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We Hear You: Patriotism, Citizenship, Immigration, Border Security, and the Vote

  • Ken McIntyre

    • "Today, those at Immigration and Customs Enforcement need recognition and respect," the Rev. David Cole writes. (Photo: Inti St Clair Blend Images/Newscom)

    Editor’s note: On this weekend before the Fourth of July, we spotlight some of your views on the value of U.S. citizenship, legal immigration, and the right to vote, beginning with one writer’s recollection of an American patriot. Don’t forget to write us at letters@dailysignal.com.—Ken McIntyre

    Dear Daily Signal: As a youth growing up on the farm during World War II, I was amazed at how dedicated patriots would not stay at home in town or on the farm while Hitler was devastating lives all over Europe.

    Just a month ago a greatly admired hero, Dan Reichard, passed away in Columbus, Ohio, in the arms of friends, family, and his wife, Sharon.

    Dan was amazing. He was a member of the Navy group assigned to the Army that had to land on the beach at Normandy at 2 a.m., prepare it, and signal in the troops at 6 a.m.

    Dan served all over Europe and then was moved to the Pacific to do the same for our troops landing on the beaches again. He was finally sent home after aiding the troops who occupied Japan after the two final bombings that ended its militaristic party.

    So that his family would never forget his patriotic brothers, who were the 70 percent that did not survive in his Navy group, he wrote from experience why he knew when the war began that “it was time to go.”

    Dan was the oldest of a large Ohio family. Both of his parents were deaf and communicated with sign language. His brothers took over when he left home because it was time to go.

    So his children and grandchildren would never forget their Catholic faith and patriotic background, he continued monthly communications entitled “Letters From Grandpa” up to a few months before he died.

    Those are the people who loved America, who worked hard on farms and in city factories to make sure America and its great constitutional heritage would meet the challenges of the generations and survive. They loved America and respected its laws.

    Today, those at Immigration and Customs Enforcement need recognition and respect. Anti-American politicians like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo need to find another occupation or move their citizenship elsewhere. Thanks for your reporting.—The Rev. David P. Cole

    What So Proudly We Hail

    Dear Daily Signal: This is in response to “The Meaning of the Stars and Stripes,” the commentary on Flag Day by Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio. My flag is hung from hooks I specially located on my porch. As my house is in the middle of 5 acres in West Virginia, not many see it, but it is there for Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day.

    The three area chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution hold a joint Flag Day luncheon each year. This year it was on June 9, as we will be going to Washington, D.C., for the DAR’s Continental Congress, held each year on the block we own and built that contains Constitution Hall.

    This year, it was the Morgantown-Woodburn chapter’s turn to host the Flag Day luncheon. As regent of that chapter, it was my honor to be the hostess. The chapters also walk in the Fourth of July and Veterans Day parades.

    For Memorial Day and Veterans Day, we participate in a wreath-laying ceremony on the Monongalia County Courthouse Square in Morgantown, West Virginia.—Joan Gibson, West Virginia

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    I wish Rep. Brad Wenstrup’s article on the American flag was on the front page of every newspaper across America.—Dorothy Dunnigan 

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    My husband and I would go to the regular country or church cemeteries each time the flag was used. We would place a remembrance near each tombstone that had a military statement.

    The following day or after the weekend, we would go to each site, pick up the flags, and clean the sticks and store them for the next celebration.

    My husband passed away three years ago, and I would like to continue the service. But for the first two years it was too painful. It was a wonderfully fulfilling option to fireworks, parades, and barbecues.—Karin Callaway, Florida

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    I was moved to tears reading this post. I’d love to see the entire salute to Old Glory penned by Rep. Brad Wenstrup.—Marion E. Daniels-Price, Manahawkin, N.J.

    A Citizenship Question on the Census 

    Dear Daily Signal: About Mike Gonzalez’s commentary, “Census Bureau Has Been Co-Opted by Leftist Ideologues,”: Solve the problem by using the exact same questions from the 1900 census. Stating place of birth of self and parents is about as good as stating if you are a citizen.

    On World War I draft registrations, the question of citizenship was also noted, so this is not new. Forget the multiple questions about racial makeup. So what?

    The 2015 census questions about race were ridiculous. Showing the relationship of household members to the head of the house is good. Asking where they were living five years earlier also is good.

    I vote for the questions on the 1900 census.—Carolyn L. Trent Stewart

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    Only voting-age citizens should be represented in congressional apportionment. Nobody else matters.—Michael Hugh Andrews, Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands

    Some of the BS I’ve been asked in past years on the census astounds me. Once it wondered if we had an indoor toilet. Another time it tried to determine our ethnicity, down to 1/8 of a country (I had a lot of fun with that).

    And then there was the one that wanted to know if anybody in our house had ever served in the military.

    The census has become time-consuming and intrusive. It only needs to ask how many people there are, and how many are legal citizens.—Lori Trentanelli

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    Asking the citizenship question is much more valid than asking who you’re sleeping with. The census determines representation in the House of Representatives, a state’s Electoral College votes, and distribution of tax money. No visitor, legal or illegal, should be counted as a citizen.—Aubrey Jones

    https://twitter.com/PaulSchmehl/status/1009080386943627265

    Acting on Illegal Immigration

    Dear Daily Signal: I’m writing about David Inserra’s commentary on the latest immigration legislation (“House ‘Compromise’ Immigration Bill Fails to Adequately Address Broken System”). All Congress needs to do to get a bill that works for the American people is ask President Trump to name his main areas of concern regarding immigration and national security at the border.

    The president would likely say: Build the wall. End chain migration. Establish E-Verify. End sanctuary cities and states. Make all immigration merit-based. Deal with the illegal immigrants covered by DACA.

    Then ask the Democrats in Congress to write the bill dealing with each of these issues. Then take the Democrat bill and “do the exact opposite.”

    Why? Because the Democrats will never solve this problem, or any problem for that matter. They need victims for their cynical political survival.

    This has been the case since at least the Civil War if not before, and they are only getting more desperate with each passing year since.—Mike Briggs, San Diego

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    Instead of just criticism, I actually have a solution to a problem concerning illegal immigration. Several detention facilities should be built right on the border, with one fence and a gate directly on the Mexican border.

    Entire families could be humanely housed there, together, pending hearings. If they choose not to wait for their hearings, they would be free to leave by exiting the gate into Mexico after being documented.

    Now, the left will change their tune and say we are jailing innocent minors; but that would not be true. A jail is a place one cannot leave. One could leave these facilities at anytime they choose—just to Mexico, not into the U.S. Only three walls would be secured; the fourth leads to relative freedom.

    My plan is simple, lawful, logical, and humane. It solves a problem many don’t want to be solved.—Thomas Sanders, Normal, Ill.

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    It’s not a difficult thing to fix. Anyone coming here illegally should never be allowed the chance to become a citizen.

    Only those who can respect our country enough to follow the path of citizenship should be rewarded.—Patrick Bordow, Fountain Hills, Ariz.

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    So what about the 4 million people—yes, 4 million—waiting in line to come here legally?

    This disgusts me. We will reward those who broke our laws and have no respect for our nation, while those who do still have to wait. Some as long as eight years. What a bunch of crap.—Todd Rausch, Okoboji, Iowa

    Caring for Children at the Border

    Dear Daily Signal: I am so sick of liberals milking the “poor refugee kids,” as Fred Lucas reveals in his story (“Fact-Checking 4 Claims About Detaining Children at the Border”). In other criminal activity, like drunk driving, we believe the kids need to be taken away from the parents.

    But the media runs headlines encouraging these criminal, illegal immigrants to bring the kids along for their border crossings. Way to go, NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN.

    Trump is totally right on not bending just because criminals bring the kids along for public sympathy. None from me. Child endangerment should be severely punished, not rewarded.—Russ Isham

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    Living as I do in the West Village of New York City, one of the acknowledged strongholds of the Democratic Party, I read with interest Fred Lucas’ article with interest.

    I find it despicable in a republic that we can’t have a relatively nonpartisan media working hardily—rather than hardly working—to honestly educate the public rather than to, say, pander to their owner/employer’s every wish.

    Thank you for The Daily Signal’s worthwhile endeavors.—John Early, New York

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    Anyone surprised the media would make up the story of a breastfeeding child being pulled from its mother? Low-life Democrats are ruining this country.

    Did you ever see the border wall the Democrats would build if these illegals voted Republican? It’s got cannons, guard towers, and barbed wire.—Phil Esposito

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    The left will say anything to discredit Trump and the GOP. As Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, admitted, most of the kids being held did not come with their parents. They were often being watched by adults or older children, who were not related.—Anthony Alafero

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    Once again the Democrats are more concerned with the status of aliens than citizens. Criminals are separated from family no matter what. Do we want to release all the people in jail who have children?—Dave Bowden

    Guarding Against Voter Fraud

    Dear Daily Signal: The biggest and most frightening thing about what Jason Snead and Hans von Spakovsky describe is that four Supreme Court justices again don’t give a damn about our laws or Constitution and show their blatant liberal partisanship (“Supreme Court Gives Ohio the Green Light to Clean Up Voter Rolls”).

    How can they even remotely justify their position? They can’t. They are 100 percent driven by their misguided liberal views and give absolutely no credence whatsoever to the actual laws in question.—Bob O’Brien

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    The commentary by Jason Snead and Hans von Spakovsky ends with these words: “Hopefully, this opinion will spark a new wave of state interest in adopting modern measures and using new technologies designed to remove ineligible voters from the rolls.”

    How about states notify each other when someone is declaring residency in their state?

    For example, my sister and brother-in-law just declared residency in the state of Florida, but maintain a home in California. As they will be residing in Florida the minimum of six months plus one day, Florida is now the state of their primary residency.

    So they will need to vote in Florida. Florida should notify California of the change in residency, and California should remove them from their voter registration rolls. What’s so difficult about that?—Marion E. Daniels-Price

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    If the sanctity of the ballot box is lost, we’ve lost our liberty. The left opposes any method that makes sure that the integrity of the ballot is maintained, because the only way they can win is by cheating.

    I believe that states should be required to cleanse their voter rolls in an expeditious manner and guarantee that only citizens can vote—once.—Randy Leyendecker

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    This ruling should be followed up by requiring a valid ID to be presented in order to vote.—Glenn Abello

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    I don’t recall any amendment other than the 10th that allows the individual states to address issues not covered by the Constitution.

    So amending the Constitution to limit government intrusion in the education system is moot, as that is a local issue that the sheeple have allowed the federal government to infringe on their individual rights.

    Education is not addressed in our Constitution, but the apathy of the sheeple allowed the government to take control.—Paul Austin

    Advancing the Right to Work

    Dear Daily Signal: Congratulations to New Mexico on its right-to-work movement, as reported by Kevin Mooney (“Court Challenges Loom as Right to Work Gathers Steam in New Mexico”). I hope its model will expand so we can get a national right-to-work law passed within the next two years under President Trump.

    No legal American worker should be forced to financially support an organization against his or her will and as a condition of employment, especially when that same organization is violating the workers’ rights under the First Amendment.

    Lots of things have changed over the years, with some thanks to the true, good old-fashioned labor unions that used to represent workers. However, many of those unions have been replaced by extreme, far-left organizations that mostly serve as political action committees at the members’ expense.

    Union members deserve better, and passing right-to-work laws will most likely help true labor unions get better while the fake unions might just learn a valuable lesson.—Richard Graham

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    Going against the right to work is insane. Especially for those who live to complain about greedy fat cats. Unions want one thing: to shave money off workers’ paychecks for themselves. They’re obsolete.—Mike Corrill

    This and That 

    Ginny Montalbano’s coverage of Presidents Trump’s initiative for outer space is the first I have seen in any media outlet (“Trump Issues Commercial Space Policy Directive on Eve of Anniversary of JFK’s Space Program Speech”).

    I was a junior in high school when President Kennedy made his historic commitment to land men on the moon by 1970.

    On my 19th birthday, I packed my car, left the family home in New York City, drove to Houston, got a job, enrolled in the University of Houston, and pestered enough people until I got a job at NASA’s Mission Control. I spent 14 years as a quality control engineer, pioneering the prevention of defects.

    Since then, I have worked with more than 700 companies and written 12 books on how we won the space race and how the Apollo business model can be the roadmap to winning the human race.

    Unfortunately, today’s culture is to perfect mediocrity. I am now an anachronism instead of a role model. Sad.—Tom Taormina, Virginia City, Nev.

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    Riley Walters brings up several valid points in his article, “Tariffs on Chinese Goods Will Only Punish Americans.” However, he is missing one essential qualifier. Namely, tariffs and trade with China is in the negotiation phase. To present conclusions of things not yet determined is premature.—Eric Hendrick

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    There is a reason why most socialist countries have failed. One part of a country gets tired of supporting another part of the country, and social services deteriorate over time.—Pat Ellis

     

    How Are We Doing?

    Dear Daily Signal: I’m a conservative Christian, so I enjoy reading the truth. I can count on you for that.

    It is so nice to see the full titles of your articles so I know what I’m going to read. Other conservative websites put stupid half titles on their articles to catch your eye, and you have to click further just to find out what the article really is.

    This has become a pet peeve to me. I feel like that is how the left would try to get one’s attention, not us “good guys.” Makes me sick. Thank you for NOT doing that stupid move. I have unsubscribed to those.

    I wish there was a way to get the leftists to read news sources like yours. They are so hollow minded, they flow with everything left. I pray we can change that.

    I have four adult children and a son-in-law who are all about the left, and it not only breaks my heart, but makes me sick. They are all smarter than this. They’ve fallen into the world track. I’m relying on God to pull them out. Just hope it’s sooner rather than later. God bless our president.—Kathleen D.

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    Some of your written articles are not kind or supportive of President Trump. I’m not sure what your angle or motive is, but I don’t like it.

    Our great president may not be your ideal conservative, but he has done more for America than any president in my lifetime, and I’m 75 years old. Give the man a break.—Fred Sims

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    Thank you for helping us to know the truth. “If you know the truth, speak the truth!” Blessings.—Ted Williams

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    I am very grateful for your articles and essays. They seem to be on point and factually accurate each and every time I crack one open to read. Thank you for all you do.—Scott Cornelius

    Jeremiah Poff helped to compile this column.

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