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Chuck West of Thornton writes:

Tina Griego spends five minutes with four old gentlemen who are speaking Italian and realizes she has a problem: she can’t understand them. Ms. Griego, that is not a problem.
Imagine, Ms. Griego, 25 to 30 million Italian speakers. Imagine, Ms. Griego, these Italian speakers insisting, nay, demanding that our courts, our ballots, our social services, our government, etc. be altered to accommodate their language. Then, Ms. Griego, you would have a problem.

This letter has not been edited.

READER COMMENTS

Wow, big surprise. Tina Griego showing frustration dealing with someone not catering to her idea of culture and language. She cares for only Hispanics and everyone else is not worth her time. Welcome to reality Tina, and next time, learn Itallian so you can better understand.

Its the Tina Griego's of the world who make life more difficult for Latinos. To her, its not about becoming a citizen in order to become part of the great American melting pot and assimilating into American society. Quite the opposite, its all about changing America to accommodate their needs. Loyalty to America is not even an afterthought to this crowd of interlopers. Fortunately most Americans are on to the likes of Tina.

I would suggest some of you spend some time in local traffic court...with an open mind, if you can find one...and you might realize that not all things are as they seem.

I had to be there recently and found it very interesting that there were dozens of hispanic people there who required the services of interpreters. I could already hear the Tancredos of the world seething in their own vile and vitriol that this was happening.

Then I began to notice something. Nearly every single one of these people was being charged with no proof of insurance or some other secondary offense. In other words, they weren't being charged with the primary offenses that result in people being pulled over like speeding, improper turns, etc. Nearly all of their "infractions" occurred in the hispanic parts of town like Federal Blvd.

Do you see what I'm saying? The Denver Police are apparently pulling hispanic looking people over without cause and then ticketing them for secondary offenses like "no proof of insurance".

Of course, these people go into court and plea bargain and pay hefty fines and beat the hell out of there. Very often, it was some employer who was paying their fines.

We have created a very parasitic system here. Yes, they are breaking our laws by being here and not having insurance but we are preying on and profiting from this vulnerability rather than addressing the actual issue of their legal status.

So, don't sit and blame the "mexicans" for all the illegal immigration woes. Like it or not, we are just as guilty for not only creating but perpetuating these problems as they are.

We're going to have to face a harsh reality, America. We will not win the war on immigration because the floodgates were busted a long time ago. Trying to resolve it now is like trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

We have to stop whining about illegal immigrants who simply want to come here for a better life. If we keep trying to paint illegal immigrants as potential terrorists...guess what...we're eventually going to succeed in creating some.

I do not support amnesty or open immigration but no one is being realistic about the situation. There is no way we can send the millions of people back to wher they came from and our economy could not afford it.

We are going to have to swallow some bitter pills and realize that we do not live on an island and we cannot isolate ourselves from the world and that attempting to do so will only make us less safe..not safer, as it will create enmity with the rest of the world.

I am certainly not a fan of Tina. Her one-sided view of illegals makes the stomach turn. I never heard of Italians making demands on this country and I know plenty. They have assimilated into American society with grace and have accepted our way of life while keeping their traditions alive in the home. Do you see signs in English and Italian? Are you asked to press 1 for English and 2 for Italian? Do you see Italians marching in the streets demanding the rights reserved for LEGAL American citizens after they have snuck by the thousands into this country? Maybe if you remove your head from your butt you will see a little more clearly.

The request to remove the head from the butt was directed to Tina.

9:37 PM

Have you ever been hit by an uninsured Illegal? Have you ever had your ID stolen from an illegal? Do you not resent one little bit the expense this country has to go to to have an interpreter on the ready all the time? The teachers that we have to hire these days to teach children of illegals? The drain these people have put on our social services, health care and educational system? Are you not the least bit galled at the demands these people make after they have blatantly broken our laws?
I must agree that this country has brought alot of this on itself by not enforcing our immigration laws the way they were intended. That is shame that is directed to the spineless leaders of this country. But to cater to these Illegals is not what we need to be doing. Is that what you think we should do? Quit bashing Tom Tancredo, he is the only one in our state with guts to say it like it is.

Tina G. seems concerned first and foremost with the welfare of her ethnicity. She takes the "poor" Mexican approach used in the past , to successfully encourage and cultivate Latino/Mexican imperialism in the United States.

No, I have not been victimized by an illegal alien.

I have had an accident with an uninsured anglo-American. I also had a white american kid steal my wallet in the downtown Walgreens and then used my I.D. to get a cell phone on which he ran up more than $500 in charges.

The point is It's not just illegals doing these crimes. I know from personal experience that it doesn't make you feel any better when you find out the person who crashed into you or used your identity falsely is a fellow citizen.

All I'm saying is that we're not going to win this war using the methods Tancredo or anyone else are suggesting.

The fact is that as much as you want to decry illegals as being a drain on our economy, they are also an anchor in our economy and without them it would be in serious trouble.

It's something that alot of people just don't want to admit and they're willing to cut off our noses to spite our face. Our economy has become very dependent on having a certain amount of illegal immigrants in our work force.

We need fresh ideas and perspectives. No, we don't need to be giving them amnesty.

We need to create a system that allows them to come forward, without fear of being arrested and deported, so they can register as alien workers and be documented.

There should be a period of time in which they can do so for free. After that time, a fee to register would be instituted and would increase over time.

Documented workers must obey our laws, pay some form of income tax and always keep the INS advised of their whereabouts if they wish to remain in the alien worker program.

I don't have all the answers, but I do know that nothing we are doing or talking about now is going to resolve the issue. As long as the opportunity of a better life exists people are going to do whatever they can to achieve it. That's human nature. Instead of fighting against that we should be trying to figure out how to manage the influx of people who have that drive.

What I really don't understand about Chuck West's post is why he says only 25 to 30 million Italian (read Spanish) speakers. Wouldn't it have made a better impression if he had said something like 100 to 150 million? I mean if you are going to misrepresent the facts, shouldn't you go all out? It's obvious that Chuck West and the truth have yet to get acquainted.

Why would you waste your time reading Tina's column. It is truly a way to make your brain shrink.

So that is what happened to you, is it, Dravur?

what "Facts" is he misinterpreting truth ?? since no one KNOWS how many illegals are invading us , then that seems like a decent assesment to correlate too.

btw have you looked up personal accountability for ones actions yet ?

Anonymous,
Great, set up some new rules/laws. but the question still remains, Who and How will they be enforced?
If you can set up new enforcement agencies for the new laws, why not do it now for the laws that exist already, and don't give me the BS that it can't be done. It can be done, just that none of the spineless idiots in DC want to lose money or voters.

Close the Border First! Then decide what the new quotas/rules for work visas will be.

7:51,

rhetoric, rhetoric, rhetoric.

It was estimated over 5 years ago that there were 12-20 million illegals in the USA. It is also estimated that at least 500,000 come to the USA every year. Thus, there could realistically be anywhere from 25-50 million illegal aliens here now. Who knows for sure? So truth, dont get yer panties in a twist. As far as deporting them, we wouldn't have to if the employers catering to illegals were very harshly punished for what they do. Eliminate the jobs that attact illegals and they won't come here. Those illegals who use someone elses Social Security numbers or otherwise do any form of Identity theft should be deported immediately. And we don't need any more laws about it, all we need is enforcement of current laws and within probably 5 years, most of the illegal immigration problem would be solved. However, about Denver traffic court, what I had heard is that the illegals come in and get all their violations and fines waived except for proof of insurance, then they get set up on payment plans to cover their small fines for that. No points, no added costs, just a small fine for lack of insurance. All the while the citizens get the book thrown at them with heavy fines, points off their licences, and higher insurance premiums, which help cover the cost of those illegals who can't be bothered to buy insurance.

No Truth, you see... Since I had not read the column, my brain has not shrunk. What you have attempted was "humor" except the fact that the logic of your "humor" failed, so therefore it became quite lame. For, you can construe that I had not read her column, so therefore my IQ had not dropped.

But, nice try.

And when you trot out your Strawman arguments, do you ever actually argue the point made or just some inane point? The topic was the hypocrisy of people like Tina and not the strawman that he should have said 125 million versus 25 million. This is a very poor attempt.

I live close to Federal and want to thank the Police for asking for proof of insurance and ticketing those who do not. The Police are here to protect me from present and future harm. Having insurance is like honoring the 6th commandment (honor thy neighbor).

When you honor the 6th Commandment you act like the Italians, They add value to what ever they do. Taking care of their homes, lawns and helping all neighbors become successful by increasing property values. Those immigrants from Mexico for the most part from what I see do not. Code's are the fabric that hold all races together, those who do not comply are the racists. Please call (311) to report any infractions.

09:15AM's rather ridiculous comment is interesting in one aspect. There was a time when Italians were treated like scum. And, anyhow, I can't dial (311) because there are no parentheses on my dial pad.

Griego has the intellect of a pinto bean... nuff said.

Right on 9:15 !

Truth, the only thing you got going for you is a catchy name. Pack it up your poop shoot and rotate on it.

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