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform.
