Writing this column has allowed me to make many new friends and to renew acquaintances with a lot of old friends.
Frequently my friends, old and new, ask how I decide what I'm going to write about, and my reply is: "whatever strikes me at the time I sit down to write."
I can assure you that I don't suffer any sleepless nights trying to figure out the subject of my next column. Unfortunately, at least for some of you, I sometimes seem to get stuck on a subject, like illegal immigration, and I can't leave it alone until I've said all that needs to be said.
So, part of today's column is once again about the human tragedy on our southern border.
I was ready to leave it alone and go on to something else really interesting, like the enthrallment I feel when solving a compound simultaneous equation. But, out of the blue I heard a familiar but sniveling, whiny voice coming from the direction of my TV set saying -- "The border is secure."
Without a second glance I recognized that the unmistakable snivel came from the one and only Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate and better known as the all-round and unchallenged leader of the Washington liars club. I knew then and there that I could not let that lie go unchallenged.
By the way, did you hear anything in the way of a challenge to Reid's bodacious falsehood from our esteemed senator, Mark Pryor?
Didn't think so. I didn't either, but I did see that as usual, he voted with all the other Senate Democrats to overturn the Supreme Court Decision on Hobby Lobby. That is all of the other Senate Democrats but one. It didn't pass. Funny how the Senate votes go.
Ol' Harry actually voted against the rest of the Democrats, including Pryor, just in case some dummkopf wants to bring it up again for a vote, and someone might want to before election time. The Democrats must have something to run on and this bill was called Protect Women's Health from Corporate Interference, so if any corporations are so inclined you have been warned. For the record, our other senator, John Boozman, voted not to overturn the Supreme Court.
But back to what Harry said about the border being secure. It is not secure. We all know that , and so does he, and there are at least 57,000 young people who can give testimony to it.
By the way, please be alert next time you read a paper or hear a television report about these newly arrived immigrants from Central America and see if you can detect them being described as illegal. I'll bet that you won't hear that term.
The Associated Press has deleted "Illegal Immigrant" or any similar phrase or wording from its Stylebook, and nearly all the print and TV outlets have followed suit.
Sorry, but you will hear the term "illegal" from me, simply because that's exactly what they are. They are here illegally and they are law breakers. There is a right way and a wrong way to enter this country, and we are being overrun by those who have chosen to do it the wrong way.
Something else you won't hear or see is this -- The El Paso Intelligence Center (an arm of ICE and the DEA) interviewed 230 of the newly arrived, young illegal immigrants. Reports state that 219 of them stated that the primary reason they came to the U.S. was the perception that they would be granted a "permiso" or a "free pass" if they made it across the border.
And where did they get such an idea? From none other than Barack Obama when he told all the illegals living in the U.S. who were under 31 years old in 2012 that they would not be deported if they came here with their parents before they were 16 years old. With a stroke of his pen he unlawfully altered our immigration laws.
I opine, you decide.
-- Willie Williams is a Siloam Springs resident. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 07/23/2014