My Blog Compared to My Classmates

The three blogs I looked at were written by Andrew Robinson, Kyle Buffington, and Madison Daubert. I saw both similarities and differences in each blog. Here is what I though of each blog.

Andrew’s blog was set up a lot like mine. He had the same format and the lengths of his posts are similar. We also present our arguments in a similar way. He is advocating against steroids in sports. Our topics are somewhat similar in that both are very controversial topics right now. Both have entered governmental circles. Both are discussed nearly daily in the news in one way or another. Both are major problems that people turn there back on and conveniently forget about and both problems are running rampant right now with little to stop them. I think steroids are a problem that will probably be a little bit easier to stop but both problems need to be looked at reevaluated and then acted upon.

The look of Kyle’s blog is quite a bit different than mine. The format is very different and the background and text are both different. Kyle is advocating against obesity. Kyle’s arguments are very similar to mine; especially the one looking at something that is opposed to our topic. His is about a website set up by a woman who thinks that obesity does not equal unhealthiness. He is very passionately opposing her opinion as I did against the news article that opposed my argument. Obesity is another issue that I think is having a large detrimental affect on American society as a whole, just like illegal immigration. The major difference between illegal immigration and obesity is that obesity is a personal problem. Obesity is a problem for a lot of people in America but it is still a personal problem. Comparatively, illegal immigration is a national problem. It affects the international relation between America and Mexico but both topics are huge problems in America right now.

Madison’s blog is about juveniles being charged in adult court. The format of her blog is very different from mine. Her posts are also usually shorter than mine. Our topics really are not that similar either. Both have to do with people breaking the law and facing the consequences. Madison however is arguing that children shouldn’t be charged as adults while I think immigrants should be prosecuted for their crimes to the fullest extent of the law. While I think her topic is very important, I don’t think it is having as detrimental an affect on America as illegal immigration is. Madison does argue very strongly for her advocacy project just as I do though.

This is how my blog compares with three blogs from my classmates. Hopefully mine compares favorably.

8 ways to advocate against illegal immigration

There are many ways to advocate for any cause. Here, in no particular order, are eight ways to advocate against illegal immigration.

1. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.
Just about every community has some kind of newspaper. Writing a letter to the editor is an easy way to get your opinion and feelings into the media. This is a very simple way to reach a large audience of people and a great way to get your point across.

2.Support political candidates who oppose illegal immigration.
I am not saying someone should support a political candidate based solely on this one issue. But if a voter who opposes illegal immigration is waffling between two candidates and one supports amnesty for illegal immigrants and the other one doesn’t I really think they should strongly consider full heartedly supporting the candidate who is against illegal immigration.

3.Write a letter to state representatives urging them to enforce illegal immigration laws.
Voters help elect state representatives and state representatives are put in power to convey the feelings of those voters. Writing a letter to your state representative is a great way to remind those representatives why they were voted into office. And maybe, your letter will have enough of an impact to at least help influence that representative’s opinion.

4.Put a bumper sticker on your car.
This one is really simple. Find a classy bumper sticker that gets your point across, and put it on your bumper for all motorists to see.

5.Make posters.
Posters around the local courthouse, police station, voting booths, and other public places would help raise awareness about the topic. These would be easy to make and might interest people, at least enough to look into the issue further. Posters are always a good way to advocate because they are visually appealing and very easy to make and use.

6.Write an online blog about the topic.
I am advocating for an issue right now by writing this blog. Blogs are easy to set up and use and if you provide links to certain sights you are almost guaranteed to get people looking at your blog. Writing about an issue and posting it online provides the information to people all over the country and the world. Though a lot of people won’t take the time to look at your blog it is just another way to get your opinion out there.

7.Make a website.
This could easily be put in the same category as making a blog. In fact they could likely go together. A website is just another way that millions of people have access to the subject you are advocating. Getting your opinion out on the web is a great way to advocate for something.

8.Get educated . . . and spread your knowledge.
I think the easiest way to advocate an opposition to illegal immigration is to learn as much as you can about the topic and talk to people about it. Illegal immigration is a hot button issue and it is likely to come up in conversation quite often. If you know what you believe then it is easy to advocate to others by simply using facts and providing your opinion.

Journalism article opposing my topic

Even when unemployment rates are high, even when America is forced to build twice as many schools, roads and hospitals, even when welfare and social security are breaking down, still some people say illegal immigration is good for the U.S economy. In Robert Sheer’s “Legalize the Illegals” article at http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060328_robert_scheer_immigrants/ he argues that illegal immigrants should be given amnesty and that they are good for the U.S economy. Sheer argues that our country has been worried about immigration in mass several different times in our history and it has always worked out to the benefit of our country. Newsflash Mr. Sheer we have never seen the kind of illegal immigration numbers that we our currently seeing. And we have never seen such a large amount of immigrants who are refusing to assimilate into American society.

This illegal immigration problem is nothing like the problems in the past. Sheer says the immigration problem is no different than the immigrant flows of the past from “Irish, Chinese, Jewish, Russian… or even the freed slaves seeking to earn an honest living in Northern cities after the Civil War.” This would be true, except not one of those immigrant situations saw the flow of millions of illegal immigrants across a U.S border connected with the country sending the illegals. This situation cannot even be compared to the immigrant situations in the past.

Sheer says that some 2 million illegal immigrants work in the U.S for below minimum wage and millions more work without basic things that citizen workers have like occupational safety or overtime pay. Sheer’s solution to this would be to make these illegal immigrants legal so that they can make more than minimum wage and receive normal work compensations. Last time I checked, this would be the first time someone would be rewarded for BREAKING THE LAW.

Sheer says that “Americans were quite happy to eat the food harvested by those same harassed and abused workers as well as to entrust the “illegals” with the care of American homes and children.” Sheer is right on this issue. It is ridiculous that some American take advantage of illegal immigrants. Those Americans are guilty of crimes just like the illegal immigrants are. They should face stiff penalties for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. However, this is not a good argument for legalizing illegal immigrants.

According to Sheer “This is a moment of truth for America. It is time to acknowledge that we need the immigrant workers as much as they need us, and to begin to treat them with the respect they deserve.” The respect they deserve? When did they earn this respect? When they crossed the border illegally? When they forged American documents to get hired as U.S employees? When they broke United States laws? They haven’t earned any respect and I am confused as to what Sheer thinks illegal immigrants deserve. They deserve to be punished for their crimes and deported. That is the only thing they have “earned” in America.

"Illegal Immigration and the Numbers Pure and Simple"

The film that I watched is called “Illegal Immigration and the Numbers Pure and Simple.” It was a lecture based video by Roy Beck. Roy Beck uses statistics and visuals during his speech and I think he does a great job of proving his point. He is a very good speaker and his statistics and facts are scary. Beck believes that there is no problem with immigrants; the problem is the number of immigrants. Beck makes an interesting point and I agree with him.

Beck says the reason Americans don’t talk about immigration is they don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. Most Americans have foreign born friends and they really would rather not offend their friends. Americans need to stop worrying about hurting people’s feelings and being politically correct and start doing what is right for the country. Most Americans are pro immigrants but anti-immigration. The bottom line is that Americans are simply concerned about the sheer numbers of immigrants.

Beck gives some staggering statistics about the number of immigrants who enter the U.S yearly. In between the years of 1925-1965 there was an average of 178,000 immigrants per year. Congress changed the immigration law in 1965 allowing more immigrants to enter the United States. From 1965-1989 there was an average of 507,000 immigrants entering the U.S per year. But from 1990 to the present that number has risen to a staggering number of more than one million immigrants per year.

There has been as much growth from immigration as from normal population growth since 1970. This means there are twice as many Americans in the U.S as there would have been had immigration not been as prominent. Because of this America has been forced to build twice as many: schools, roads, sewage plants, hospitals, and other public buildings. This puts a strain on the economy and the infrastructure of our country. The really scary statistic is that by the year 2050 immigration growth will have quadrupled normal population growth in U.S

Beck says that many Americans have the belief that by allowing immigrants into the U.S our country saves people from poverty. We try to “rescue” people from third world poverty through immigration and it is impossible. There are 4.6 billion people who are more impoverished than average Mexican. It is impossible for America to “save” everyone from poverty by allowing them into the U.S. There can never be hope for third world population just by moving them to the U.S. There are many ways Americans can help, but immigration is not the answer. America takes 1 million immigrants from third world impoverished countries while those same countries add 80 million people to their population yearly. There is no way America can be a safety valve. We can totally destroy our own country and still wouldn’t keep impoverished countries from gaining millions of extra impoverished residents. Roy Beck is right, there is a congress merely has to lower number of immigrants back to where it was in 1965.

another blog on my topic

Michelle Malkin’s immigration blog is a combination of blogs by other writers about immigrations negative effects. The blog can be found at http://michellemalkin.com/immigration/. One of the more powerful blogs on the website is a blog by Juan Mann titled Five Years After 9/11 – The Utter Disgrace of Federal Immigration Law Enforcement. It is basically about how the Federal Government has done very little to curb the illegal immigration problem since 9/11. The blog talks about how even if someone reports illegal immigrants it is unlikely anything will be done to catch those immigrants. Heather Macdonald also points out in her blog that there is a myth in America that Hispanic family values will return America to its traditional roots. She makes the point, however, that no ethnic group in America currently is producing more out of wedlock children than the Hispanic population.

This blog is full of interesting points and most of them should concern any legal American citizen no matter what there ethnic background is. At the top of the blog board is a quote from Ronald Reagan “This country has lost control of its borders. And no country can sustain that kind of position.” Reagan is absolutely right and that is what all the blog posts are about. These blogs post facts and quotes from newspapers to get their points across. It is really a successful website with a combination of successful blogs from multiple writers. It should make people with the opposing viewpoint think about their stance.

One blog post is by David Orland. It is about the reaction, by the Mexican government, to a proposed wall being built on the Mexican American border. The Mexican Foreign Minister felt that America had let down the Mexican government by simply trying to protect the American border. The Mexican government blatantly supports the stream of illegal immigrants that exit their country and enter the U.S every year. The United States government should not be concerned with upsetting Mexico. Protecting our border is much more important than hurting our countries relationship with our neighbor to the south. Hopefully the American government feels it is more important for American citizens to be safe than t than to have a friendly relationship with Mexico.

Immigration is obviously an important issue today. Blogs like this one are all over the internet and the public sees the issue. Most people feel strongly about it one way or the other. It makes a person wonder why the government isn’t doing anything about the subject. Blogs like the ones I have found about illegal immigration at least put light on the subject and keep people thinking about it. I think until we, as a country, do something about the immigration problem it will only continue to get worse.

Immigration website

It's amazing how sometimes you don't understand the gravity of a problem until you see the actual statistics. At http://immigrationcounters.com/index.html you can see real time illegal immigration statistics. Okay, so the statistics are estimates based on past facts released by the U.S government and mathematical statistics on growth trends. The statistics are not completely accurate but they are as close as humanely possible. Even though the statistics are not 100 percent accurate, they still display the problem with America's lack of a stance on illegal immigration. More than 20 million illegal immigrants reside in the United States, while only two states in the U.S boast a population of more than 20 million. The two are Texas and California, both of which have a huge illegal immigrant problem. This statistic should worry most Americans. Unfortunately, America has chosen to neither punish illegal immigrants nor keep more illegal immigrants from crossing our borders. Billions of dollars are wired annually from illegal immigrants to Mexico in addition, billions more are spent on incarceration costs of illegal immigrant prisoners and educating the children of illegal immigrants in public schools. The argument that illegal immigrants are good for the American economy is a ridiculous one. They are a drain on the economy and they take jobs that unemployed Americans could use.
Most illegal immigrants are not bad people, most just want to have a better life, but that doesn't change the fact that all of them have broken a federal law. When someone in America breaks a law then it is expected they should have to pay for the crime. Many immigrants come to the U.S legally every year. What a slap in the face it must be for those who put in the work to become legal U.S. citizens to see millions of people breaking the law and coming into the country legally. What a slap in the face it also must be to all of the men and women who have died protecting and defending our great country. The idea of simply turning around and opening the borders to anyone after the sacrifices of American soldiers is a little mind blowing. Most illegal immigrants avoid paying federal taxes and they can't be drafted into the military. They are a drain on the economy and the American way of life. People are simply too worried about being seen as racist that they must be so politically correct that nothing ever gets done about illegal immigration. Politicians are too worried about getting votes and voters are letting politicians get away with doing absolutely nothing. The statistics are astounding and it really helped to make me understand just how bad the illegal immigrant problem has gotten. The immigration counter website gives people a glimpse of the insanity of the problem. What is more insane is that many citizens know how bad the problem has become and turn a blind eye because they are worried about political correctness.

Immigration

Our current immigration policy isn't working. It's too lax to lenient at least that's what I think and that's also what By Tamar Jacoby at the OC Register says in his article found here. http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/homepage/article_1103566.php. The bottom line is that without reform and without change Jacoby assumes that the illegal immigration is negatively effecting both parties. Right now neither nows what to think of the influx of illegal immigrants and neither knows how to solve the problem. His article focuses on Bush's immigration bill that was not approved by the senate in April and the political protests staged by Hispanic immigrants proceeding the senates decision. Jacoby felt the politicians work this year on immigration came to a halt and look at all the time they wasted. Jacoby makes the point that many native born legal immigrants probably don't know what to make of the protests by a mostly "illegal" crowd. Do those legal immigrants living here in the U.S side with their home country to the south? Or are they too worried about illegal immigration here in their new country? It's an interesting thing to ponder. If someone has more loyalty to their former country then they do to their current one then are they really citizens at all? Something has to change. In Jacoby's article he points out that in a recent USA Today poll 9 out of 10 Americans believed it's critical to get a grip on border control and the amount of illegal immigration in the U.S. This could be the single most important political issue of our age. People care about the issue this issue could easily change the fabric of American society. Our common language and culture will both cahnge if the influx of illegal immigrants continues. Illegal immigrants from Mexico are taking Americans jobs and using government resources while paying minimal taxes. It is also a slap in the face to legal immigrants who have worked hard to become immigrants to the U.S. legally. Jacoby's main point in his article is that a government policy needs to be made and there has been progress in the last year but we still have a long way to go before the reform that is needed will come into law. Jacoby is right and reform needs to happen soon, because without it there is no telling where the new America might be headed.