Whether you like Barry Bonds or not, he has accomplished a milestone that only a couple of accomplished before him. Steroids or not, he continues to be an extraordinary athlete. He is almost as pleasant as a porcupine but his accomplishment should be acknowledged nonetheless.
714, CONGRATULATIONS!
Whenever discussion begins with Republicans have you noticed that your are ready on the defensive? Usually that is because you’re using their terminology which helps them win their argument. The phrase “illegal alien” or “illegal immigration” these are all Republican phrases. How can you argue for something that is illegal? How can you argue for something that is alien?
The term that I’m going to use from now on is “economic refugee.” This term, in my opinion, truly describes what is going on. It clearly describes the desperate situation that people feel that they are in when they make a decision to come to the United States. Economic refugee. These are people who tried local solutions have found no answers, or at least, no answers suitable to them. They come here looking to make a better life — like a refugee.
Economic refugee. This term also points out how we can really fix the problem. The problem cannot be fixed by building walls. The problem cannot be fixed by putting more people at the border (although that is necessary). The problem can be fixed by improving the economic conditions in their home country. If there are adequate jobs in Mexico, El Salvador, Peru, Costa Rica and other Latin American and South American countries, there is little or no reason for these economic refugees to come here. Now, this is a solution you will not see from the Bush administration.
The US Senate voted to turn back the pages of time yesterday. They voted to make English our official language. This has nothing to do with closing our borders or balancing the budget or the Iraq War - pressing issues. This was simiply a waste of time and paper.
There is always at least 2 sides to every story. There is a group of Americans that see Spanish at the ATM, Spanish spoken on the downtown street corner and Spanish (or any other language) spoken in the back room of a restaurant. they see this as evidence that English is being challenged. What they do not see is the thousands of English classes being taught throughout the country that are all full. What they do not see are the waiting lists for all of those English classes. What they do not see is the highest English literacy rate among second-generation immigrants that we’ve ever seen in this country.
Those that want to succeed will learn English. Economic refugees come here, not to fail, but to succeed. We do not need a special law to give these hard-working people more incentive to do what they already want to do — provide a better life for their family.
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, fulltime sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
