good day in congress

the republican run congress parted with president bush on his amnesty plan to bring millions of illegal immigrants into the mainstream, and all i can say is alleluia!! - yes, i did say i am happy that they parted with bush. his amnesty immigration reform has put a real strain on my loyal support for him. it is the one area i staunchly disagree!
friday, sept 29,2006 congress passed and sent to president bush for signing :

1- the secure fence bill, which authorizes and allocates 1.2 billion to build a fence along 1/3 (700 miles) of the us-mexico border (a bill mexico will lobby against). -okay, it's only a third but it is a start. i was so hoping for a fence and a bill that would emphasize enforcement of our current laws instead of amnesty! and it looks like congress listened to its constituents on this one!

2- the homeland security spending bill, which allows more hiring of border agents and the building of detention facilities to house illegals until they can be deported. -again more enforcement, and how about that, detention facilities whose sole purpose is to detain with intent to deport! deport them all!

and for those of us who believe in staying the course, finishing what we set out to do (a major bone of contention for those of us who served during the gulf war):
3- a bill allowing military commissions to prosecute terrorist suspects with legislation and defines the geneva convention - unbelievable that it would be necessary to have to define the geneva convention which is pretty clear and plain spoken, and doesn't apply to terrorists by the very definition of a terrorist, but okay. and to be able to prosecute terrorists, can anyone believe that anyone, any true american, would think it was in any way questionable to prosecute a terrorist?

4- $448 billion defense spending bill which includes $70 billion for further military ops in afghanistan and iraq and a 2.2% raise for military personnel -"stay the course, stay the course! support our troops, support our troops!"

all in all a REALLY good day in Congress! not bad for republicans going into elections in nov either!

(the following is a post I made on July 16 that I was asked to share here as it shows the frustration I have felt and why I am so pleased with the above actions in Congress:)

Illegal Immigration
This has been a topic of which I have had passionate concern for years. I voted for Prop 187 while residing in CA and I think it is in greater demand today than then. I am pro immigration, after all this is a county of immigrants. Legal immigration that is! Illegal immigration on the other hand is breaking the law - federal law! I cannot part with the fact that there is right and wrong. Breaking the law is wrong, no matter what excuse you attach to it! The immigrants that flood our southern border are no less desperate or living in conditions no less oppressive than those who are seeking immigration to our country through proper channels. What illegals are are opportunist who have been able to access this country illegally and leach from the government without reprisal for so long that they feel entitled to our generosity and demand our amnesty for their crime! NOT! I simply do not have a problem with rounding up 11 -14 million law breakers and sending them back across the border. I don't see the dilema! Actually this solution is very simple indeed. We had the perfect opportunity during all those ridiculous rallies where illegals and their supporters gathered to demand we bestow upon them citizenship rights simply because they managed to break the law and take advantage of the system for so long. It was the perfect time to block off the perimeter and heard them into buses, trains, semis, etc and send them back across the border. What a wonderful opportunity we missed! Send them back, secure the border once and for all and then establish the red tape for entering the country. This solution is simple, succinct and to the point. The only problem I see is all this guestworker amnesty crap that says if you were here 2 years you must do..., if you were here 5 years you must do..., if you were her 15 years you must do...! Who is going to oversee this incredibly complex and convaluded bureucratic bs? Who is going to enforce such impossible to understand nonsense? Do we not have anyone in authority with some basic problem solving skills? Enforce the laws that are on the books; Round up the law breakers and send them packing! Then secure our borders like never before! Make it impossible or more nearly so than ever before for anyone to slip across the border. Put in place heavy fines for anyone who hires illegals and again, enforce it! Make it so expensive that no one would dare harbor them! And then, sit down and have the pow wow necessary to reform the system. Don't try to fix it in the middle, you idiots! Enforce what is there, it is very plainly written! Enforce it, secure it and then talk about it! Why all the fence riding on this subject? Politicians think they need that hispanic vote. Hey, don't you need the majority vote as well? If we, the actual majority, all stand up and demand that these changes take place or we will withhold our vote doesn't that make a powerful statement as well?? It's something to consider and I believe there are more in the majority that want this issue taken seriously and are in favor of all I have proposed here that there are hispanics that will have their panties in a wad if they don't get their way for their law breaking, non-us citizenship having relatives who have NO RIGHT to be here!