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New York State, is once again under attack

by Robert Amoroso

 It seems that we can no longer entrust our security and well being to our elected officials. The same people that have taken an oath to “protect and defend”, have once again put its citizens in harms way, only this time we are keenly aware of the potential dangers that may lie ahead, and that’s the tragedy of it all. Governor Spitzer’s plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain New York State driver’s licenses is perhaps one of the most outrageous ill conceived abuses of power that this state has seen in quit awhile. So much so that the state’s county clerks revolted against the Governor’s executive order to grant driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.

The clerks, who administer the licensing program, by a 30-to-3 vote, denounced the plan as “ill advised” and 13 of those clerks threatened to mutiny, and not carry out the Governor’s executive order. The vote of course was merely symbolic, in that they cannot selectively choose which laws to enforce and which to ignore, ironic when one considers the Governor’s own proposal

Allow me a moment to regress back in time, back to when the world seemed to be a much safer place, and the only concern was whether or not we’d find a cab on a Friday night in midtown Manhattan. Of course there are always dangers living in a big city, however being New Yorkers we understood those dangers, we were savvy and street wise, to the ways of city life. We knew the predators from the hustlers and what to avoid, and if you lived within the city for any length of time you quickly adapted. Then came September 11th and within the flash of a fire ball, the world as we knew it changed forever.

I have no idea where Governor Spitzer was that day, and perhaps it’s not important, however for anyone who lived through that day in New York City, life as we knew it will never be the same. I watched in silent disbelief and horror from my office window the carnage and devastation that was unfolding before me, and the sudden realization that this nation was under attack. When the horror of that day finally sunk in, I like hundreds of other New Yorkers in the wee hours of September 12th silently made our way towards what was left of the World Trade Center. We needed for whatever reason to be their, perhaps to bare witness to the carnage that took place less then 15 hours before, or perhaps to pay tribute to the monumental lose of life, whatever it was, we needed to be their. The days that followed 9/11 were a combination of seething anger, sadness, and overwhelming pride for a city and its people, the stark images of devastation and the smoldering debris became the backdrop to the cities landscape and makeshift memorials scattered throughout the city will be forever etched within my brain.

Why the Governor of the state of New York would by executive order decree such a foolish plan is anyone’s guess. My sense is that there seems to be an unwillingness by some, to believe that border security and immigration are paramount issues in terms of national security. Why else would a Governor (post 9/11), of New York State be so oblivious to recent history, that it defies all logic. The question then is how this Governor can govern when he himself has little regard for the rule of law. Perhaps we should follow his example and choose what laws we should or should not obey.

It’s obvious that by some twisted and yet unexplained logic that some of our elected officials rather then enacting the will of the people who elected them, have become political and social activists for a segment of the population that has willfully broken the law of the land, are illegal and cannot vote in an election, at least not yet, and perhaps that’s where the story truly lies.

I will admit that I’m a bit cynical, when it comes to our elected officials, and I can’t help but wonder what motivates someone like Governor Spitzer to take this risky and unprecedented position? Regardless of the consequences, the economy or the law of the land, 12 to 20 million undocumented and illegal immigrants are an impressive voting block to whoever pushes through what has now been dubbed “the pathway to citizenship”, the numbers speak for themselves.

As incredible as it may seem, the rational among some of our political leaders appears to be that whoever can circumvent the current legal immigration process for this group of illegal immigrants would in all probability be rewarded with a significant voting block, and to that end it seems that a few of our esteemed political leaders think it perfectly acceptable to gamble on the safety and well being of American citizens.

The backbiting, name calling and squabbling we witness every day in halls of Congress and on the Senate floor is nothing compared to what would happen if another unthinkable act should accrue. Governor Spitzer would do well to heed the advice of his constituents and stop this foolish and reckless game.

Oneida County Clerk, Sandra DePerno said it best after she voted to denounce the Governor’s plan… “I think he’s forgotten what happened here in New York State on 9/11”. Fortunately there’s still time for the Governor to reconsider as the executive order doesn’t go into effect until December, and if the polls are any indication it would certainly be in his best interest to do so. 

More articles by this author:
» Presidential politics, New York style
» Is Bank of America jeopardizing our national security?
» The invisible "Americans" among us
» The Don Imus brouhaha... am I missing something?

Copyright © 2007 Amo

Amo is a contributor for BrooWaha New York