[Willow]

I just got this in an email and I thought it was worth sharing with the rest of you.
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> ORANGE COUNTY ( CALIFORNIA ) NEWSPAPER
> This is a very good letter to the editor. This woman
> made some good points. For some reason, people have
> difficulty structuring their arguments when arguing
> against supporting the currently proposed immigration
> revisions. This lady made the argument pretty simple.
>
>
>
> NOT printed in the Orange County
> Paper...................
>
> Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor
> which they either deem politically incorrect (read
> below) or which does not agree with the philosophy
> they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a
> great letter to the editor that should have been
> published; but, with your help it will get published
> via cyberspace!
>
> New Immigrants
> From: "David LaBonte"
>
> My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the
> editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not
> printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending
> it out on the Internet.
> Pass it along if you feel so inclined.
> Dave LaBonte (signed)
>
>
> Written in response to a series of letters to the
> editor in the Orange County Register:
>
> Dear Editor:
>
> So many letter writers have based their arguments on
> how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan
> for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of
> Liberty because the people now in question aren't
> being treated the same as those who passed through
> Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
>
> Maybe we should turn to our history books and point
> out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is
> not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any
> longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all
> areas of Europe to come to the United States, people
> had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New
> York and be documented. Some would even get down on
> their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a
> pledge to uphold the laws and support their new
> country in good and bad times. They made learning
> English a primary rule in their new American
> households and some even changed their names to blend
> in with their new home.
>
> They had waved good bye to their birth place to give
> their children a new life and did everything in their
> power to help their children assimilate into one
> culture.
>
> Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no
> welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had
> were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought
> with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of
> their children came of age when World War II broke
> out. My father fought along side men whose parents had
> come straight over from Germany , Italy , France and
> Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever
> gave any thought about what country their parents had
> come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler,
> Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan . They were
> defending the United States of America as one people.
> When we liberated France , no one in those villages
> were looking for the French-American or the German
> American or the Irish American. The people of France
> saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that
> represented one country. Not one of those immigrant
> sons would have thought about picking up another
> country's flag and waving it to represent who they
> were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents
> who had sacrificed so much to be here. These
> immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American.
> They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and
> blue bowl.
>
> And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant
> who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they
> want to achieve it by playing with a different set of
> rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a
> guarantee of being faithful to their mother country.
> I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all
> about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on
> Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than
> that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in
> raising future generations to create a land that has
> become a beacon for those legally searching for a
> better life. I think they would be appalled that they
> are being used as an example by those waving foreign
> country flags.
>
> And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue
> of Liberty , it happens to mean a lot to the citizens
> who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't
> start talking about dismantling the United States just
> yet.
> (signed) Rosemary LaBonte
>
>
>
> P. S. Pass this on to everyone you know!!!
> KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!!
> I hope this letter gets read by millions of people all
> across the nation!!
>
> Ever onward!!