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Show v 4 The Magna TimesWest Valley News. Thursday, September 27, 2001 Editorial Letters to the Editor For sanity's sake must be Sunday morning It 3y TAPRINA MILBURN "Hurry. Find the other shoe," shout to my son. We have 15 minutes to get where were going. Still in my I check on the kids' progress and decide we're going to be late. My only pair of hose has a run from here to China, and I haven't started to think about my hair, which is still wet. Ten mnutes later we scoot d out the door, all and curled, byt I've forgotten my lipstick, as well as my smile. It must be Sunday morning. Why are Sundays so hard on families with young children? Our destination is church, a place where we want to expose our kids to lessons of peace, love and kindness. By the time we arrive, however, my attitude is so far from serenity that it would be safer for me to go back to bed. I much more resemble a traveler who is about to miss slip, I her connecting flight. We settle in the pew, and as the pastor leads the congregation in prayer, I have a prayer of my own: "Please let my chil dren remember not to pick their noses." During the sermon the kids bounce from my lap to their dad's lap, and back. I've pulled from my purse every piece of candy and scrap of paper for them to doodle on. their interest is waning. I'm runnig out of tricks. The family behind us apolonoise gizes for their I give the mother an nderstand-in- g nod. We both look bedraggled. My son begins to chant, "I've gotta pee. I've gotta pee." By the time we return from the restroom, the service has ended and I wonder what I've accomplished. Actually, I've met familiesfvery few I might add) with small children who make the family church experience look easy. My friends and I talk about them behind their backs, they make us look very bad. Next Sunday will be different, I promise myself as we pile in the car to return home, and it was. We each had colds and stayed in bed. Spitituality and, at times, sanity for parents are a lot like the fine breakables we put away when our children are toddlers; we know, or at least hope, we'll unpack and use them again, someday Scouts speak out that just because they keep doing bad things to us doesn't mean that we should do it back to them. Editors Note: The folio ing are Letters to the Editor written by old Webelos Cub Scouts from Troop 3895 in Magna relating to their throughts about the recent terrorist attacks in New York and 10-ye- Btaden Salazar Magna Washington D.C. EDITOR, I feel as a EDITOR, I am a cub scout from troop 3895, here in the Magna Area. I am writing to you concerning my feelings on the latest threats that have been happening to our country. As a young boy, I am scared that there are people in other countries that feel the way they do. I am angry that they did this our Cub Scouts from troop 3895 look at newspapers during a tour of the Magna TimesWest Valley News offices in Magna. country and to innocent people on the ground and in the air. I am very proud of how we, as Americans, have pulled together and helped. I hope we can find the hurt people under the buildings. I have faith that our Father in Heaven will guide our leaders to do the right thing. I feel bad that others had to lose their loved ones and friends. Thank you for letting me view my concerns as a young American. I feel sorry for the people that lost their lives for something they never did. Before you go to sleep, pray and keep in mind the people who died. David Wilkes Magna and Corey EdwarJs Magna EDITOR, I think about the plane wreck and I believe what happened was bad and the people w ho did it lost their lives to kill others. I wish someone never told them to do that horrible thing EDITOR, I feel bad for the people that lost family members and I feel American boy I can be helpful by donating blood and money. Also, be trustworthy, unlike the evil men. People should follow the scout law: "A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave clean, reverent." Tyson Winder Magna EDITOR, I feel as an American that we should feel sorry for those who died. I also thing we should be loyal, friendly, helpful, kind, clean, obedient and cheerful. Seth Riddle Magna Aliens rights should end where U.S. security begins By MICHAEL J WILDES Back in June, I was invited to Governor George Patakis press conference to announce New Yorks newly established Terrorism Commission. When I proposed later that month that my home state of New Jersey follow suit, I never imagined we would be facing the most dev- astating terrorist attack ever seen on our soil only two months later. As an immigration lawyer who has dealt with terrorists and defectors to ensure they provide the United States intelligence community with difficult to attain information on terrorist activities, my job utilizes immigration law to battle an elusive enemy ensconced in secrecy. More than once, it was called a "war" at that press conference, but I doubt anyone there realized then just how prescient the use of that verb would be. Such was the height of the wall of denial in our land only months ago. Exactly 90 days later, 220 stories of our denial burned, crumbled and collapsed as our nation looked on in horror. By the time the smoldering gray air had drifted past the Statue of Liberty a few thousand feet away from ground zero, Americans knew they now lived in a world very different than the one they did only hours before. We must all stand united in support of our President and our Congress as our military leaders. But we must never forget that a war against terrorism cannot be won if we fail to identify and address our vulnerabilities to prevent future terrorist attacks. Preventing terrorism is more effective than chasing and punishing the terrorists after an assault occurs. While the United States military plays a significant role in this prevention effort, the most pow erful weapons we have to prevent terrorism from abroad are embedded in United States immigration law. The hard work of immigrants, my grandparents among them, built America's strength. Our greatness is a direct result the contribution immigrants made then and make now. Our strength is rooted',, in the unity of our people comprised of all races, " creeds, and ethnicities. The evil of any terrorist's acts do not necessarily reflect his nationality, as Timothy McVay illustrates all too well. Today, Americans rebelling against terrorism by taking innocent Muslem lives in our country only add to the heartbreak of a growing body count of the real terrorist's victims. While I am an advocate for the rights of aliens who make a significant contribution to our country, I cannot advocate that their.rights stand equal to ours in a time of peril. A case in point is Zadvyas vs. Davis. In this recent decision, our countrys highest Court determined that it was unconstitutional for illegal aliens to be detained indefinitely, or even be detained for more than six months in the United States when no other country would accept them. Doing so, the court ruled, violated their rights under our Constitutional protection of Due Process. The fact that the courts decision would permit convicted criminals to go free was not found legally relevant. In effect, the Supreme Court made it the law of the land for illegal aliens to share the Constitutional protections penned for American citizens. To be sure, no Justice in that case could possibly have pondered that any of these released illegal aliens might potentially inflict upon the United States of America destruction of the magnitude we recently sustained. The wrong parties have taken advantage of our .rights - ' terrorist we hold accountable for our sor-- . row is harbofed by Afghanistan under the guise ' of protecting his rights. At home, we how were cherished extended our rights question to his fanatical followers here. The potential harm of porous immigration law, like that created in Zadvyas. must be examined with scrutiny in the unfolding debate over the role immigration law plays in the protecting America from this once unimaginable terrorist threat. Basic common sense dictates that until we ascertain that we are again reasonably secure, we cannot freely give the benefits of our rights to aliens presenting even the slightest potential threat to us. This will be unfair to the small number mistakenly suspected innocent people rejected entry to the United States. Yet, that minor injustice to them pales in comparison to any further slaughter of our loved ones. It makes a mockery of our C onstilution to extend rights to aliens who may pose a serious threat to the very Americans who fought protect them. In 1903 the sonnet 'The New Colossus" by American poet, Emma Lazarus, was inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty to articulate why America welcomed immigrants. In part, it reads: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." Our President, Congress and Supreme Court must reject the notion that it was the intent of our Constitutions authors to effectively include "your hardened criminals and your terrorists" in that verse. A forme federal prosecutor, Michael. Wildes is renowned as an immigration attorney for his instrumental role in obtaining terrorist secrets from the only terrorist implicated in the Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 U.S. servicemen. Letters Welcome f Readers are encouraged to share opinions by sending letters to the Editor, Magna TimesiWest Valley News, 8930 W. 2700 S. Magna, Ut 84044.- ' 5 Letters can be sent via fax to 250-568- ore-ma- il atmagwestxmission.com Writers may send a photograph to accom- - pany their letter. All letters to the Editor are subject to editing for grammar, clarity and . ..... brevity. Letters will be corrected for known fao tual errors. Letters must be signed and include a , phone number for verification and city of residence. Letters on local topics are given preference. Name and City of residence will -be printed. &. ? Follow the. President's advice, go back to work The president said go to work. Now do it. Shake off this funk and put one foot in front of the other and get on with your life. If we stand here and wait for the sky to fall we are going to cause it to fall and it's going to take a lotof very important things down with it. So get to work. Get back to normal. Not in your heart, that will heal on its own schedule, but in your life. Get back to normal. We have nothing to fear but fear itself, and by the looks of things, some of us are scared crapless. The cards are bad, but they are what they are. We've got some kind of problem with the economy and the rate cuts don't seem to work. The market is tanking, we never did fix the energy crisis, we're going to war and we've yet to bury 5,000 of our brothers and sisters, struck down in the deadliest domestic attack in the history of the Republic. The cards are bad, but they are what they are. And we're going to have to play them and make the luck break our way. And we can do it. If we try! The problem is, we don't seem to be trying. Sure, we've got the flags up and the ribbons and we've watched hour after, and be hour of special report. We've wept and we've prayed and we've tried to sense of it all. And that's all good. But it's also not enough. We've got to go back to work. . fund-raise- rs We've got to lift this nation and this economy onto our backs and carry it forward. We've got to make our patriotism practical, our commitment meaningful. And we do that by living as if nothing happened. No, we don't forget the attack, we don't forget those who were taken or those who mourn, and we don't forget our enemies or the fight that looms on the horizon. But we do live as if nothing happened. We don't let it stop us. We don't let the terror of terrorism keep us out of the workplace, the marketplace or the airspace. We march forward, we live the way we would have lived if none of this had happened, and we do our country some good. We've learned in the last week that we would gladly die for our country, the issue now is whether or not we will live for our country. Live for our country by buying things, investing our money, taking trips, working our jobs and doing business. Live for our country by acting as if our confidence hadn't collapsed with the towers at Ground Zero. In recent days, many people - in their families and businesses - have contracted financially. They have put everything on hold. Purchases they had planned, normal spending levels, investments they would have made, everything is frozen by uncertainty and timidity. And it is like a knife at our throat. Businesses have falling sales and are cutting advertising, manufacturers are scaling back and laying off, stock markets are shrinking and shaking. Because we are afraid. Because we aren't following the president. Because we haven't gone back to work. Because we place fear and ahead of our country and our countrymen. While many have waved the flag in recent days, many also have sold stock when the country needed the markets to stabilize. Those actions are incompatible, they are hypocritical. Because you're either for the country or you're not, and self-intere- st there's no point in talking like a patriot if you're not going to act like one. And people who have abandoned planned or expected purchases, who have cancelled airline reservations, who have dumped stocks, who have trimmed their workforce, have not acted like patriots. They have been part of the problem, not part of the solution. These times call for courage. Not just the courage to face the uncertainty of war, but the courage to make the commitment to the economy. If you were going to buy it, buy it. If you were going to spend it, spend it. If you were going to invest it, invest it. But don't sit on it. And don't change your plans. Live as if nothing had happened. Live as if the terrorists' attempts to change your behavior had failed. Live according to your wisdom of last ' year, not your fear of this year. Just do what the president said. Get back to work; Thats what you can do to win the war. - by Bob . Lonsberry 2001 Bob Lonsberry is the morning radio talk show host at KNRS 570 AM from 5:30-1- 0 a.m. He writes a daily internet column on current issues that can be found at www.lonsberry.com mit , I if rirr- POOR |
