Heller supporting amnesty for lawbreakers

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., has jumped onto the amnesty bill with the “Gang of Eight” (“Both parties must work to fix system,” May 26 Review-Journal commentary). He uses the usual cliche of “We are a nation of immigrants.” Except we’re talking about illegal immigrants. This bill would not only allow them to stay in our country, but afford them a path to citizenship. This is amnesty, and as if that isn’t enough, this bill would reward these lawbreakers with a card that gives them legal status while they wait for citizenship.

Our nation is a land of rules and laws, and now we have elected officials deciding which laws they’ll enforce and which ones they’ll ignore.

Sen. Heller states, “We all want to live in a country where laws are respected and followed by those who live here and by those who wish to come here.” Then he does an about-face in favor of amnesty for lawbreakers.

Giving lawbreakers a way around our laws is legally and morally wrong. What message does this send to our law-abiding citizens and to our children?

But Sen. Heller has some company from most of Nevada’s Republican state legislators, who voted this session to give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses (driver privilege cards didn’t sound good, so it was changed to driver authorization card in the final Senate Bill 303). The argument by Democrats was that it would make our roads safer, but this is strictly a bill to further protect illegal immigrants. Its sponsors said it would bring in $3.4 million over two years. If money was the issue, then all you would have to do is enforce the immigration laws and deport illegal immigrants, because the state of Nevada spends $700 million a year on them for health care, education, social services and law enforcement.

With what Sen. Heller and the Gang of Eight want, along with what the state Legislature approved, we’ll have amnesty, legal status, driver’s licenses and a path to citizenship for lawbreakers. The right to vote can’t be far behind.

This decision by Sen. Heller to provide amnesty for lawbreakers is the wrong thing to do for our country. We did amnesty in 1986, and how is that working out for us? I don’t know what he believes the upside to this is, but it isn’t going to garner him or any other Republican any Hispanic votes, and it is dividing the Republican Party.

One thing is for sure: I won’t be voting for Sen. Heller again.

RICHARD McARTHUR

LAS VEGAS

Whistle-blower or traitor?

To the editor:

There’s no debate here. A whistle-blower reveals some sort of misbehavior of government employees, like the Secret Service hiring prostitutes in South America for a party. Or the IRS spending $4 million on parties over the last couple of years and wasting taxpayer money on a ludicrous “Star Trek” video production.

A traitor reveals information classified as “secret” or even “top secret,” despite pledging to maintain the information. When I was a kid, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed as traitors for revealing secret information. Edward Snowden revealed secret (or top secret) information, and I believe the same penalty should befall him.

While I’m not a fan of the Patriot Act, it authorized the government to request permission from a special court for the powers that are now being questioned. This required cooperation from the executive branch, the legislative branch and the court system, checks and balances that were specified in the Patriot Act when it was enacted.

For a single person to think that his views are more important than anyone else’s is narcissistic and selfish. Mr. Snowden put his opinions above the security of the United States of America.

DAVID ADAMS

LAS VEGAS

Belittling the Constitution

To the editor:

Regarding the spying by the National Security Agency, what’s most troubling is that we’re experiencing potentially criminal acts committed by this liberal administration, in violation of multiple constitutional amendments. During my life, the past 10 presidents made changes to laws with the specific purpose of protecting our interests as the best nation on Earth. Our current administration has gone so far beyond the Constitution’s intent.

The Benjamin Franklin ideal was for media to serve a specific purpose: to inform us about major issues affecting our freedom. Unfortunately, that’s been replaced by the greedy liberal media, controlled by a few extremely powerful individuals. Fortunately, several conservative lawmakers are pressing for a judicial appointee to expose all the secrecy behind “transparent” President Barack Obama.

How could anyone show respect for the law when the president himself has demonstrated disregard for it? The Patriot Act, pushed by the George W. Bush administration and supported by both sides of the aisle, was intended to protect us after the Sept. 11 attacks. Most Americans disagreed with the act at the time it was imposed because of how it impedes on our Fourth Amendment rights. But to our knowledge, it was never abused. Brings to mind a metaphor, “Let the camel stick his head in your tent, and he’ll want to sleep in your bed.”

Why should we follow the law when the president is unable to disclose the truth about Benghazi, and when top cop Eric Holder is under investigation? And when the IRS has one of its officials, Lois Lerner, demonstrating obvious guilt by seeking protection under the Fifth Amendment?

She’s lucky that amendment still exists.

VINCENT LEONARD

NORTH LAS VEGAS

First the IRS, now the NSA

To the editor:

How long before we find out that the federal government had the National Security Agency focused on spying on conservatives, just as the government did with the IRS?

PHIL PALMINTERE

HENDERSON