CAUSE AND AFFECT

In 1960, shortly after the major construction of our nations interstate highway system mandated by Dwight Eisenhower, the population of the United States stood at 179,323,175. In the year 2000 our population was 281,421,906 and rising, an increase of over ONE HUNDRED MILLION! And we wonder why our bridges and roads are in such a sorry state. When I was in school during the early 70's, environmentalism and conservation were just starting to take root. People began to realize that a particular portion of land could only sustain so many people. As students, we were taught by those early idealists that one way to help save the Earth was through population control. A net growth of zero being the target. Have just enough babies to replace the people who passed away. We were taught that as Americans it was our moral duty to have small families. Many of us bought into this. But herein lies the problem. While we were doing our civic duty by having smaller families in hopes of saving some of America's natural beauty for future generations, our politicians, motivated by corporate greed, opened the floodgates of immigration in 1965 and kept them open. This supplied the corporations with a steady source of cheap labor and competition for the native born in order to keep wages artificially low. Where are these environmenaltist now? Why are they not hemming and hawing over the strain that this steady stream of immigration puts on our natural resources. Almost any problem you can point to today has its roots in over population. Transporation infrastructure? Well, more heavy trucks needed to haul goods to a larger consumer base. Traffic jams and road rage? One hundred million more people on our roads will tend to aggravate anyone. Skyrocketing health care costs? The medical industry has to make up for the losses incured by treating the uninsured somewhere. I will issue a challenge. Mention almost any problem our country is facing today, and I guarantee I will invariably be able to trace its origin to overpopulation due to our insane immigration policies.

James J. Calautti

REFLECTIONS ON CHE GUEVARA

Today, many Latinos wear the iconic figure of Che Gueverra on t-shirts and other items. Yet these Latinos are here in America. They obviously know nothing of the man. Che was a Latin American revolutionary. He would have never sold out to come work for the Americans whom he blamed for much of the problems of his countrymen. No, Che was a man of action and ideals. He wanted to improve the living conditions of Latinos where they lived. He would have labled as traitorous those who would come to America for financial gain. Che saw that to empower his people, it had to be done on their soil. And that is why we have such an immigration problem today. Latinos do not care about their homelands. If the money is to be made in America, that is where they will head. This is not revolutionary thinking. This is capitalist selfishness taken to the exteme. If those Latinos put as much effort into improving their own countries, they would not have to infringe on the American citizenry. So to all young Latinos who wear the iconic image of Che on their shirts, take a que from your supposed hero, and do as he did.

Che was a medical doctor who could have lived the easy life, but he believed in what he fought for. A Latino population that could care and provide for itself. If you truly harbor "Latino Pride", be a man and return to your country of origin. Do what you can to fight for justice and equality in your homeland. Try to pull your people up from the corruption and ineptitude that has held your people back for so long. Real Latinos would not be sitting in New York or Miami playing X-box. They would be fighting in the streets of Rio and Panama City to overthrow the yoke of tyranny. Do not look to me or other Americans for sympathy. Our forefathers spilled their blood to break the yoke of dependence and struck out to make a better life for themselves. Now you come here to enjoy those rights paid for in the blood of others. This is cowardice on a grand scale such as the world has never seen. Let others do the hard work of revolution and nation building, and then move in as squatters, sucking off the life blood of another nation like leeches. Groups like La Raza sicken me. They say they fight for their people, well do it where it will count, on Latino soil. Then maybe you will earn some respect.

James J. Calautti