20080118 Westminster Eagle column: Dr. Martin Luther King's enduring words

Dr. Martin Luther King's enduring words

Westminster Eagle

01/18/08 By Kevin E. Dayhoff

American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote in a book, "Strength to Love," published in 1963:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. ..."

Those words are as enduring today as when written 45 years ago.

The year 1963 was a long time ago and we, as a society, have come along way toward social justice since the days of legally-sanctioned segregation.

And yet we must be constantly vigilant, as new challenges are always on the horizon.

This is especially true today as our nation continues to wallow in a political tar pit like some bellowing mastodon with a hangover. It seems these days that all issues of community, race relations, the environment and public policy quickly deteriorate into a "red versus blue" coarsening of dialogue promoted by a lack of humanity and the intellectually challenged.

Here's a well-kept secret for you -- the red versus blue thing isn't real, except as promoted by pundits and cable television stations that wish to have their way with you.

Leadership is about bringing folks together -- not promoting division.

We could use a few national leaders like Dr. King these days and it's only appropriate that we set aside time every year to attempt to reacquaint ourselves with the practice of solving our problems by cultivating nonviolence and compassion.

Because I haven't taken enough abuse recently, I'll venture to share my view that the recent discussion about Taneytown not being a "Sanctuary City" would be boring if it didn't give us a massive headache.

Please re-read the first two paragraphs.

The resolution of Taneytown is a stick in the eye for those of us who are trying to promote Carroll County as a welcoming community and family-friendly place to live and prosper.

It does little, if nothing, to address the problems of illegal immigration.

The societal and economic cost of illegal immigration is certainly a fair discussion. I mean, what part of illegal is not understood?

Nevertheless, the overall solution needs to occur in Congress, a body politic that, unfortunately, gives new meaning to "pathological dysfunctia."

Furthermore, the resolution coming at a time of the year when we celebrate Dr. King could not be more ironic.

Take a memo: xenophobia as an approach to solving complicated immigration problems is interesting in the way a septic truck running off the road, through your front flower bed and ending up on your front porch is interesting.

The resulting rhetoric, gnashing of teeth and collective hand-wringing only promotes myths and misinformation that distort meaningful debate and mute the questions that demand carefully thought-out solutions.

At this point, the only "sanctuary" I'm interested in is a sanctuary from stories like this one that will only go down as indictments of community leaders who have spent years offering solutions in search of a problem in an attempt to gain political advantage by populism.

This year we commemorate the life and work of Dr. King on Jan. 21, but he was born in Atlanta on Jan. 15, 1929.

Much of our community will come together to celebrate him this Saturday when the Carroll County NAACP will hold the fifth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at Martin's Westminster at 8 a.m. (If you'd like to go, call the NAACP office at 410-751-7667.)

Meanwhile, what I really wanted to write about is a persistent and perennial question from many young readers and new folks in our community:

"Who was Robert Moton?"

If you have any memories about the old Robert Moton School in Carroll County, please share them with me, so that I may include them in a future column.

Considering how angry and passionate folks are about the sanctuary city discussion, my next column may very well be written from an undisclosed location.

Hopefully it is a place that serves grits and has a good stereo system so that I can play Led Zeppelin's remake of Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie's "When the Levee Breaks."

Anybody know what that song has to do with Robert Moton?

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kdayhoff@carr.org.

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=978&NewsID=869869&CategoryID=18317&on=1

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Courthouse history seems to match theatrical flair of current case
The eyes of Maryland were on the Carroll County Courthouse last Friday as oral arguments were heard in the case of Michael D. Smigiel Sr., et al, v. Peter Franchot, et al.

This, of course, is the historic constitutional test case pertaining to alleged constitutional and procedural irregularities i...
[Read full story]

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Something we really must talk about
On Christmas Eve, while many friends and families were preparing to get together and celebrate the holidays, the friends, colleagues and loved ones of Smithsburg police officer Christopher Nicholson, 25, gathered to bury him.

On Dec. 19, Officer Nicholson and the stranger he tried to help, Alison ...
[Read full story]

20071101 Guest essay: Helping Illegal Aliens by R2

The following is a guest essay by someone who wants their voice heard… The writer will monitor this site for your feedback. Meanwhile, please read, 20071101 A word about Guest Op-Eds (and comments)

Helping Illegal Aliens

November 1, 2007

Having recently retired and being in search of a new purpose in life the thought of helping others has a certain calling. Realizing that all people may require help at some point I decided to concentrate on helping murderers, rapists, bank robbers, illegal aliens and terrorists.

For the murderers, I could provide gun cleaning help, target practice facilities and ammunition. They could also use help with identification documents that would help them escape police detection. I could assist them with new drivers licenses and help them blend into the community where they could make use of taxpayer-supported services. Since they have already broken the law, I would try and assist them in getting amnesty or a presidential pardon if they were ever caught.

And for the rapists, I could provide knife sharpening help and practice in tying knots and rope. They could also use help with getting drivers licenses that would help them escape police detection and readily blend into the community and make use of taxpayer supported-services. Since they have already broken the law, I would try and assist them in getting amnesty or a presidential pardon if they were ever caught.

Bank robbers could make use of the above help with guns and knives as well as money laundering assistance. Their new drivers licenses could help them to board airplanes to take them to states that provide the best taxpayer-supported services. And if they were ever caught, I would try and assist them in getting amnesty or a presidential pardon.

The illegal aliens could use all of the above help as well, drivers licenses for identification, assistance in getting to the states with the best taxpayer-supported services and since they have already broken the law, I would try and assist them in getting amnesty or a presidential pardon if they were ever caught.

Terrorists are people too; they could make good use of the above help, drivers licenses for boarding airplanes and sharp knives. Blending into the community, using taxpayer-supported services and since they have already broken the law, I would try and assist them in getting amnesty or a presidential pardon if they are ever caught.

Of course, after I have assisted all these criminals I will be guilty of aiding and abetting criminals myself. Then I will have broken the law too. I wonder if I would get amnesty or a presidential pardon? I could always get a new drivers license and fly to a new state with lots of taxpayer-supported services. I bet I could get supporting funds from Al-Quaida for helping out their terrorists. When was the last time anyone was hung for treason in the United States?

####

20071024 Carroll County Commissioner Mike Zimmer asks for legislation against illegal immigrants by Mike Silvestri

Zimmer asks for legislation against illegal immigrants

Mike Silvestri, The Examiner 2007-10-24

Carroll County -

Adult illegal immigrants should be banned from Carroll County by law, says Commissioner Michael Zimmer.

He says the county’s state delegation should pass a law against adult illegal immigrants in Carroll, and he is asking his fellow commissioners to encourage them to take action.

[…]

Read the entire article here: Zimmer asks for legislation against illegal immigrants

20070823 Sanctuary cities and counties

Sanctuary cities and counties

Below is a list of cities and counties that have sanctuary policies, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service from June 2007.

August 23, 2007

Alaska

Anchorage

Fairbanks

Arizona

Chandler

California

Fresno

Los Angeles

San Diego

San Francisco

Sonoma County

Connecticut

New Haven

Illinois

Evanston

Cicero

Massachusetts

Cambridge

Orleans

Maine

Portland

Maryland

Baltimore

Takoma Park

Michigan

Ann Arbor

Detroit

Minnesota

Minneapolis

North Carolina

Durham

New Mexico

Albuquerque

Aztec

Rio Arriba County

Santa Fe

New York

New York City

Oregon

Ashland

Gaston

Marion County

Texas

Austin

Katy

Washington

Seattle

Wisconsin

Madison

[…]

Most cities that are considered sanctuary cities have adopted a "don't ask-don't tell" policy where they don't require their employees, including law enforcement officers, to report to federal officials aliens who may be illegally present in the country.

Localities, and in some cases individual police departments, in such areas that are considered "sanctuary cities," have utilized various mechanisms to ensure that unauthorized aliens who may be present in their jurisdiction illegally are not turned in to federal authorities. […]

More information can be found at: Sanctuary cities and counties

20070610 The Dreaded Immigration Debate

The Dreaded Immigration Debate

June 10^th, 2007

A colleague whose opinion I’ve come to place a great deal of value recently e-mailed with a heads-up on few topics he would like to tackle in the near future.

One of the topics is the current “third rail” of political/public policy discussion these days, “immigration reform.”

In Washington, various and assorted feckless "leaders" from both sides of the aisle, and the blogosphere are consumed with the immigration matter," and yet the challenges persist.

Is has all become some bizarre Kabuki theater on acid as everyone pursues a political advantage and “Bush Derangement” syndrome instead of attempting to do what is best for the country. A point I covered in my May 9, 2007 Tentacle column, “Déjà Vu, All Over Again.”

To paraphrase a comment by George Will some time ago about another maddening existential moment: “The numbing repetition of uncorrected falsehoods creates a phony atmosphere of uncertainty around key questions … Eventually voters throw up their hands and accept the fact that they’ll never know for sure what the truth is, and confusion ensues.”

I, for one, will look forward to his “post mortem” of the immigration bill. It was going to be the focus of my next Tentacle column, although I have started to find the debate essentially existential, impenetrably technical and Teutonic.

Not to mention the massive headache I get at the very mention of the topic. Something must be done and I have problems with the debate from both sides of the aisle.

Currently my thinking is to write about General Peter Pace stepping down as chair of the Joint Chief’s of Staff – and how this politicalization of the military is ultimately bad for the country…

Especially at this time as Gen. Pace is a veteran of the Battle of Hue in 1968 and has a great deal of insight as to the challenges we currently face in Iraq.

But getting back to the “I” word; much of my interest in immigration reform is from the agriculture point of view - and continuing to attract high-powered science, math, and technology minds to our country.

Word on the street is that if there is not some relief soon on allowing highly skilled mathematicians, scientists and technologists, some of our values research and development sector will also have to leave the country.

Not to mention the challenges that persists for agriculture, restaurants, and segments of the service industry…

Certainly not to be ignored is the continued overall expense for the country as a whole incurred as a result of undocumented aliens – especially as the number of instances increase where they further break the law once they are here.

I’m not hung-up on the “English first” dynamic. Immigrants have traditionally learned English and the current wave will also learn the language of the land. For the first 100 to 150 years of Carroll County a huge percentage of folks living in what we have come to know as present-day Carroll County spoke German. We survived – and prospered.

The best way to solve the “socialization” aspects of the matter is to be as inclusive a society as possible. Marginalizing a specific population only paradoxically exacerbates the problems.

I participated in trying to bring a student from France to our country several months ago and the experience was profoundly disillusioning. It was my view that the student is a poster child for exactly what we want coming to our country – for all the correct reasons.

The experience was as if the existing laws were written by Joseph Heller (of “Catch 22” fame.) It was absolutely maddening.

Although the effort to bring the student to our country looks like it will be successful, the experience was extraordinarily and prohibitively expensive.

It gave me insight into what many employers must do to bring in needed employees to get the work done that needs to get done on our country. The immigration laws, at present bring to mind, some of our country’s approaches to the second amendment in that all it will accomplish is making sure that only criminals can possess a firearm. No wonder there is so much illegal immigration.

At this point I’m not sure what the answer is. All I can do is roll my eyes and reach for another aspirin as I mutter epitaphs about everyone involved – both Democrats and Republicans.

####

For more information on Immigration reform

June 10^th, 2007

For more information on Immigration reform on “Soundtrack” click here: Immigration Reform

To view past Tentacle columns on Immigration reform go here:

May 9, 2007, Déjà Vu, All Over Again, by Kevin E. Dayhoff

and here:

May 31, 2006, The Great Mexican Maginot Line, by Kevin E. Dayhoff

_____

On May 9, 2007, in “Déjà Vu, All Over Again,” I wrote in part:

Our Congress is embarking on yet another curious and quixotic adventure, almost like the movie "Ground Hog Day." This time it is again delving into a perilous journey to develop a cogent approach to immigration reform.

Yes, it was just about a year ago that we were all debating and then wrestling to the ground S.2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006," and the House version of immigration reform, "The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005"

For years Congress has grappled with the first major overhaul of our country's immigration laws since a 97-3 majority passed Senate Bill 1664 in 1996.

That 1996 legislation was huge on several fronts. Scores of measures were enacted to limit the opportunity for illegal immigration. The border patrol was increased in both funding and staffing. Provisions barred an apprehended illegal alien for re-entry into the country for 10 years.

The most noteworthy legacy of the 1996 legislation was that it was a huge failure.

With the exception of that 1996 legislation, all immigration reform since 1990 has been ad hoc and piecemeal, all with the same results - failure to regulate and manage demands on immigration labor and maintaining a secure border with Mexico.

Alright - all immigration approaches by Congress have failed since the ill-fated 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress.

[…]

Nevertheless, it appears that this year the divisions in both the Democrat and Republican parties have deepened to the point that any discussion resembles a circular firing squad.

The Washington Times quoted "a senior Republican aide," who nailed it: the Democrats "want the issue, not an accomplishment." The immigration issue divides the Democrats as much as the Republicans. The aide went on to add "that Mr. Reid's move appears designed to force Republicans to filibuster the bill, thus allowing both sides to point fingers at each other.

"He wants us to save Democrats from themselves - 'Stop me before I take bad votes again.' That's where (Senator Reid) is. He wants us to be (the) grown-ups."

Read the entire column here: Déjà Vu, All Over Again

On May 31, 2006, The Great Mexican Maginot Line, I wrote in part:

Last Thursday, the United States Senate passed the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006" by a vote of 62 to 36. The legislation has sparked rigorous and rancorous debate as it supports a bi-partisan, multi-disciplinary approach to the challenges of immigration reform embraced by President George W. Bush.

The Senate legislation connects the necessary security of the border with Mexico with a "guest-worker" program, which will enable immigrant laborers to work in our country. It also creates a procedure for current undocumented workers to pay back taxes, pay a fine, learn English and apply for citizenship.

[…]

There is no doubt that the border with Mexico must be secured. One of the basic definitions of a nation-state is definable and defensible borders and right now the border with Mexico looks more like the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan.

Nevertheless, overlooked in the great immigration debate is the critical need for immigration reforms that will secure a legal and stable workforce - especially in agriculture. The House "enforcement only" legislation ignores agriculture's labor needs and will have a huge negative effect on our food supplies, on American farms and the economy.

[…]

Read the rest of the column here: The Great Mexican Maginot Line

####

20070610 For more information on Immigration reform

For more information on Immigration reform

June 10^th, 2007

For more information on Immigration reform on “Soundtrack” click here: Immigration Reform

To view past Tentacle columns on Immigration reform go here:

May 9, 2007, Déjà Vu, All Over Again, by Kevin E. Dayhoff

and here:

May 31, 2006, The Great Mexican Maginot Line, by Kevin E. Dayhoff

_____

On May 9, 2007, in “Déjà Vu, All Over Again,” I wrote in part:

Our Congress is embarking on yet another curious and quixotic adventure, almost like the movie "Ground Hog Day." This time it is again delving into a perilous journey to develop a cogent approach to immigration reform.

Yes, it was just about a year ago that we were all debating and then wrestling to the ground S.2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006," and the House version of immigration reform, "The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005"

For years Congress has grappled with the first major overhaul of our country's immigration laws since a 97-3 majority passed Senate Bill 1664 in 1996.

That 1996 legislation was huge on several fronts. Scores of measures were enacted to limit the opportunity for illegal immigration. The border patrol was increased in both funding and staffing. Provisions barred an apprehended illegal alien for re-entry into the country for 10 years.

The most noteworthy legacy of the 1996 legislation was that it was a huge failure.

With the exception of that 1996 legislation, all immigration reform since 1990 has been ad hoc and piecemeal, all with the same results - failure to regulate and manage demands on immigration labor and maintaining a secure border with Mexico.

Alright - all immigration approaches by Congress have failed since the ill-fated 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress.

[…]

Nevertheless, it appears that this year the divisions in both the Democrat and Republican parties have deepened to the point that any discussion resembles a circular firing squad.

The Washington Times quoted "a senior Republican aide," who nailed it: the Democrats "want the issue, not an accomplishment." The immigration issue divides the Democrats as much as the Republicans. The aide went on to add "that Mr. Reid's move appears designed to force Republicans to filibuster the bill, thus allowing both sides to point fingers at each other.

"He wants us to save Democrats from themselves - 'Stop me before I take bad votes again.' That's where (Senator Reid) is. He wants us to be (the) grown-ups."

Read the entire column here: Déjà Vu, All Over Again

On May 31, 2006, The Great Mexican Maginot Line, I wrote in part:

Last Thursday, the United States Senate passed the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006" by a vote of 62 to 36. The legislation has sparked rigorous and rancorous debate as it supports a bi-partisan, multi-disciplinary approach to the challenges of immigration reform embraced by President George W. Bush.

The Senate legislation connects the necessary security of the border with Mexico with a "guest-worker" program, which will enable immigrant laborers to work in our country. It also creates a procedure for current undocumented workers to pay back taxes, pay a fine, learn English and apply for citizenship.

[…]

There is no doubt that the border with Mexico must be secured. One of the basic definitions of a nation-state is definable and defensible borders and right now the border with Mexico looks more like the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan.

Nevertheless, overlooked in the great immigration debate is the critical need for immigration reforms that will secure a legal and stable workforce - especially in agriculture. The House "enforcement only" legislation ignores agriculture's labor needs and will have a huge negative effect on our food supplies, on American farms and the economy.

[…]

Read the rest of the column here: The Great Mexican Maginot Line

####

20070604 McCain fires back at conservative immigration critics

McCain fires back at conservative immigration critics

June 4, 2007

Story Highlights

Conservatives criticize Sen. John McCain for backing immigration reform
Plan to give illegal immigrants visa "amnesty," conservatives say
Arizona Republican says doing nothing amounts to "silent amnesty"
McCain accuses fellow candidate Mitt Romney of pandering on the issue

[…]

From Candy Crowley and Sasha Johnson

CNN Washington Bureau

Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Immigration reform is proving to be a divisive issue for the Republican Party. But few prominent Republicans are feeling the heat like Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a fact that prompted the 2008 contender to address the issue head-on Monday.

"I'm not running to do the easy things," McCain told the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce in a speech. "I defend with no reservation our proposal to offer the people who harvest our crops, tend our gardens, work in our restaurants, care for our children and clean our homes a chance to be legal citizens of this country."

McCain earned the ire of conservatives when he co-sponsored immigration reform legislation with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, last year -- a proposal critics charged provided amnesty to illegal immigrants.

The current iteration of the Senate's immigration compromise has prompted similar outcries, but does not have McCain's name attached to it, although the senator said he was heavily involved in its negotiation.

(Watch McCain ally Sen. Lindsey Graham try to sell the immigration plan in South Carolina)

"Illegal immigration and our porous borders are problems that we have, to our shame, ignored for too long because it was too hard and politically risky to solve," McCain said. "A number of us -- Republicans and Democrats and the president, have tried to meet this responsibility.

"We have proposed a remedy that, while imperfect as all compromises are, is nevertheless a serious, comprehensive and practical attempt to secure our borders," he said.

Read the rest here: McCain fires back at conservative immigration critics

####

20070506 On this date in history: The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed

On this date in history the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act.

May 6th, 2007

The photograph belongs to the “Western History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library.”[1]


According to the Library of Congress:

“The door to the Chinese American dream was finally slammed shut in 1882, when Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act was the first significant restriction on free immigration in U.S. history, and it excluded Chinese laborers from the country under penalty of imprisonment and deportation. It also made Chinese immigrants permanent aliens by excluding them from U.S. citizenship. Chinese men in the U.S. now had little chance of ever reuniting with their wives…”

Read the rest here: Library of Congress

Meanwhile, in Congress, the Washington Times is reporting May 5th, 2007 that “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday set a firm deadline on President Bush's efforts to work out an immigration agreement, announcing he will bypass the normal process and have the Senate debate an old immigration bill unless the White House can produce an acceptable alternative by May 14…”

Read the rest of the article here: “Reid sets immigration bill debate” by Stephen Dinan, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, May 5, 2007

References:

18820506 Chinese Exclusion Act

18801117 Treaty Regulating Immigration from China

For more about exclusion in California, visit The Chinese in California, 1850-1925: Exclusion.

####


[1] This photograph is owned by the Denver Public Library. The Credit Line reads: “Western History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library.” For more information and photographs please see: “History of the American West, 1860-1920: Photographs from the Collection of the Denver Public Library.” The low-resolution reproduction is hopefully covered under the fair use clause of the 1976 copyright act to illustrate the subject of this post and for use for educational, scholarly purposes and private study.

20070304 Republicans Attack....Each Other

Republicans Attack....Each Other

This is going to be the longest presidential campaign any of us have ever had to endure…

Sunday, March 04, 2007 By Susan Estrich[1]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256525,00.html

LOS ANGELES —

"I'm sure we'll disagree on issues from time to time, but I doubt you'll see the rancor that apparently may exist elsewhere," said Mitt Romney, commenting on the shouting match between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spokesmen about Obama supporter David Geffen’s anti-Hillary rant.

That was Feb. 23.

A week later, Romney went on the attack against his two major rivals, with rancor worthy of the angriest Democrat. Pushing one hot button after another, he accused John McCain of wrongly promoting amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants, and Rudy Giuliani of being wrong on abortion, gay rights, and guns.

"He is pro-choice, he is pro-gay marriage and anti-gun," was Romney’s description of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. "That's a tough combination in a Republican primary."

As for McCain, Romney criticized his role in the pending Senate debate about immigration, where the Arizona senator has been working with the man who beat Romney a few years ago, Ted Kennedy, to come up with a comprehensive reform package. "I do not believe amnesty is the right course for the 11 or 12 million illegal immigrants who are living here. It didn't work in the 1980s. It's not going to work in the 2000s either."

He also criticized McCain for not supporting a federal constitutional amendment to limit marriage to heterosexual couples.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

Read the rest here.

####

[1] Susan Estrich is currently the Robert Kingsley Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of Southern California. She was previously Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and was the first woman President of the Harvard Law Review. She is a columnist for Creators Syndicate and has written for USA Today and the Los Angeles Times.

Estrich's books include the just published “Soulless,” “The Case for Hillary Clinton,” “How to Get Into Law School,” ...“Getting Away with Murder: How Politics Is Destroying the Criminal Justice System,” and "Making the Case for Yourself: A Diet Book for Smart Women.”

She served as campaign manager for Michael Dukakis' presidential bid, becoming the first woman to head a U.S. presidential campaign. Estrich appears regularly on the FOX News Channel, in addition to writing the “Blue Streak” column for foxnews.com.

20061213 Say It In Broken English

Say it in Broken English

December 13, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff (668 words)

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=978&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1247802&om=1

I was watching the current TV series “Studio 60” when this column came to life. In the curious and paradoxical world of word associations, there was an oblique reference to Anita Pallenberg in the show.

Ms. Pallenberg was a protégée of the early “Rolling Stones” and Marianne Faithful; who cut one of my all time favorite albums, “Broken English,” in October 1979. (One song, “The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan," was used in Ridley Scott’s 1991 movie “Thelma and Louise.”)

In a later conversation with my wife (pray for my wife) I segued into the current discussions about the history of English as the predominant language in Carroll County. English speaking Europeans came to Carroll County slowly at first, but in the end it appears that the English speakers write the history books.

Before 1744, the predominant government in Carroll County was the Haudenosaunee Nation – the “Six Nations.” The Haudenosaunee played a key role in the evolution of American democracy and paradoxically, they are why we speak English today.

Much of our current way of life is owed to the heritage and legacy of the Haudenosaunee Nation. Several main roads in Carroll County have their beginnings as Haudenosaunee trading routes. And several towns in Carroll County - Patapsco for example - had their beginnings as Haudenosaunee settlements.

It was not until after the Treaty of the Six Nations was signed on July 4, 1744 with the Haudenosaunee Nation, and the dispute over the Mason-Dixon Line was settled in 1767 that settlers started to come here in greater numbers.

It was near present-day Linwood, that the first recorded structure in the territory was built around 1715 by John Steelman. In 1744, approximately 65 families lived in Carroll County.

The Treaty of Paris in 1763 signaled the end of the North American portion of a global war between France and England, the French and Indian War, 1754–63.

It was one of the last pieces of the puzzle enabling settlement in Carroll County with relative freedom from violence. The last piece, of course, was the American Revolution, 1775-83.

But the very first “settlers” were the Algonquians who arrived around 800 B.C. The original Algonquians divided into a number of distinct tribe-nations, which formed a multi-nation government under a constitution that dates to approximately August 31, 1142.

The Algonquians called themselves the “Haudenosaunee” meaning “People of the Longhouse” and their government was one of the first true participatory democracies in history. It also incorporated full political and leadership rights for women.

The French term for the Six Nations confederacy was “Iroquois.” The term is considered a racial slur by many Native-Americans. The original Carroll Countians spoke one of many dialects of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic family of North America.

The Six Nations consisted of “nation-states” made up from different areas governed by the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and the Tuscaroras. The Six Nations extended from Labrador to South Carolina.

Many historians to this day credit the multi-cultural and multi-lingual participatory democracy as exemplified by the Haudenosaunee Nation to be the inspiration for our nation’s founders’ ideas for our system of government.

Other historians have vigorously contested this theory as anecdotal and supposition. Read: history is written by the victorious. However, there is evidence, for example, that both Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson in particular used material delineated in a famous speech made by the great Haudenosaunee “sachem” (chief,) Canassatego, in 1744 at the signing of the Treaty of Six Nations.

In the Constitutional Convention of May through September, 1787, the basis for the “federal system” of government advocated by Messrs. Jefferson and Franklin was based on the Haudenosaunee system of government.

Today it is a paradox that for 75 percent of Carroll County’s history, we did not speak English. But to this day, the English speakers are (re)writing history.

And Marianne Faithful; four decades later, she is currently victorious over many personal challenges, living in Paris and enjoying yet another successful re-write of her singing and acting career – and performing in French.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org

####

Often, when I consider the immigration discussions in Taneytown, I think of Marianne Faithfull’s “Say it in Broken English.” (I had the opportunity to see Marianne Faithful in Fells Point – quite a number of years ago and it sounded more like this.)

_____

Related:

Immigration Gumballs

This clip from the longer video, Immigration by the Numbers, features Roy Beck demonstrating the catastrophe of the huge numbers of both legal and illegal immigration by Third World people into the modern nations. He uses standard statistics and simple gumballs to show this disaster in the making.

Video was done by roy beck:

http://www.answers.com/topic/roy-beck

Full video on google:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5871651411393887069

####

"Five Easy Pieces"

20061121 “Everyone who wants to work is welcome in Carroll County”

“Everyone who wants to work is welcome in Carroll County”

November 21st, 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff (845 words)

As to the unfortunate matter in Taneytown, whereby the city’s elected leadership recently passed legislation declaring English as the official language of the city; it sends the wrong signal to folks inside and especially outside of Carroll County.

Whether the legislation is a “statement” without force of law or just a publicity stunt, it is not a true signal of what we are as a greater community. Everyone who wants to work should be welcomed in our community.

In the past, I have worked with most of the current elected leadership of Taneytown and they are a great group of folks. They are quite committed to their community and put in long hours.

I do not know Taneytown Councilman Paul E. Chamberlain Jr. In all candor, when Councilman Chamberlain first brought up the “English first” issue, I though it was campaign rhetoric in his bid to be relevant in his bid to unseat the popular Maryland Senator David Brinkley.

This initiative has caused a “media storm” of unwanted attention to Carroll County for all the wrong reasons.

We do so many things well in Carroll County. This legislation is a “darn shame.”

Historically Carroll County is a welcoming community.

By way of our historic roots, either as innkeepers and provisioners to travelers on their way west, or as shopkeepers, or as folks looking to expand our economic base in the golden age of Carroll County’s small towns in the first part of the 1900s as communities looked to expand their economic base and attract folks to move to the country.

Not too mention Carroll County’s agricultural roots, in which a visitor to the farm in the days before automobiles was a holiday and folks were welcomed with open arms.

Why even when Carroll County used German POWs for agricultural labor during WWII, there are plenty of stories and anecdotes about the German prisoners eating at the family dinner table on the farms…

A solution in search of a problem.

But Councilman Chamberlain’s continued pursuit has presented to those of us who are somewhat familiar with Taneytown, to be a solution in search of a problem.

I have not attempted to talk with Councilman Chamberlain, but I have played phone tag with Councilman James L. McCarron. Councilman McCarron is the gold standard of a locally elected official working hard for what is best for his city. I have served on several Maryland Municipal League committees with Councilman McCarron and we both served on the MML Board together.

I have some insight as to his thinking process when it comes to municipal government and it means something to me when he says, as he as quoted in an article in the November 14th, 2006 Baltimore Sun by Laura McCandlish:

Councilman James L. McCarron denounced the measure. In his more than 22 years on the council, he said, no one ever came forward with a comment or complaint who didn't speak English.

"I have no problem making English the official language of the state of Maryland or even America, but to make it the official language of Taneytown is simply a nonissue," McCarron said. "It's not a unity resolution. It's a disunity one."

When someone is an elected community leader, one of his or her main responsibilities is to see to it that taxpayer dollars are handled as frugally as possible.

Introducing and pursuing municipal legislation, such as “English First” is a waste of taxpayer money and a waste of time for municipal elected and appointed officials.

Disagreement with the councilman needs to be respectful.

I respectfully disagree with Councilman Chamberlain… Ultimately he need not answer to me. He has to answer to his constituents and provide leadership for Taneytown as he sees fit…

The worst thing that can happen to a community is that everybody thinks the same way all the time. It will be catastrophic if potential leaders are unwilling to step out of the comfortable cocoon of their lives to assume a leadership role or proffer a different point of view for fear of the politics of personal destruction.

Spanish-speaking workers are welcome in our community.

I grew up in the nursery and landscaping industry and have worked with Spanish-speaking folks all my life. Not only are they, by and large, hard working and family oriented, but they are critical to the labor pool for agriculture in Carroll County and Maryland.

Ultimately, we are talking about are fellow human beings who have come to this country - just like us or our ancestors, at some point in time - to make a better life for our families and work hard in a foreign land.

In October 1833, in the area we now know as Carroll County, a vote was taken as to whether or not we should form Carroll County. Did you know that the ballots for that vote were printed in German, and English, for all the non-German speaking citizens?

Our Spanish-speaking workers will learn English, just as German-speaking Carroll Countians eventually did.

Perhaps we should extend a helping hand, instead of backhanding them.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.
E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org
####

20061115 Becoming Illegal

Becoming Illegal

November 15th, 2006

Hat Tip: Grammy

I received this by e-mail and I assume that it is making the e-mail rounds… I have no idea if it is a “real” letter or not, however, it certainly puts the some of the issues of illegal aliens into a different perspective.

Although I have written a good bit about diversity and multiculturalism, I have not written much about the challenges of illegal immigration, except: May 31, 2006, in The Tentacle, “The Great Mexican Maginot Line:” “Last Thursday, the United States Senate passed the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006" by a vote of 62 to 36. The legislation has sparked rigorous and rancorous debate as it supports a bi-partisan, multi-disciplinary approach to the challenges of immigration reform embraced by President George W. Bush…”

The following may give some pause for thought…

(From a Maryland resident to his senator)

The Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC , 20510

Dear Senator Sarbanes,

As a native Marylander and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stem from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.

Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications, as well as "in-state" tuition rates for many colleges throughout the United States for my son.

Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance.

Your Loyal Constituent,
Pete -----------

Get your Forms (NOW)!! Call your Internal Revenue Service

Please pass this onto your friends so they can save on this great offer!!!!

####

20060806 KDDC Rudy Giuliani on immigration reform

Rudy Giuliani on immigration reform
Posted August 6, 2006

I found this on the Weekly Standard's web site:

Former Mayor Giuliani is correct. Please see my Tentacle column from May 31st, 2006: "The Great Mexican Maginot Line."

According to the Weekley Standard:

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Rudy on Immigration

Last night, in an interview with Fox's Bill O'Reilly, Rudy Giuliani again put himself squarely in the president’s camp on immigration reform. The mayor is for tough border security, but he has also made the case in recent speeches that real reform must include a guest worker program and a “path to citizenship.” On Fox, Giuliani argued that comprehensive reform is not only practical but also aides in fighting crime and thwarting terrorists. Some highlights: GIULIANI: Yes, yes. National Guard short-term solution makes a lot of sense. Increasing the border patrol. O'REILLY: In the long term. GIULIANI: Long-term over a period of time would be the permanent way to do that. But you've got to seal the border. And you've got to do it with personnel. And you've got to do it with technology. You've got to have both. And we have to know who's in the United States. We need to have information about who's in this country. And then you have to have a way in which people can regularize themselves as well. I mean, you need to get people out from under the table. O'REILLY: So you would give them a pathway to citizenship? GIULIANI: I would say -- this is a classic thing where you've got to do both, carrot and stick. O'REILLY: Yes, but you got to do -- I think the stick first. GIULIANI: You've got to do both. O'REILLY: You know, you stop it and then back. When you were the mayor in New York, illegal immigration rose in this city tremendously. I mean, you can't get a cab now with an American in there. GIULIANI: But crime declined immensely…. GIULIANI: The Immigration and Naturalization Service would only deport 1,500 to 2,000 a year. So I said to myself I have 398,00 illegal immigrants because the federal government is not going to do anything about this. It can't. So I had to figure out how do I deal with it so that I regularize them, so that I. O'REILLY: So how did you do that? GIULIANI: They don't commit crimes. They don't - well, we made sure that their children were allowed to go to school for which we were criticized. But if I didn't do that, I would end up with children on the streets. If I had just said well, illegal immigrants can't have their children in school. And we tried to make their lives reasonable. O'REILLY: How about city services? GIULIANI: It would have been. O'REILLY: Did you give them city money? GIULIANI: Sure, we did. If they were necessary services. We allowed them, for example, to report crimes. O'REILLY: Without being -- asked what their status was. GIULIANI: Because we wanted the criminals who were committing the crimes. O'REILLY: Right. GIULIANI: A criminal can beat up an illegal immigrant today. He can beat you up tomorrow. So we need the. O'REILLY: So you took the practical approach to it? GIULIANI: But you've got to take a practical approach to it. There are 12 million illegals in this country. We got to stop illegals from coming in. And a tremendous amount of money should be put into the physical security that's needed to do that. People and technology. At the same time, you've got this tremendous number of people who are below the table. As long as you don't know who they are, as long as you can't get them to come forward, you can't identify them, you can't photograph them, you have to figure out who they are, then you have a dangerous situation. O'REILLY: It's interesting. GIULIANI: Now terrorists can hide in that group. O'REILLY: Oh, absolutely. GIULIANI: And criminals can hide.

Posted by Daniel McKivergan at 05:33 PM | Immigration | Permalink

Immigration Reform

20060806 KDDC Rudy Giuliani on immigration reform

Rudy Giuliani on immigration reform
Posted August 6, 2006

I found this on the Weekly Standard's web site:

Former Mayor Giuliani is correct. Please see my Tentacle column from May 31st, 2006: "The Great Mexican Maginot Line."

According to the Weekley Standard:

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Rudy on Immigration

Last night, in an interview with Fox's Bill O'Reilly, Rudy Giuliani again put himself squarely in the president’s camp on immigration reform. The mayor is for tough border security, but he has also made the case in recent speeches that real reform must include a guest worker program and a “path to citizenship.” On Fox, Giuliani argued that comprehensive reform is not only practical but also aides in fighting crime and thwarting terrorists. Some highlights: GIULIANI: Yes, yes. National Guard short-term solution makes a lot of sense. Increasing the border patrol. O'REILLY: In the long term. GIULIANI: Long-term over a period of time would be the permanent way to do that. But you've got to seal the border. And you've got to do it with personnel. And you've got to do it with technology. You've got to have both. And we have to know who's in the United States. We need to have information about who's in this country. And then you have to have a way in which people can regularize themselves as well. I mean, you need to get people out from under the table. O'REILLY: So you would give them a pathway to citizenship? GIULIANI: I would say -- this is a classic thing where you've got to do both, carrot and stick. O'REILLY: Yes, but you got to do -- I think the stick first. GIULIANI: You've got to do both. O'REILLY: You know, you stop it and then back. When you were the mayor in New York, illegal immigration rose in this city tremendously. I mean, you can't get a cab now with an American in there. GIULIANI: But crime declined immensely…. GIULIANI: The Immigration and Naturalization Service would only deport 1,500 to 2,000 a year. So I said to myself I have 398,00 illegal immigrants because the federal government is not going to do anything about this. It can't. So I had to figure out how do I deal with it so that I regularize them, so that I. O'REILLY: So how did you do that? GIULIANI: They don't commit crimes. They don't - well, we made sure that their children were allowed to go to school for which we were criticized. But if I didn't do that, I would end up with children on the streets. If I had just said well, illegal immigrants can't have their children in school. And we tried to make their lives reasonable. O'REILLY: How about city services? GIULIANI: It would have been. O'REILLY: Did you give them city money? GIULIANI: Sure, we did. If they were necessary services. We allowed them, for example, to report crimes. O'REILLY: Without being -- asked what their status was. GIULIANI: Because we wanted the criminals who were committing the crimes. O'REILLY: Right. GIULIANI: A criminal can beat up an illegal immigrant today. He can beat you up tomorrow. So we need the. O'REILLY: So you took the practical approach to it? GIULIANI: But you've got to take a practical approach to it. There are 12 million illegals in this country. We got to stop illegals from coming in. And a tremendous amount of money should be put into the physical security that's needed to do that. People and technology. At the same time, you've got this tremendous number of people who are below the table. As long as you don't know who they are, as long as you can't get them to come forward, you can't identify them, you can't photograph them, you have to figure out who they are, then you have a dangerous situation. O'REILLY: It's interesting. GIULIANI: Now terrorists can hide in that group. O'REILLY: Oh, absolutely. GIULIANI: And criminals can hide.

Posted by Daniel McKivergan at 05:33 PM | Immigration | Permalink

Immigration Reform