Arizona had its reasons for instituting law

We have a lot of very bright people who read the Daily Pilot.

I am wondering if someone could help me out. Apparently I do not have a clear understanding of the definition of “illegal immigration.” My interpretation is “somebody who has entered a country illegally.”

According to my interpretation, the term means contravening a specific law, especially a criminal law. Why don’t we eliminate the term “illegal immigration” and just continue with the free-for-all, which is the direction many of our esteemed lawmakers are taking us?

I am not a product of immigrants who came over on the Mayflower. No, my ancestors came via Spain, France and Mexico a couple of hundred years ago. I am quite certain that they followed the laws, which were enacted at that time, to become citizens of the United States. What has changed?

I am a person who is proud that I live in a country with laws, rules and standards that most of us adhere to in order to live in a place free of chaos. Chaos, desperation and crime are the very things that many are fleeing from.

To maintain any sense of order and fiscal responsibility within our country, all those entering this country should be required to obtain visas, or legal status. At that time, anyone and everyone, regardless of race, creed or color, are and always would be more than welcome into this great country of ours.

What is so difficult about this concept? Do I fear I may be pulled over by the authorities because of the color of my skin? The absurdity is laughable. However, if I had something to hide it would definitely be cause for concern.

The direction we are heading in is frightening. It’s painful to watch the news and listen to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the L.A. City Council in all their infinite wisdom demanding that all of us boycott Arizona.

Really, has anyone spoken about the financial ramifications of canceling contracts, and then renegotiating contracts once all this madness dies down?

To go so far as to request that the Lakers boycott Arizona has got to be one of the most absurd remarks to come out of the L.A. City Council. It’s no wonder L.A. is broke — it is being run by a host of ignorant politicians whose main concern is their next term in office, at whatever cost!

Arizona did not arbitrarily decide one day to resort to such extreme measures to justify their actions. Increased drug trafficking, shootings at their borders, and a host of other issues, primarily by those who had crossed the border illegally, is what caused them to resort to such extreme measures in order to protect their state.

Let’s get our emotions in check and go back to the basic laws that make our country the greatest place on Earth! By the way, I’m heading to Arizona this weekend, taking some money out of the bank and going on a spending spree!

Juli Hayden

Newport Beach

Gray’s vote won’t matter

Because Judge James P. Gray singles me out for approbation in his column (“It’s a Gray Area: Reject cynicism — vote,” May 16), I feel compelled to defend myself.

Gray and I agree that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are the answer to our country’s present woes. Obama is doing nothing but tax and spend, but Bush did much the same thing on his watch, as he vetoed only one spending bill in eight years in office.

That leaves the Libertarian Party to promote our Founding Fathers’ original ideals — personal and fiscal responsibility. Alas, though the Libertarian Party has existed since 1971, it has always been a niche third party and has received more than 1.1% of the vote in any presidential election. Thus, its influence on our economic and political decisions has been and continues to be nonexistent. With about 225,000 registered voters across the country, it cannot hope to compete with the tens of millions of Democrats and Republicans.

Gray goes on to make the statement “that every vote has mattered,” when in fact no single vote in any national election has ever mattered at all. Gray points to the Bush vs. Gore campaign and other local elections as an example of votes mattering, but in each case, one individual vote would not have mattered one iota. Thus, I can truthfully state that my not voting my whole life has had exactly the same impact on any election that Gray has voted in — none. The odds of Gray influencing any election outside of local dog catcher with his vote are worse than either of us winning the lottery.

Gray claims, “we are making progress ... toward liberty and responsibility,” yet he does not cite one example of this progress. In fact, governments at all levels — federal, state and local — are buried in debt and their unfunded liabilities continue to grow. The train wreck is coming, and both Gray and I should live long enough to see it. The vast majority of Americans won’t vote for a politician who will take away their entitlements.

As the great Libertarian Frederick Bastiat wrote, “The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.”

Gray asked me to publicly reassess my position. On the basis of the facts I’ve cited, I now ask him to do the same. Good luck with making a difference in this country, Gray, and let me know how that works out for you.

David Pearse