The lie of law
I am going to tell you a little story of what happened to a friend of mine from California a few months ago. my friend, we'll call him "John" enlisted into the Army National Guard and went to Basic Training at Ft. Jackson South Carolina. He was gone for 5 months, and upon his return found his car which he had left in his driveway missing. When he called the police he was told that his car had been impounded more than 3 months ago, and if he wanted it back he had to appear in person at the city impound lot and pay cash for the towing, storage, and associated "fees." John asked what the fees were for, and how much it was going to cost him. The less than polite police officer told him he didn't have any idea, and by the way, there is a warrant for your arrest; should you attempt to retrieve your car, you will be taken into custody. Astounded, John asked why there was a warrant for his arrest. He was told that during his absence his automobile registration had expired and city ordinances forbayed the storage of unregistered vehicles on one's private property and he had failed to respond to a number of letters from the city demanding he remove the vehicle. Because of this the city issued a citation against him demanding his appearance in court. Obviously he didn't receive the summons, which was mailed and NOT served according to law, and even though they had no proof that he had received the summons he was held in contempt of court.
John didn't know what to do, so he went to the impound lot (expecting to be arrested, but knowing that he would eventually get his vehicle back and the Judge would sort the whole mess out) and inquired of the snotty attendant what the cost would be to retrieve his vehicle. The jerk looked up the information in the computer and told him "$6,800." John's eyes bulged out of his head. $6,800 was more than the $5,100 he owed on the vehicle to the bank. Leaving to attempt to borrow the money from relatives (no police arrived to arrest him) he felt that it just wasn't fair, especially since he was on active duty at the time serving in the Army. Several days later he was able to borrow the required amount from friends and family to retrieve his car, and upon arriving was told that the amount owed had increased by another hundred dollars. Reaching into his pocket he retrieved his last bill and handed the money over. He received a receipt, was told thank you, and handed a set of keys. John asked the attendant where his car was, and the attendant said "it was taken and sold at auction last month, the $6900 was the amount of the impound fee that the car's sale didn't cover."
Pissed off, John began to scream at the attendant when a police car arrived and the officers who got out pulled their guns and ordered him to lay on the ground. He complied and was immediately pounced on by a 300+ pound Samoan officer who broke three of his ribs while handcuffing him. He was taken to jail, refused medical care, and treated like a criminal for having the audacity to serve his nation. Long story short, when he was arraigned he told the judge his story and pleaded for assistance with the city for selling his vehicle and charging him almost $7000 AFTER selling his car. He explained that he forgot to renew the registration before going to basic training, and that he wasn't trying to abscond from the law, it was a simple mistake. He asked the judge for help, “I’m not a criminal, your honor, I didn‘t even know that the law existed. It was a mistake that has already cost me nearly $12,000, isn‘t that enough. I just wanted to serve my country, do I have to be treated like a criminal because of that?” The judge told him that there is "NO EXCUSE" for breaking the law, even if you didn't do it on purpose or had any knowledge that you were breaking the law to begin with. He said "but I was on active duty with the Army in South Carolina!" The judge replied "so what! Your registration expired, you didn't show up for court, you broke the law! $3,000 fine or 3 months in Jail!" John didn't have the money. He explained to the judge how he had to borrow the money to pay the impound lot (they never told him they sold his car, they deliberately kept that out to collect the money) and he couldn’t get any more, but if he was given a few months he could get work and pay the fine. The judge, being heartless and uncompassionate said he was likely a flight risk, and his “specialized training” would help him hide from authorities. The judge sent him to county lockup to serve 90 days. Upon his release he was re-arrested by the Military Police for being AWOL from a call up order to serve in Iraq. Even while sitting in jail he was committing a crime.
If we are to believe what this Judge says, that there is "No excuse" for breaking the laws, even in his case, then obviously there can be no forgiveness for breaking immigration law. One must submit to the court and accept punishment in order to repay the debt to society, be deported, then maybe, someday, they can apply to be readmitted into our society. Yet today, our President while in Omaha said that there are a privileged class in this country that should be not only forgiven of very serious crimes, but should also be given a free pass at citizenship, even though they have violated the laws that govern such privileges. What I am referring to is the President's immigration plan. "we want rule of law to prevail; and we want the American Dream to flourish. We're a nation of laws, and we want to uphold those laws. We're also a compassionate nation that treats people decently, and the two are not in conflict. That's what's important for our fellow citizens to understand. The two are not in conflict." Ahem! What is that, Sir?!? You are saying that we can have compassion for people who knowingly break the law, defraud the tax system, but not for a GI who forgot to register his vehicle? My friend did not sneak across the border of a sovereign nation intent on living there illegally. He did not lie about his name and SSN to get work and welfare payments. He did not do anything wrong , ANYTHING AT ALL, but has spent more time in jail that any illegal alien will under our Presidents plan.
Why is the President so interested in protecting the Mexican people, when we are his charge? We are AMERICANS, here legally, paying our taxes, suffering the abuses of our government. Why then does he pander to 12 MILLION lawbreakers when there are 290 MILLION Americans? Why does he feel the need to make excuses for greedy businesses that hire illegal’s and often provide them with fraudulent work documents (often in the name and SSN of an actual American that later has to prove to the IRS that he didn’t lie to them about his taxes)? It is because he knows that corporations make larger profits when they don’t have to pay an American an honest wage, health benefits, retirement, or even provide safe working conditions. It is an utter shame that we, true Americans, are less important to our elected representatives than 12 million criminals. I think that it is time that we take matters into out own hands and do what our representatives refuse to…
I think I hear the sound of tea being thrown into the water somewhere in the distance.
John didn't know what to do, so he went to the impound lot (expecting to be arrested, but knowing that he would eventually get his vehicle back and the Judge would sort the whole mess out) and inquired of the snotty attendant what the cost would be to retrieve his vehicle. The jerk looked up the information in the computer and told him "$6,800." John's eyes bulged out of his head. $6,800 was more than the $5,100 he owed on the vehicle to the bank. Leaving to attempt to borrow the money from relatives (no police arrived to arrest him) he felt that it just wasn't fair, especially since he was on active duty at the time serving in the Army. Several days later he was able to borrow the required amount from friends and family to retrieve his car, and upon arriving was told that the amount owed had increased by another hundred dollars. Reaching into his pocket he retrieved his last bill and handed the money over. He received a receipt, was told thank you, and handed a set of keys. John asked the attendant where his car was, and the attendant said "it was taken and sold at auction last month, the $6900 was the amount of the impound fee that the car's sale didn't cover."
Pissed off, John began to scream at the attendant when a police car arrived and the officers who got out pulled their guns and ordered him to lay on the ground. He complied and was immediately pounced on by a 300+ pound Samoan officer who broke three of his ribs while handcuffing him. He was taken to jail, refused medical care, and treated like a criminal for having the audacity to serve his nation. Long story short, when he was arraigned he told the judge his story and pleaded for assistance with the city for selling his vehicle and charging him almost $7000 AFTER selling his car. He explained that he forgot to renew the registration before going to basic training, and that he wasn't trying to abscond from the law, it was a simple mistake. He asked the judge for help, “I’m not a criminal, your honor, I didn‘t even know that the law existed. It was a mistake that has already cost me nearly $12,000, isn‘t that enough. I just wanted to serve my country, do I have to be treated like a criminal because of that?” The judge told him that there is "NO EXCUSE" for breaking the law, even if you didn't do it on purpose or had any knowledge that you were breaking the law to begin with. He said "but I was on active duty with the Army in South Carolina!" The judge replied "so what! Your registration expired, you didn't show up for court, you broke the law! $3,000 fine or 3 months in Jail!" John didn't have the money. He explained to the judge how he had to borrow the money to pay the impound lot (they never told him they sold his car, they deliberately kept that out to collect the money) and he couldn’t get any more, but if he was given a few months he could get work and pay the fine. The judge, being heartless and uncompassionate said he was likely a flight risk, and his “specialized training” would help him hide from authorities. The judge sent him to county lockup to serve 90 days. Upon his release he was re-arrested by the Military Police for being AWOL from a call up order to serve in Iraq. Even while sitting in jail he was committing a crime.
If we are to believe what this Judge says, that there is "No excuse" for breaking the laws, even in his case, then obviously there can be no forgiveness for breaking immigration law. One must submit to the court and accept punishment in order to repay the debt to society, be deported, then maybe, someday, they can apply to be readmitted into our society. Yet today, our President while in Omaha said that there are a privileged class in this country that should be not only forgiven of very serious crimes, but should also be given a free pass at citizenship, even though they have violated the laws that govern such privileges. What I am referring to is the President's immigration plan. "we want rule of law to prevail; and we want the American Dream to flourish. We're a nation of laws, and we want to uphold those laws. We're also a compassionate nation that treats people decently, and the two are not in conflict. That's what's important for our fellow citizens to understand. The two are not in conflict." Ahem! What is that, Sir?!? You are saying that we can have compassion for people who knowingly break the law, defraud the tax system, but not for a GI who forgot to register his vehicle? My friend did not sneak across the border of a sovereign nation intent on living there illegally. He did not lie about his name and SSN to get work and welfare payments. He did not do anything wrong , ANYTHING AT ALL, but has spent more time in jail that any illegal alien will under our Presidents plan.
Why is the President so interested in protecting the Mexican people, when we are his charge? We are AMERICANS, here legally, paying our taxes, suffering the abuses of our government. Why then does he pander to 12 MILLION lawbreakers when there are 290 MILLION Americans? Why does he feel the need to make excuses for greedy businesses that hire illegal’s and often provide them with fraudulent work documents (often in the name and SSN of an actual American that later has to prove to the IRS that he didn’t lie to them about his taxes)? It is because he knows that corporations make larger profits when they don’t have to pay an American an honest wage, health benefits, retirement, or even provide safe working conditions. It is an utter shame that we, true Americans, are less important to our elected representatives than 12 million criminals. I think that it is time that we take matters into out own hands and do what our representatives refuse to…
I think I hear the sound of tea being thrown into the water somewhere in the distance.
posted by Medula Oblongata at 7:05 PM
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