OT:Letter to Southern Califonia newspaper that was not printed

[nospambob]

My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the Orange County Register which, of course, was not printed. So I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Please pass it along if you feel so inclined. Thank you.

(signed) Dave LaBonte

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statute 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. S ome 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 Hilter, 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 was 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 2006 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

1900s deserve better than that for the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has be-come 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 Statute 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

P.S. Pass this on to everyone you know!!! KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!! I hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation!! ~~ r.p.

"Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow." - Mahatma Gandhi

[Han]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Here is my "nonsense":

The Boston Teaparty and the Revolutionary War were conducted by a bunch of terrorists against the established lawfull government. Many people immigrated to the US under false pretenses (WWII war criminals, mafiosi, etc).

Like the import of illegal drugs, import of illegal workers is (in large part) organized by home town demand. Who is doing the day labor in your town, local high school and college graduates?

[trader4]

Sorry Han. The founding fathers were not terrorists. They didn't seek to indiscriminantly kill innocent men, women and children. Unlike terrorists, they didn't plant bombs in shops, churchs, or town centers to kill anyone, because they had moral values and common decency still shared by the vast majority of Americans today. They valued human life and only attacked legitimate targets of the British colonial govt. Last time I checked, the Boston Teaparty you cited consisted of throwing tea in the harbor, not deliberately killing innocent civilians to create terror. To compare them to true terrorists is offensive and can only give aid and comfort to an enemy that is out to destroy us all.

As for the OP's wife's letter, it sounds spot on to me. I hope she sends it to other papers so that it will get published.

[tbasc]

Your argument is as invalid as your email address.

There were lots of burning down of buildings and shootings and lynchings of folks on the wrong side of the argument. This is discussed weekly on South Carolina Educational radio with great relish. TB

[trader4]

news: [e-mail]:

During the revolutionary war American patriots did not indiscriminantly kill innocent men, women and children. And if that is what SC Educational radio is claiming, then they are a bunch of commie pinko bedwetters, like you.

[Graham Walters]

I think you'll find that men, women and children were indiscriminately murdered. The history books here in the UK cover it quite well. Perhaps the history books in the USA decided not to cover that part of their history.

Like who was the first president of the United States, we all know it was John Hanson (1781 - 1782), so why does The White House's web site list it as George Washington.

So if The White House can't get a simple thing like that right, what chance is there that any other information available in the USA is correct!!!!

Why is it always the same, as soon as someone starts to lose an argument on the internet they resort to name calling....

Graham

[Doug Miller]

Yes, indeed they were -- by *British* troops.

Our history books cover the atrocities committed by *your* side quite nicely, thank you very much -- but I'll bet yours don't.

[John Mc]

Speaking of fact:

****************** It is important to note here that John Hanson was NOT the 1st President of the United states of America under the Articles of Confederation. This claim is a MYTH created by Seymour Wemyss Smith writing a book called John Hanson - Our First President in 1932. Samuel Huntington was installed as the 1st President of the United States on March 2, 1781 an official ceremony in Philadelphia. This 1st U.S. Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, was unanimously ratified by all 13 States on March 1, 1781 creating "The Perpetual Union of the United States of America." At that moment the Continental Congress ceased to exist and the United States of America in Congress Assembled assumed all federal power under the new U.S. Constitution.

Huntington only served as President of the United States until July resigning due to ill health. The United States in Congress Assembled elected Thomas McKean the 2nd U.S. and served until John Hanson was elected the 3rd President in November of 1781. President Hanson took the time to write an official Thanks of Congress to Thomas McKean for his services as President of the United States of America in Congress Assembled. This letter, which can be found in Chapter One of President Who? Forgotten Founders and is irrefutable proof that Hanson recognized at least one President of the United States in Congress Assembled serving before he assumed the unicameral chair.

*******************

[Larry Blanchard]

Now you've gone from reasoning to invective. Shame. No, the founding = fathers were not terrorists. Yes, there were instances of "terrorist" mobs assaulting citizens who disagreed with them - on both sides. It has be= en pointed out by historians that the only reason the American revolution = did not have a "reign of terror" like the French, British, and Russian revolutions was that our population was too small and too dispersed to support the kind of mass hysteria required.

I agree with you, and the original poster, on the immigration issue. O= ne point, however, was left out. When the earlier waves of immigration ar= rived, we were underpopulated. Now we're overpopulated.

--=20 It's turtles, all the way down

[jerry]

You are all wrong:

[Jim McLaughlin]

Seems odd that you do not mention th deliberate terrorism by commissioned officers in His Majesty's Army, carried out as a deliberate policy of the North administration.

--Banastre Tarleton, anyone?

Of course, that was merely a cntinuation of a century long poicy f the Crown to use terrorism, and even germ warfare, on any opponnts of Crown policy.

--- Lord Jeffrey Amherst, anyone?

[John]

It's been over 200 years. Get over it Graham, you lost.

[todd]

Apparently, you're not as smart as you think.

So if The White House can't get a simple thing like that right, what

Ah, the irony.

todd

[Graham Walters]

Oh dear, someone else that clearly doesn't know what they are talking about.

After extensive research by American historians, there is NO evidence of any British troops committing acts of atrocity.

If you want to know about history, ask a historian not Hollywood...

[Graham Walters]

Sorry my mistake, I was referring from memory.

John Hanson was the 3rd President of the United States, Samuel Huntington was the first, followed by Thomas McKean.

If you want to know about history, ask a historian.

[John Emmons]

Are you saying that Mel Gibson's version of the U.S. revolution was portayed inaccurately...?

I'm shocked...

Seems more than just a bit hypocritical for citizens of a nation who committed what was then considered treason to condemn the actions of others in seeking their own freedoms, while the deliberate targeting of civilians is reprehensible, lets not forget that one of the former Prime Ministers of Israel was a terrorist according to modern definitions. If Hezbollah and Hamas are terrorists and killers, and there's little doubt that they are, what does it say about their enemies when they kill innocent people to pursue the bad guys? It's only collateral damage when it's someone else's family I suppose.

I think that Jesus fella got it pretty close to right, let those who haven't sinned chuck the first rock...

All the condemnations from all the hypocrites in all the world is simply rationalising the killing of people who typically have nothing to do with the actions of those doing the killing, that's true on all sides of all conflicts.

John E.

[Dave Balderstone]

Your'e not seriously suggesting that because someone committed a horrendous act sometime in the past people living today are not entitled to condemn horrendous acts, are you?

Hezbollah deliberately uses civilians as shields for their missile launches. They wear civilian clothing. They violate recognized international rules of warfare.

Israel does not. Israel warns civilians abot impending attacks, to the point of phoning people in Gaza to tell them to get out of the building.

The civilian deaths in Lebanon are a direct result of how Hezbollah behaves.

[todd]

Apparently, your only problem isn't your memory. Since there was no "United States of America" until the ratification of the US Constitution in 1789, it would be difficult for Hanson (who died in 1783) to have been president of it. Perhaps you're confusing the alliance of the thirteen states formed under the Articles of Confederation with the United States of America. I suggest you get your history straight.

todd

[HeyBub]

I saw the movie "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson. Based on historical accounts it was.

Some of the British were just plain impolite, killing American wounded and so forth. Shame on them.

Still, we must give each its due. There was a time, not so very long ago, when every tolling of the hour by Big Ben meant that, somewhere in the world, the British Ensign was being raised at dawn.

Now, with every tick of the atomic clock at the National Bureau of Standards, Microsoft Windows is booting up a computer (some for the eighth time that day).

[MB]

What do people think about the US dropping atom bombs on two japanese cities? These weren't military targets. Was that terrorism?