We've been friends for a long, long time - roughly 25 years. Not that we see each other much, not that we gab on the phone much. We don't. The magic of e-mail has managed to help us reunite.
Andy has a blog. Mine is fashioned somewhat upon his blog. He offers his opinions while not asking yours in return. That works for me.
While I don't disrespect your opinions, my idea of a weBLOG is just that, a log, a journal, somewhat of a diary. Girls keep diaries; boys keep logs, or maybe journals, but that's kind of taking a chance..
So, even though it's open to public inspection, it's not open to public input, criticism, or support. Sorry, I don't see that changing any time soon.
Andy's blog today(July 27th)deals succinctly with Hazleton's Illegal Immigration Relief Act being struck down by a federal judge. The ruling by Judge Munley is rock-solid; the act is unconstitutional. Constitutional lawyers have been saying it from the day Hizzoner Barletta put forth this unsound document.
I now know that the judge's ruling is 206 pages long. Not that I intend to read it. I don't have to, there is no need. He's right, Barletta and his supporters are wrong. What they tried to do is simply unconstitutional.
Our constitution is the most precious document this nation possesses. As bold and dramatic as The Declaration of Independence is, The Constitution is what makes our way of governance work. Those who framed The Constitution were determined we be a nation of laws, not a nation of men.
I don't want to see that change.
To think that it could change scares me. A "nation of men" could decide what you and I have for breakfast, what we could and could not read, what prayers we were allowed to offer, should we care to pray at all. A nation of men could even suppress my thinking out loud here on this blog, on your blog, anywhere on the internet, or even down on the corner.
I have no idea what Mayor Barletta's motives are. There is no judgment to be passed here upon what has brought this man to this point in time. Illegal immigration is a problem, make no mistake about my opinion of that. The country is overrun, and it needs to stop. Hazleton City isn't going to stop it, nor is Mr. Barletta, nor are his myriad supporters. It's not the responsibility of any of the aforementioned.
It's the sole responsibility of our federal government, the one to which The Constitution applies on an hourly basis. And I for one am grateful that it does.
It's clearer than a mountain stream that the feds have failed to keep our borders secure. It's the job of that monstrous tangle of our government, our federal government, to control our borders. It's not the job of townships, boroughs, and cities any more than it is the job of your neighborhood block party committee.
Saner minds will realize yesterday's ruling was all about constitutionality and nothing else. Others will continue to view it as an us and them battle.
My sorrow and anguish over that thinking is genuine. There seems little hope it will change.
The next step, I guess, is a trip through the appellate courts, with a long journey to SCOTUS. We're talking years here, maybe a decade or more.
I'll bet the justices of SCOTUS never see a man named Barletta from a pretty little Pennsylvania city standing before them.
The appellate courts will uphold the decision that came from the corner of Linden and N. Washington in Scranton. They'll do so because it was the right decision. Judge Munley is right. That's what Andy says, too.
That's why I like Andy...
