illegal immigration

Dear ___________,

Illegal immigration is gaining more publicity, and many are demanding corrective action.  It is a sensitive debate, and needs to be dealt with care. 

My primary concern with illegal immigration is the market it has created for immigrant smugglers who often take advantage of those whom they help into the country.  Immigration, I feel, is good for the country, and if handled correctly, would have very few down sides.  I believe we could largely solve illegal immigration if we fix our immigration process, and aggressively enforce immigration law. We have a 3 year waiting period for anyone wanting to come into our country, leaving few options for people who are desperate to come here.  And so I suggest the following:

• Improve processing of green cards so all people with clean backgrounds are allowed in in  a timely manner
• More aggressively enforce laws preventing companies from hiring illegal immigrants
• More aggressively guard our borders
• Be extremely aggressive against all smugglers, especially those who enslave their victims once in the US
• Green card all illegal aliens who otherwise have a clean slate here in the US. 

I believe that if we allow the honest immigrants into our country in an honest way, we can get rid of many (not all, of course) of the negative side effects of illegal immigration without losing many of the positive ones. 

God bless you in your noble office,

BJ

The balance created by Liberal and Conservative ideas is essential for People's Law Governance

Dear 


   I refer you to the image above.  The "Three Headed Eagle" is a symbol that our  founding fathers believed embodied the structure of a  government that is BY, FOR and OF the PEOPLE.  Why do I refere to this?  Because we all need to be reminded what makes our country great.  The symbolism of the 3 headed eagle is deep and meaningful.  For clarity and brevity, and for the purpose of espousing a return to bipartisanship I wish to dwell only on the symbolism of the wings.
  The left wing represents the compassionate party, the problem solvers, ie. liberal thinkers.  The right wing represents the interest in the conservation of the nations resources and the peoples freedom, ie the conservative thinkers.  Balance of the two parties is essential for life, liberty, and the pursuit of  happiness.  If either wing is too strong or too weak the eagle will not fly straight, deviating towards anarchy on the right, or tyranny on the left.  If our conservative wing is not balanced we may see a stagnation of governmental responsibility which may lead the people to doubt the ability of government to serve the people.  This in turn may lead them to take maters into their own hands and a progression towards anarchy.  On the other hand, if our liberal wing is not balanced we may see the squandering of national resources, heavy debt, class envy, and a total reliance on government which may eventually lead to tyranny.
     Whenever one party has a vast majority in our congress we are in great danger of major deviation from the moorings of democracy and freedom.  It takes great self control and a nationalistic vision of the purpose of our democratic republic to stay centered on liberty.  We hear one party excuse themselves in their political gluttony because of the previous administrations indulgence.  This ought not to be.  Our elected officials must not be enemies but allies, not foes but colleagues, not adversaries but cooperators.  I call on all to quit pointing fingers, use wisdom and moderation, and above all, work together to insure our safety, our liberty, and our ability to thrive.

Now to the heart of the matter - The Health Care Reform monstrosity.

  How can one expect any sort of bipartisanship in a bill that is so large that no one can read, study, or debate it.  We must break down the health care bill into smaller bites so adequate debate and compromise cant take place.  The February 25th Zogby poll showed that 52% favor starting over on the health care bill vs. 32% in favor of amending the Obama bill.  The Rasmussen Poll on March 1st states "Sixty-three percent (63%) say a better strategy to reform the health care system would be to pass smaller bills that address problems individually. Twenty-seven percent (27%) still think passing a comprehensive bill that covers all aspects of the health care system is a better idea,"
   I call on you not to seek to pass this bill under the rule of  reconciliation.  The references to this procedure as "a simple majority" by the leaders of the Democrats is misleading and disingenuous.  Never before has such enormous legislation been attempted with out a 2/3 majority.  To do so now will deeply undermine the policy and procedure that has kept our country strong and united since the writing of the constitution.  Such arbitrary use of reconciliation will only breed hostility in the congress and in the country.  To thinly film the bill with a few dregs of conservative ideas will not fool anyone.  We are watching and we can see what you are doing.  Do not underestimate the ability of the people to understand and to perceive.
   Do the right thing.  Seek common ground and work accross the isle until we can form responsible and meaningful legislation.  Listen to the conservative perspective in regard to TORT reform, transportability of insurance across state lines, and expansion of personal health care savings accounts.  All these ideas have merit.  They deserve debate and consideration.
     We are not in a health care crisis.  We are in an economic crisis and we must be ever so careful not to confuse the two.  We need jobs first.  Please refocus efforts on employment so we can afford any kind of health insurance.  Slow down the health care train so we can do this right.  Please allow a fair and meaningful debate on this very important issue.

With Respect,

Quin Christensen
  
   

Bipartisanship

Dear President Obama,

As a concerned citizen, I am looking forward to efforts made on health care and other areas that need attention within our country.  I was pleased when you decided to have a discussion with the republicans on health care, seeing that not much bipartisan progress was being made, but was disappointed with the outcome.  I feel that both sides of the debate have very valid concerns and those concerns should be heard and addressed.  Unfortunately, it seems that since the democrats seem to have so many seats in congress right now, that not much attention is being given to the republicans.  I was hoping that you might try to be the go-between for the two parties, but rather it seems you were just there for a public debate where no concessions were made.

I've heard you say that you may just have to push the bill through without support from the republicans, and that when elections come in the fall, it will show who was right or wrong.  Let me just say, that regardless of what the voters say in the elections, trying to pass a bill this big without any bipartisan support is wrong.  You are essentially saying that the republicans, and the citizens they represent, and their concerns do not matter.  Nothing could be more offensive to the republican party and the independents than to see the democrats discard those concerns now.

Now, I understand the importance of making progress, and getting this issue fixed, but it seems that you are taking the wrong approach.  Instead of trying to pass just one bill that is too large for much of the congress to swallow, I believe you should split it up into many smaller bills that address individual issues one at a time.  Doing so would allow you to make progress starting with the items that both parties agree on.  And as you move on towards the more controversial aspects, maybe better compromises could be found when dealing with smaller bills than when trying to deal with the whole thing at one time.  And even if some parts of the bill never get passed, you will likely be able to address the most significant problems quickly in this manner, and it would show the American public that you are a man who is concerned with their opinions, and you know how to give and take. 

God bless you in your noble office.

BJ

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Dear Senator/Representative,

As a representative of Utah, I do not doubt you are fully aware of the conservative values of the state you represent.  However, it is imperative at this time, for things to be able to progress, that you work with the democrats in finding solutions to our nations problems.  I do not doubt your sincere efforts, but I would like to make mention of the health care policy.  While I do not feel inclined to mention individual aspects of the policy, I am interested in something happening on this issue.  I am aware that recently the republicans met with President Obama about this policy, and it seems that no concessions were made on either side.  It would be my hope that he would make the first concession considering he has the upper hand (in numbers at least) in this battle.  The concession I hope he makes is to split his bill into many smaller bills, so the more popular parts can be passed, and the less popular parts to be removed or changed until they too are agreed upon.  Since you are a member of the republican party, I suggest that you make efforts for the republican party to unify their voice in this one thing, that the president makes the bill into smaller bills so that they can be more easily debated and voted upon.  If the party is successful in making their wishes extremely clear to the president, the congress and the public, I believe the president would concede this request.

God bless you in your noble office.

BJ