Well said. While my father's family arrived sometime in the 1750s, my mother and grandmother arrived here legally in the 1950s. They worked for about five years to make that happen, after weathering the Allied bombing of their home in Berlin and the imprisonment of my grandfather at the hands of Roumanian communists. They respected the laws and procedures of the United States of America, waited their turn, and became Americans.

I am a well travelled and culturally open person. But right now, and even though I speak a little, I don't want to hear a word of Spanish, and I'll puke if I see another Mexican or a Puerto Rican flag (waved in the streets). And I'm no Right-Wing wacko. Of no little significance, the most liberal leaning girl in my office (Unitarian/pro-gay marriage, pro choice, can't stand Dubya) is just as angry as I am. And herein lies the irony: A month, or maybe even two weeks ago, I think I would have been open to the idea of amnesty, but after Monday, it's like I witnessed a latino Anschluss. And the fact that I feel that way is sobering in itself. When the Center is radicalized, things are bad.

The silent majority has been called to arms. May 1, 2006 will mark the day in which a broad coalition of Americans, both native born, and legally naturalized, will have drawn a line in the sand against the invasion of our country.

__________________