"Politics, makes strange bed fellows"

With the developments of the past week regarding the congresss woman giffords senseless shooting and the deaths of those doing nothing more than expressing their right to support a political position, it is with a sad heart that this blogger takes to the keys. While we are a country of varying positions, and differing political parties, we are also still a part of this one big country we call the United States.
While the motive is not clear, what is clear is that a politician has been targetted for assasination. If there is one thing that goes against everything this country stands for, it is the actions of the shooter Loughner.I do not believe there are to many other more unpatriotic actions anyone could take than the actions this coward  took.
My sincerest condolences go out to the families of those who were killed or injured and the families who remain to try to make sense of this tragety.
In my opinion, this event highlights what those of us who take to the public forum to speak out on the politics of this great nation, need to be mindfull of whenever we engage our audience. Whether it be a speech delivered in a mosqe, or a conservative radio talk show host or a blogger such as myself, we need to realize that what we say and write can influence those in unintended ways. Speach is protected, and there is no one responsible for the actions of this gunnman other than the gunman himself, but Politics spark intense beliefs and emotions. There is no evidence that this gunman was motivated by any particular voice or publication, but I believe we have a responsibility to be sure we are not encouraging those who are more impresionable, and may take our thoughs and opinions in ways which are unintended. Yes, Politics do make strange bed fellows.
My prayers go out to those who lost a loved one, who know someone who was injured, and yes, the family of the gunman.
There will no doubt be calls for more protected forums for political figures and yes, some will call for restrictions on guns, but this is not about a political advantage we can gain by this tragety. It is about families and communities which will be forever changed by these events. This is where our energy needs to be focused.

Imigration

Is the Arizona imigration law racist or is it boarder security?
I do not believe that anyone can reasonably argue that our boarders (North or South) do not pose a security risk for the United States if they are not secure. So for arguments sake, we must conclude that leaving the boarders unsecure is not an option. What does secure mean? In my opinion it means that we regulate and monitor the movement to and from the United States, of goods and people. Any failure of either of these things leaves the United States unsecure. Also for argument sake, it is not reasonable to believe that all people in the United States who arrived here without receiving proper approval will be returned to their respective contries. So, lets take a look at Arizonas law. Without going into specifics of the entire law, I believe the main contention for the law is that law enforcement will be able to ask for a persons papers showing they are in the US legally. As a result people are protesting claiming the law is racist. The question is does the law identify a specific race. The answer is no, but those against the law say that mexicans will be unfairly targeted in arizona, via ratial profiling. I ask you this: If the law were introduced exactly as it is written in Michigan to protect the Michigan/Canada boarder, would Michigan be racist against mexicans? How about canadians? The answer is no? Now if the law said in Arizona Law enforcement will be required to stop and check all mexicans for proper papers, YES ABSOLUTELY, this would be racist and ratially motovated because people are being targeted for their race. But if the exact same law were introduced and passed in michigan, the michigan Law enforcement would not automatically start pulling over mexicans to check for papers.
It makes sense that wherever the bill were introduced, the people who would most likely be traveling back and forth acrross the boarder would be the ones checked most frequently.
The point is made that this is how it was with blacks and women. Laws were introduced which required people to accomplish things such as intellegence tests, knowing that a specific race of people would not be able to meet the requirements, thereby they would not be prevented from doing things others could. This is not the case with immigration. Everyone who wants to immigrate to the US legally can and should be able to do so, with the possible (and reasonable) exception of those with contagious diseases and those with serious criminal records, or those with ties to organizations who have pledged to do harm to the US and its citizens. For these reasons I believe the law cannot be deemed racist in nature or intent.
There are those who think the boarders should be fully open, but we have determined that that would leave the US open to security threats, so that cannot be an option in todays world.
Tell me your thoughs. Lets dissuss in a manner free from insults and name calling. Just give me your opinion as you see it whether you agree or disagree. After all in the US we do have freedom of speech, and that means no matter what our opinion is, as long as it is not with the desire to do harm to others, we are  free to speak our minds.

Under construction

This blog is currently being created and will be up in a few days. My intent is to blog oneveryday average items that affect the middleclass person in the world and politics. My blog will address something of interest I encounter during my middleclass day and mymiddleclass reaction.