God Bless the USA

Today E became a US citizen. (OK... now it is yesterday). Bonnie took our kids for us and we were able to go down to SL together. We got there plenty early, which was nice. The only sorrow was that we couldn't sit together. They took all of the candidates for naturalization (the ones getting their citizenship), they took them all in separately. So the video of "THE OATH" is horrible. It is just the barrette of one woman and the fat hand of another. Oh, well. We are done with immigration!!! It can't get any better than that, fat hand and all. I sat by two husbands of new citizens. One of their wives was from the Dominican Republic and the other from Mexico. We all agreed that we were being treated better then we ever had been treated before when dealing with immigration. Then we realized that all of the people worked for the theater and not immigration. That's why they were being so nice! I was also pleased because I was able to educate two different people about the horrors of the immigration system and help them understand why so many people come here illegally. Always one of my personal secret agendas. : )




There was a representative of the DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution (which, of course, reminds me of Gilmore Girls). They put together a nice packet for each new citizen with passport applications and voter registration cards. Included was the greatest book called "The Citizen's Almanac." It includes things like Patriotic Anthems and Symbols of the US, Presidential and Historic Speeches and Landmark Decisions of the Supreme Court. I love this book!

Just as a reminder, here are some of the wonderful rights we have in this beautiful country of ours. Even more appreciated as I watch every second I can of the Olympics and often find myself horrified at the politics in China.

• Freedom to express yourself.
• Freedom to worship as you wish.
• Right to a prompt, fair trial by jury.
• Right to keep and bear arms.
• Right to vote in elections for public officials.
• Right to apply for federal employment.
• Right to run for elected office.
• Freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

And some of our responsibilities as citizens:

• Support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
• Stay informed of the issues affecting your community.
• Participate in the democratic process.
• Respect and obey federal, stat, and local laws.
• Respect the rights, beliefs, and oplinions of others.
• Participate in your local community.
• Pay income and other taxes honestly, and on time, to federal, state, and local authorities.
• Serve on a jury when called upon.
• Defend the country if the need should arise.

I do love our country and I think it is so important that we each do our part to make it better. If we don't like what congress is doing, we should let them know... then vote them out! Same with the state legislature. Too many politicians just like "jobs" and I think they need to know its not OK to just do the same old thing. My fire in my belly right now is about the billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil companies. Quit focusing on oil shale and get rid of those tax breaks. Or have the tax breaks dependent on the lowering of the price of gas. Or focus on the technology we already have to use less fossil fuels. Lets not help the big oil companies get more business! This is making me crazy, we all just keep buying gas. If we had the money, E would have built us a car that runs on air a couple of years ago.

OK, enough of that. Back to our splendid day yesterday. Here is an excerpt of a beautiful letter from President Bush that inspires me to be a better citizen and made the love of country flow right out of my eyes in the form of tears.

"America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American."

"America's welcoming society is more than a cultural tradition, it is a fundamental promise of our democracy. Our Constitution does not limit citizenship by background or birth. Instead, our nation is bound together by a shared love of liberty and a conviction that all people are created with dignity and value. Through the generations, Americans have upheld that vision by welcoming new citizens from across the globe-and that has made us stand apart."

There were 195 new citizens yesterday. There were 48 countries represented. Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Indonesia, Peru, Canada... eight from China, nine from Bosnia, and even two from Iraq. The presiding judge was from Mexico himself. He had come as a migrant worker with his family. He became a citizen in 1970 and now he is a federal judge! What a great example of the wonders of this country.

So, full of patriotism we drive home listening to "our" favorite NPR. And as we drive down 7th toward our house we were greeted with the most beautiful surprise! The Bishop and his wife had a couple of scouts put out 8 flags in our yard and they bought bouquets of red, white, and blue balloons to grace our fence. Wow. It made E feel really special. It also made quite a statement in the neighborhood. We would watch people from the window driving by and rubber necking, wondering what on earth was happening. I also enjoyed neighbors just dying to ask what was going on but they didn't quite dare. We just let them wonder. I am planning a surprise pot luck dinner in our yard on Sunday evening to celebrate. You are all invited.



So hip, hip, hurray for the USA and one of her newest citizens!