Las Vegas Conference Day 2
I didn't have a chance to update the blog until tonight due to staying up way too late and traveling home to Hawaii today. Day two solidified what I hoped this conference would be - it united all the different groups of people who are fighting to stop illegal immigration. Without a doubt, this was one of the most inspirational days of my life. I'll give you a rundown...
Jim Gilchrist was awesome. He took the stage and the first thing he did was apologized for getting a little mean at a reporter who was giving him some grief over his views. Jim is a big enough man to realize her opinion was all screwed up but he didn't want to treat another person in a way that doesn't represent the kind of man he is. I really applaud him for that.
He went on to talk about the Minuteman project. I was amazed at how many actual Minutemen were in attendance. I'd say at least 14/ of the people were. I was honored to spend the weekend with them. Jim talked about all the things he always talks about - closing the border, cracking down on the employers, and taking away the reason they come here. Just hearing those solutions we all know so well coming from the founder of the Minutemen was like learning it all over again. Jim Gilchrist is an American hero. He's up there with the likes of Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and the rest of the "original" patriots. In fact, given the beating he takes in the press, I think his determination is even more commendable. Jim is our example. He got sick of the lack of action so he took action. I will teach my children that Jim Gilchrist and the Minutemen are the new generation of people we need to emulate. If you read this Jim, thank you for spending the weekend with us and sharing your inspirational thoughts. We respect you, thank you, and love you as a brother!
We also heard from Mike Cuttler, a former immigration agent who is a field expert in what he was talking about. Mike told us of the corruption in the INS and how he couldn't take it anymore. He has testified before the 911 commission as well as several other Congressional committees. I hung on every word. A big comparison he made was the fact that 37,000 police are in charge of keeping the peace for 9 million people in New York City. Conversely, 2,000 agents are in charge of getting rid of 18 million illegal aliens. Is there something wrong with that figure? Yes, there sure is. Congress authorized 2,000 new border patrol agents per year for the next five years. El Presidente Bush said no matter what Congress says, he will not hire them. Why?
I was impressed with the professional, experienced facts Mike provided us. In his opinion, we don't so much need more security on the border but more jail space for the illegals we catch before we deport them. He also closed with this..... Imagine you came home from Las Vegas to find a crook in your home, lying on your couch, watching your television. You call the police to come pick him up but they tell you, "No, we will not pick him up. And furthermore, you WILL give him food, water, medical care, pay for school for his kids, and find him a job." Anyone, American or not, would say that is absurd! Well, friends, that is what illegal immigration is.
One of my favorite people I met this past weekend was a man by the name of Luca Zana. I can't express how much pride I felt for this brand new American citizen. Luca just became a citizen last month and he scored 100% on his American history test - a test in which most homegrown Americans would score 40% or below. Luca spoke from the heart as he told us about growing up in Italy and being taught how American soldiers, men who had never met his family, died for their freedom. He said he knew he wanted to be an American from the time he was a child.
Luca talked about his long journey from an Italian business owner, to a street bum who took pictures of tourists in front of the Coliseum for a living, to a proud, American who owns a growing business in the United States. His story was incredibly inspiring. He spoke of communism as the true evil of the world and how paying 75% of his income in taxes to the Italian government made him sick! In addition, he stressed his very strong support for the Second Amendment.
The way Luca Zanna closed his talk brought tears to my eyes. He told us about a poem he wrote to the President called, "Thank You America." He spoke of how his new family were the American citizens was now one of. He was proud, thankful for the opportunities provided to him, and pissed off that the illegal aliens were destroying everything that took him 7 years to accomplish. This man is the model of what an immigrant to America should be. He loves his new country with all his heart. He has embraced his opportunities and become a successful business owner. Most importantly, Luca Zanna is a good person. He is the kind of man, after just knowing him for no more than ten minutes, I knew I would happily open my home to as a friend.
If you have a chance, I encourage you to visit his website - http://www.unitedstates.fm/ He wrote an awesome song about the Minutemen. You can download it from his site - "web Radio for those who love America"
Just before our keynote speaking arrived, a man I met for the fist time took the stage. Terry Anderson is the most energetic talk radio man I have ever met in my life. He spoke the facts - whether you like them or not! His combination of humor mixed with the hard truth had the crowd rolling and on their feet through most of his speech. Everything he said was right on the money. While talking about a mutual interview he shared with a pro-illegal immigration representative, he told us how he offered this man a handshake before he left. The man wouldn't respond in kind. Terry told him, "You know, even though I disagree with everything you just said, if someone came up here and tried to take away your right to do it, I'd stand with you on your side. You, on the other hand would kill me to silence me. That's the difference between us." What an awesome expression of the true belief in liberty of this man!
A couple of his other great lines of the night were:
"If you're at the stadium and two teams are playing, if you're not going to root for the home team, get the hell out of the stadium!" Friends, America is the stadium. We need to start rooting for the home team!
Terry repeated the quote, "This is our country. There is no 'practice' America. Once we screw this one up it's over. There is no place else to try again!" It is so sad that so many people treat our republic as a 'practice' America but Terry is so right. We need to get in the game and go on the offensive now!
Finally, our keynote speaker took the stage. Congressman Tom Tancredo was greeted with a standing ovation. He talked for over an hour and was a man every one of us looked to as a hero in the movement of which we are all so passionate. He told us of the many years he would be the only congressman talking about the issue. He said the only thing worse than knowing there was such a grave problem and not being able to do anything about it was being in Congress (a position of some 'power') and STILL not being able to do anything about it. Tom told things are changing. He reminded us about the power of a group of people standing up for the right reason have over the government. Congressman Tancredo gave us a couple reason things are changing. First, the 'popular media' is not so popular anymore. As he reminded us, the liberal media did all they could to paint the Minutemen as vigilante racists out to chase down Mexicans because of pure hatred. Second, many of his colleagues in Congress are now trying to grab the baton and run at the front of the pack on this issue. They told him their voice mail, email, and snail mailboxes are overloaded with people demanding something be done about illegal aliens! As the stand up guy Tom is, he said he doesn't care who gets the credit for making these essential changes, just as long as they happen! As he said, "You can accomplish great things if you don't care who gets the credit!"
Everyone in the crowd knew where the Congressman stood on illegal immigration but he closed with a much more disturbing thought. He recently visited a school in his district. One student's question was about the biggest issue facing America. Congressman Tancredo, in return, asked the students by a show of hands to say they thought America was the greatest country in the world. About two dozen of 250 students raised their hand! That, without a doubt is much more dangerous to our country than any illegal alien. The kids of America do not love America anymore and that just isn't natural. SOMEONE is telling the kids of our country that we are not good!
Congressman Tom Tancredo concluded to a standing ovation and held hands with all the speakers as we sang God Bless America to conclude the conference. What really stands out to me is Tom Tancredo had pretty much nothing to gain by visiting us. I don't think anyone in the room was from Colorado so he wasn't wooing votes. He was 'just a guy' who was leading the cause of a group of like minded men and women who just want a better America for their children. I respect him and all the people working so hard on this issue with all my soul. I pray God will continue to bless all of us in our cause to restore our once great American republic!
I went straight from Las Vegas to work so I can't post pictures right now but I'll post a bunch of them tomorrow. Thanks again for all your support.
Jim Gilchrist was awesome. He took the stage and the first thing he did was apologized for getting a little mean at a reporter who was giving him some grief over his views. Jim is a big enough man to realize her opinion was all screwed up but he didn't want to treat another person in a way that doesn't represent the kind of man he is. I really applaud him for that.
He went on to talk about the Minuteman project. I was amazed at how many actual Minutemen were in attendance. I'd say at least 14/ of the people were. I was honored to spend the weekend with them. Jim talked about all the things he always talks about - closing the border, cracking down on the employers, and taking away the reason they come here. Just hearing those solutions we all know so well coming from the founder of the Minutemen was like learning it all over again. Jim Gilchrist is an American hero. He's up there with the likes of Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and the rest of the "original" patriots. In fact, given the beating he takes in the press, I think his determination is even more commendable. Jim is our example. He got sick of the lack of action so he took action. I will teach my children that Jim Gilchrist and the Minutemen are the new generation of people we need to emulate. If you read this Jim, thank you for spending the weekend with us and sharing your inspirational thoughts. We respect you, thank you, and love you as a brother!
We also heard from Mike Cuttler, a former immigration agent who is a field expert in what he was talking about. Mike told us of the corruption in the INS and how he couldn't take it anymore. He has testified before the 911 commission as well as several other Congressional committees. I hung on every word. A big comparison he made was the fact that 37,000 police are in charge of keeping the peace for 9 million people in New York City. Conversely, 2,000 agents are in charge of getting rid of 18 million illegal aliens. Is there something wrong with that figure? Yes, there sure is. Congress authorized 2,000 new border patrol agents per year for the next five years. El Presidente Bush said no matter what Congress says, he will not hire them. Why?
I was impressed with the professional, experienced facts Mike provided us. In his opinion, we don't so much need more security on the border but more jail space for the illegals we catch before we deport them. He also closed with this..... Imagine you came home from Las Vegas to find a crook in your home, lying on your couch, watching your television. You call the police to come pick him up but they tell you, "No, we will not pick him up. And furthermore, you WILL give him food, water, medical care, pay for school for his kids, and find him a job." Anyone, American or not, would say that is absurd! Well, friends, that is what illegal immigration is.
One of my favorite people I met this past weekend was a man by the name of Luca Zana. I can't express how much pride I felt for this brand new American citizen. Luca just became a citizen last month and he scored 100% on his American history test - a test in which most homegrown Americans would score 40% or below. Luca spoke from the heart as he told us about growing up in Italy and being taught how American soldiers, men who had never met his family, died for their freedom. He said he knew he wanted to be an American from the time he was a child.
Luca talked about his long journey from an Italian business owner, to a street bum who took pictures of tourists in front of the Coliseum for a living, to a proud, American who owns a growing business in the United States. His story was incredibly inspiring. He spoke of communism as the true evil of the world and how paying 75% of his income in taxes to the Italian government made him sick! In addition, he stressed his very strong support for the Second Amendment.
The way Luca Zanna closed his talk brought tears to my eyes. He told us about a poem he wrote to the President called, "Thank You America." He spoke of how his new family were the American citizens was now one of. He was proud, thankful for the opportunities provided to him, and pissed off that the illegal aliens were destroying everything that took him 7 years to accomplish. This man is the model of what an immigrant to America should be. He loves his new country with all his heart. He has embraced his opportunities and become a successful business owner. Most importantly, Luca Zanna is a good person. He is the kind of man, after just knowing him for no more than ten minutes, I knew I would happily open my home to as a friend.
If you have a chance, I encourage you to visit his website - http://www.unitedstates.fm/ He wrote an awesome song about the Minutemen. You can download it from his site - "web Radio for those who love America"
Just before our keynote speaking arrived, a man I met for the fist time took the stage. Terry Anderson is the most energetic talk radio man I have ever met in my life. He spoke the facts - whether you like them or not! His combination of humor mixed with the hard truth had the crowd rolling and on their feet through most of his speech. Everything he said was right on the money. While talking about a mutual interview he shared with a pro-illegal immigration representative, he told us how he offered this man a handshake before he left. The man wouldn't respond in kind. Terry told him, "You know, even though I disagree with everything you just said, if someone came up here and tried to take away your right to do it, I'd stand with you on your side. You, on the other hand would kill me to silence me. That's the difference between us." What an awesome expression of the true belief in liberty of this man!
A couple of his other great lines of the night were:
"If you're at the stadium and two teams are playing, if you're not going to root for the home team, get the hell out of the stadium!" Friends, America is the stadium. We need to start rooting for the home team!
Terry repeated the quote, "This is our country. There is no 'practice' America. Once we screw this one up it's over. There is no place else to try again!" It is so sad that so many people treat our republic as a 'practice' America but Terry is so right. We need to get in the game and go on the offensive now!
Finally, our keynote speaker took the stage. Congressman Tom Tancredo was greeted with a standing ovation. He talked for over an hour and was a man every one of us looked to as a hero in the movement of which we are all so passionate. He told us of the many years he would be the only congressman talking about the issue. He said the only thing worse than knowing there was such a grave problem and not being able to do anything about it was being in Congress (a position of some 'power') and STILL not being able to do anything about it. Tom told things are changing. He reminded us about the power of a group of people standing up for the right reason have over the government. Congressman Tancredo gave us a couple reason things are changing. First, the 'popular media' is not so popular anymore. As he reminded us, the liberal media did all they could to paint the Minutemen as vigilante racists out to chase down Mexicans because of pure hatred. Second, many of his colleagues in Congress are now trying to grab the baton and run at the front of the pack on this issue. They told him their voice mail, email, and snail mailboxes are overloaded with people demanding something be done about illegal aliens! As the stand up guy Tom is, he said he doesn't care who gets the credit for making these essential changes, just as long as they happen! As he said, "You can accomplish great things if you don't care who gets the credit!"
Everyone in the crowd knew where the Congressman stood on illegal immigration but he closed with a much more disturbing thought. He recently visited a school in his district. One student's question was about the biggest issue facing America. Congressman Tancredo, in return, asked the students by a show of hands to say they thought America was the greatest country in the world. About two dozen of 250 students raised their hand! That, without a doubt is much more dangerous to our country than any illegal alien. The kids of America do not love America anymore and that just isn't natural. SOMEONE is telling the kids of our country that we are not good!
Congressman Tom Tancredo concluded to a standing ovation and held hands with all the speakers as we sang God Bless America to conclude the conference. What really stands out to me is Tom Tancredo had pretty much nothing to gain by visiting us. I don't think anyone in the room was from Colorado so he wasn't wooing votes. He was 'just a guy' who was leading the cause of a group of like minded men and women who just want a better America for their children. I respect him and all the people working so hard on this issue with all my soul. I pray God will continue to bless all of us in our cause to restore our once great American republic!
I went straight from Las Vegas to work so I can't post pictures right now but I'll post a bunch of them tomorrow. Thanks again for all your support.
posted by Russ Ward at Monday, May 30, 2005
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