The Statue of Liberty, A Gift or a Plague

The Statue of Liberty was given to Americans by the French government in 1886 as a token of friendship between the two countries. The statue was to symbolize America’s hard won freedom and liberty.

However, as a result of a propaganda campaign by immigrant lobbyists, most Americans have come to think that the statue represents some sort of inalienable commitment to an open door, immigration policy.

The truth is that in 1926, Emma Lazarus successfully lobbied to get her now famous lines added to the statue. The result is that every time the idea of limiting immigration is brought up, these lines are quoted and the subject dropped as just plain un-American.

Most of us know the first few lines of her poem but when we hear them all, they take on a rather different complexion, particularly in light of the present over-populated and under-skilled society in America today.

“GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE, THE WRETCHED REFUSE OF YOUR TEEMING SHORES, SEND THESE, THE HOMELESS, TEMPEST-TOSSED TO ME.”

I say, we have enough of our own wretched refuse; we don’t need anymore. It’s time to take down the help wanted sign.

And those are the thoughts of K9ACT

The Right to Vote, Civic Duty or a Waste of Time

We have learned from childhood that voting is not only a hard won privilege, but a civic duty, an obligation that we must perform or else.

Eyebrows rise and people snort when I tell them that I have voted twice in my life and probably never will again.

The first time was for JFK because I had just turned 21 and was properly brainwashed to believe it was my duty and also because he was a Catholic which seemed important at that time.

It didn't take me long to realize that both reasons were pretty dumb. Furthermore, the more I delved into politics and public affairs, the more obvious it became that it made little difference who won. They all said what they had to, to get elected and did what they had to, to stay elected and the latter rarely coincided with what I had in mind.

In spite of the fact that I am pretty much of a news junkie and follow politics rigorously, I simply did not bother to vote again until Ross Perot came along. Finally, a man who seemed to have the courage of his convictions not to mention the money to do it on his own, if necessary.

Well, the media did what it usually does to third party candidates and treated him like a leper to the extent that they even refused to run his self-funded ads.

He lost and so , I think, did the country but this just hardened my conviction that voting is a waste of time.

So what happens if nobody votes? I sneak in at the last minute and vote for myself. Or better yet, no one gets elected so no one can raise our taxes.

AND THOSE ARE THE THOUGHTS OF K9ACT