Immigration Letter

Like many other folks, I receive my share of forwarded emails. Some I read, others I just send straight to the trash folder. Once came in today that claimed to be a letter to the editor that was refused for publication n a California newspaper. I do not know if it is a hoax or not, but some of the points in the letter were worth sharing, in my opinion.

Subject: Immigration

ORANGE COUNTY (CALIFORNIA) NEWSPAPER

This is a very good letter to the editor. This woman made some good points. For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing against supporting the currently proposed immigration revisions. This lady made the argument pretty simple.

NOT printed in the Orange County Paper...................

Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which does not agree with the philosophy they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that should have been published; but, with your help it will get published via cyberspace!

New Immigrants

From: "David LaBonte"

My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed? So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet.

Pass it along if you feel so inclined.

Dave LaBonte (signed)

(Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register.)

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based t heir arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.

Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan . They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2007 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

May the Blog Be With You.

Invest in a spellcheck you moron, and other comments

When we decided to allow comments on the nwlanews.com website, I knew we were running a risk. Still fresh in my mind was the hullabaloo surrounding certain comments made on a message board run by the Minden Press-Herald and the ensuing arrest and defamation charges.

This time around, the comments are at least from registered users, so we can track them by their IP address if anything “criminal” is posted. Being a recipient of First Amendment rights, I believe in free speech, even when it differs from my own set of values.

I have not been keeping track of all the comments, but I spent a little time today to review some of the more recent ones.

My heart was warmed by the outpouring of support for the McFarland family in response to their recent tragic loss. The comments to the stories on the web site show that Minden (and others) are praying for this family.

Equally, I was amused by the comments with regard to spelling errors, punctuation issues and other “constructive criticisms” of the stories. In fact it reminds me of “fan mail” I would receive as publisher of the Press-Herald. Inside there would usually be a copy of a recent edition, all marked in red with every grammatical, typographical or AP style error in the edition.

It is funny that people who aren’t involved with getting a newspaper to press each day are so quick to point out the errors of those who do. This is not to make light of errors in print. In fact an error that gets past an editor is one of the toughest things to accept. No matter how many times you proof a story on the screen or on a printout, it always seems to rear its ugly head when the paper is off the press.

I must admit, the comments on this site are much more tame than those of other newspaper website. Perhaps it is the nature of “the Friendliest City in the South” that the commentary is more civil. Perhaps it is the “registered user” requirement.

So keep the comments coming, even if they take aim at those of us covering the news and offering opinion. We can take it. We always have.

May the Blog Be With You.