Thread: MSM IA hugger: bus tragedy has turned political

But if illegal immigrants drove legally (many police chiefs wish they could), they could be policed and, if necessary, punished -- just like us red-blooded Americans.

The first question I have is What happens to them now? Are they just turned loose? Does the officer stopping them say "Sorry but because you're an illegal immigrant I can't police or punish you as I would a red-blooded American."

Dear Mr. Coleman,

In response to your Op-Ed (?) piece about the tragic collision in Cottonwood I would like to say the following... You are wrong, completely 100% wrong. Let me show you why it is irrelevant for drivers licenses to be granted to illegal immigrants.

Let me offer the case of 40 year old Mary Denise Richey, a disabled single mother of grown children on her way to a drug treatment/rehab center. After riding across the entire Portland metro area by local bus, she got off at her normal stop as she usually did. Once there, she simply had to cross the street and go another 1/2 block or so to the building housing the counseling center.

It was early that morning (about 6:00am) and dark foggy conditions prevailed. These are conditions experienced local drivers know to treat with extra caution. Everything went as usual in the last moments of her life, until she went to cross the street. She proceeded as usual, but was met in the street by a van driven by Rafael Avelino Gines a 'resident' of a nearby town. Mr Gines was driving his 1997 Ford van approximately 40-45 mph, right at or a little over the speed limit at that location (40 mph).

However, in contrast to what most drivers would normally do, he not only failed to pull over and stop his vehicle, he did not even slow down. The investigating authorities estimated that he dragged the woman - still in her wheelchair - some 40-50 feet (while underneath the van) before she became dislodged purely by luck. Then, Mr. Gines drove on to his residence and, again, failed to report this horrific 'accident' with which he had just been involved.

Mr. Gines is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. During his arrest the next morning a legitimately issued State of Oregon Driver License was found on his person.


So, at this point, important questions go begging:

>> Did the driver license enable Mr. Gines to become a good enough driver to avoid the accident?

>> How can he acquire the legitimate license and not know what to do in case of accident (this question is asked in various forms on the driver license exam)? Knowing that he had impacted a pedestrian, what reason can he offer for his failure to stop and provide assistance (failure to do so, is a FELONY in the State of Oregon).

It appears Mr. Gines concept of what a driver license represents and what most other Oregon drivers think it is are two very different things.


Thankfully, within the last three weeks, our Governor in conjunction with the cooperation of our state Senate and House, has signed bill SB81 into law. It denies driver licenses to persons that cannot provide proof of legal residence in the state. It was signed into law in a progressive state having a Democratically-controlled legislature (House and Senate) and a Democrat Governor.

How do I know all this, or why do I care? It happened one mile from my home. I drove past her body on my way to work that morning.

Sir, you are so VERY, VERY wrong. Shame on you.


Deeply Disappointed,

<Me>

Read the local news report about it here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonia ... xml&coll=7

This is quite a piece of work:

"It also has brought out the worst: Anger, bigotry and politically-charged complaints about immigrants, the vast majority of whom are here legally.

when anger is tinged with racism and resentment in a season of charged political debate

Some people have moved on already, from mourning to murder.

"She should be swinging by her neck on the end of a rope," one blogger wrote about the driver on a website called Lake Minnetonka Liberty. And there was more where that came from. The trip from rage to lynch mob mentality can be short.

What if we raid the businesses who employ illegal immigrants, rip the workers away from their families, and deport them?

If you want to round them up and deport them all, you'll need barbed wire and jackboots.

they get all grim-faced, condemn illegal immigration

but because it is shrewd election politics and feeds raw red meat to the rednecks?

The governor's spokesman couldn't wait for the funerals to pass before trying to score points: The governor, he said Friday, thinks "we should do more to crack down on illegal immigration."

The night before, Pawlenty said at a prayer service that Minnesotans were "united in grief" by the tragedy. The next day, he went back to dividing.

Very vicey presidenty.

Choices that might make sense, even if they don't pacify the vigilantes.

The solution, Eliot Spitzer said last year, is to let illegal immigrants apply for driver's licenses. That way, they might be illegal residents, but they would be legal drivers, subject to the same licensing, insurance and identity requirements as everyone else.

But if illegal immigrants drove legally (many police chiefs wish they could), they could be policed and, if necessary, punished -- just like us red-blooded Americans.

Not letting them get licenses "does nothing" for safety, Spitzer said. "All it does is drive immigrants into the shadows, creating a class of people with no public records."
===============================================
What an insensitive journalist to write such an article in the aftermath of a so recent tragedy. My heart goes out to the families.

His 'rantings' are intended to make this issue political.

Note some of his 'code words':
bigotry
racism
charged political debate
from mourning to murder
lynch mob mentality
barbed wire and jackboots
shrewd election politics
feeds raw red meat to the rednecks
vigilantes
drive immigrants into the shadows

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." — Joseph Goebbels

Great letter and response to the author PhredE!!!!!

Fences make good neighbors.

Thanks MyAmerica. This guy needs to be called on his BS. Sometimes, when I get mad enough, I can write a decent one. At the very least, I hope it gets noticed.

I forgot to ask the obvious question like this - "You're so worried about justice for these 'immigrant's, but where is the justice for Ms. Richey? She is dead".

Oh well.

Most welcome PhredE. The way you related your personal contact with the accident was very moving.

no date given: There are an estimated 12 million undocumented workers in America, and an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 live in Minnesota. Those numbers force federal immigration officials to prioitize their work.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article ... yid=499817

Good official Minnesota state report to the governor of illegal immigration costs:

December 8, 2005
Report to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
The Impact of Illegal
Immigration on Minnesota
Costs and Population Trends

http://www.mnforsustain.org/immg_mn_sta ... _study.htm

To speak against illegal immigration is not racist but humane and American.

What a great rebuttal, Phred! Your response was just perfect! I'm anxious to know if you will receive a response from this terribly flawed individual.

It's utterly ludicrous to believe that a piece of paper...a driver's license - will be the panacea for creating safety on the roads! If anything, allowing them to drive 'legally' will give them a license to kill, so to speak. They have no respect for the rule of law in our country - they violated that law when they slithered over the border. They bring the criminal, corrupt culture of Mexico with them when they break into our country. Their mind-set is simply to evade the law and not to get CAUGHT! They are completely irresponsible and without a conscience.

I would say that 95% of all the traffic accidents, including fatalities, in L.A. are committed by persons with a last name ending in a "Z"! It makes me sick! And the numbers of horrific accidents have increased ten fold in the last couple of years! This is not an aberration...it is directly related to the invasion.

Another contributing factor is alcohol! It's endemic with their culture!

Give the IA's driver's licenses is not going to make them better drivers, anymore than giving them 'amnesty' is going to make them good citizens! The argument is fatally flawed.

Thanks AmericanMe.

To be honest, I screwed up more than I'd like to admit. My writing in the above was a bit sloppy because I put myself in 'anger mode' when I write (I usually write best when I'm PO'd). I wish I would have cleaned it up a bit better... oh well.

We'll see if I get a response. If I do, I'll post it back here for all to see.

Here's a cleaned up version. It is a bit longer, but a tad more clear:

Dear Mr. Coleman,

In response to your piece about the tragic collision in Cottonwood I would like to say the following... You are wrong, completely 100% wrong. Let me show you why it is irrelevant for driver licenses to be granted to illegal immigrants.

Let me offer the case of 40 year old Mary Denise Richey, a disabled single mother of four grown children on her way to a drug treatment/rehab center early one weekday morning. After riding across the Portland metro area by bus, she got off at her normal stop as she usually did. Once there, she simply had to cross a street and go another 1/2 block or so to the building where the counseling center was located.

On this last day of her life, dark foggy conditions prevailed. The darkness and fog together with the Portland area’s varied topography can add up to a very hazardous combination for driving. Anyway, everything proceeded normally in the last moments of her life, until she went to cross the street. She carefully began to cross as she usually did, but this time was hit in the street by a van driven by Rafael Avelino Gines a 'resident' of a nearby town. Mr Gines was driving his 1997 Ford van approximately 40-45 mph; right at or a little over the speed limit at that location (40 mph).

However, in contrast to what most drivers would normally do, Gines not only failed to pull over and stop his vehicle, he did not even slow down. Accident investigators estimated Gines dragged Richey - still in her wheelchair - some 40-50 feet (while underneath the van) before she dislodged purely by chance. Then, Mr. Gines drove to his home, and still, failed to report this horrific 'accident’. Mary Richey died on that cold dark morning just a few minutes later.

As it turns out, Mr. Gines is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. During his arrest the next morning, his 100% legitimately issued State of Oregon Driver License was found.


So, at this point, important questions go begging:

>> Did possession of the driver license enable Mr. Gines to become a sufficiently competent driver to avoid the accident? Answer: No. It’s not the piece of paper, it’s the process of gaining the specific experience that is key.

>> How could he acquire the legitimate license and not know what to do in case of accident (incidentally, this question is asked in different forms at multiple points on the driver license exam)? Specifically, knowing that he had impacted a pedestrian, what reason could he offer for his failure to stop and provide assistance? (a FELONY in the State of Oregon, by the way).
(Answer: He knew exactly what he was supposed to have done. He just didn’t do it).

It appears Mr. Gines concept of what a driver license represents and what most other Oregon drivers think it is are two very different things.


Thankfully, within the last three weeks, our Governor in cooperation with our state Senate and House, signed bill SB81 into law. It denies driver licenses to persons that cannot provide proof of legal residence in the state. It was signed into law in a progressive state having a Democratically-controlled legislature (House and Senate) and a Democrat Governor.

How do I know all this, or why do I care? It happened one mile from my home. I drove past Ms. Richey’s body on my way to work that morning.

Sir, you are so VERY, VERY wrong. Shame on you.


Deeply Disappointed,

<Me>

Read the local news report about it here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonia ... xml&coll=7

What if we raid the businesses who employ illegal immigrants, rip the workers away from their families, and deport them?

\
What if?

I would say we would be off to a very good start. It's unfortunate that it takes a tragedy such as this for Americans to wake up and realize the absolute danger these illegal invaders are to this country and its citizens.

What do you expect them to do Mr. Coleman, wait for the next illegal who is driving drunk or without a license to kill more innocent American Citizens.

I don't think so....