That was stated perfectly. It really is too important a decision to be left to average U.S. citizens with average political knowledge.

But isn’t the general election just as important? If only we could apply a similar process to filter out the unknowledgeable, undesirable and unintelligent from voting in the general election as well. Perhaps some sort of competency test.

Agreed.

After much careful consideration, I’ve arrived at the conclusion that the way forward for the state of Utah in this matter is to operate within the bounds set by the Utah State Constitution to deal with the problems we’ve been dealt by the failure of the federal government to control our nation’s borders. It will cost us money and effort, but in the end we will be better for having taken that path. But it is not within the charter of the state government to act as proxy for the federal government. To pretend so is as egregious a violation of the rule of law as for the federal government to overstep its bounds to meddle in state affairs.

As I see it, the process we need to follow is to enumerate the problems caused the state by illegal immigration, and then to craft solutions to those problems that are consistent with who we are as a state and as a people. Most of the problems can be summarized under the heading of “people living beneath the radar”. When a significant segment of the population feels a need to live below the radar, it pushes people into negative practices, such as identity theft, exploitation of labor, exploitation of services, and so forth. One of the primary goals of legislation should be to provide a mechanism whereby those currently living below the radar find it easier to live above the radar than below, and to participate fully in the same way that the rest of us do.

We all have roles. My first and foremost role is “human being”. I value other human beings. It is only incidental to me in that role how my neighbors came to live in my community. I value them for who they are and what they can and do contribute to the community. My desire is to help them better understand who we are as a community and to help them be an integral part of the community.

Unfortunately, many conservatives are pushing us into the (personal) role of ostracizing, denigration, hostility, and division. That’s not who we are.

My role as a citizen of the Great State of Utah is similar – I want us to have laws and regulations that will unite us as a people, that will protect us from criminal acts, and enable us to move forward as free people who choose to cooperate and make Utah a better place. I don’t consider living in Utah a “criminal act”, regardless of how someone came to live here. All humans are endowed by their Creator with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

My role as a citizen of the United States of America is, in the matter of immigration, to encourage the federal government to understand the difficulty, cost, and harm created by its failure to appropriately enforce immigration law, and to encourage it to take action to stop current practices.

I’ve always suspected there are shadowy figures behind the scenes who make decisions and give marching orders on matters such as the enforcement of immigration law. If some malevolent person or body decided to flood us with illegal immigrants in order to create division and conflict, shall we take the bait, or shall we turn it to our good? If we could incorporate all people of good will living in our state into a cohesive and cooperative body, all fully participating and carrying our part of the load, we will be better off for it. If we instead seek to isolate and drive from us those who have come seeking the blessings of liberty, it is my opinion that we will have failed and that the consequences will be dire.

By the way, the Constitution gives Congress the authority to define citizenship (Article I, Section 8), but it is silent on immigration.

As such, Jefferson and Madison (who knew quite a lot about the Constitution, since he is the primary author) spoke out in favor of states sovereignty/ federalism with the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (Principles of 98) which directly addressed the matter of the state’s role in immigration. The states won then, and they must win again if this nation wants to remain a sovereign and free republic.

Please let the parents do the parenting. Leave the government out of it.

I am the 19-year-old youngest of three children in our family. I started college this past August (Aug 2010). I played Doom and Wolfenstein 3D when I was about 5 or 6, and I played even alongside my brothers and father. My eldest brother, now 30 years old, is working in NORAD, and the middle, now 27 years old, left for the Navy this past March (March 2010). All three of us have played other violent video games since Doom and Wolf 3D, like GoldenEye 007, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, etc.

We have never killed another human being in our lives. I, myself, have never wanted to. I cannot speak for my brothers, but I am sure they have no wish to kill others unless they must.

So tell me, Cherilyn, do you think that my brothers and I should be locked up in an insane asylum since apparently we’re ticking time bombs who could, at any time, explode and kill other people in a shower of bullets?

I await your reply, Ms./Mrs. Eagar.

-Mugen Kagemaru