"Jumping On the Bandwagon!"

As most of you know, I'm a diehard White Sox fan. From the time I was a young boy, I followed the "South-Siders" with vigor, hope, and dedication. At the tender age of twelve, I watched hopefully as my beloved Sox took on the Dodgers in the 1959 World Series. My room was covered with newspaper articles taped to the walls (Mom wasn't too pleased). Back then the "Series" was played in September, when it was still warm in Chicago, and the city was electric over a World Series appearance. Unfortunately, my Sox lost in six games and I was cast into the abyss of waiting till next year for many seasons (many of my Cub friends can identify with this).

I'm a realist, the Cubs are Americas' darlings and they get most of the press coverage, not only nationally but locally, the White Sox have been poor relations for years. Most of us are used to this "back seat" treatment and just "blow it off ".

In 2005, I was as excited as I have ever been over the success my boys were having during the regular season. They were unstoppable, they were cruising until September; they hit a slump that practically stopped my heart. But all true champions show their stuff when their backs are up against it and the Sox won the American League Pennant. I held my breath and watched with hope and anticipation as the Sox swept the World Series in four games!!

To my amazement, the fan base for the Sox multiplied exponentially overnight; "fair weather fans, band wagon jumpers". People like to identify with winners; we like to be identified with what is popular.

Immigration reform is now in the forefront of the news; Arizona has forced the hand of the federal government to take sides and face the issue. Both Bush and Obama have been avoiding border security for too long; pushing it aside for other issues has caused the American public to take their own actions. Suddenly, we have a plethora of senators and representatives "jumping on the band wagon" over this issue who previously kept it at arm's length. One has to ask why it took the independent action from Arizona to provoke reaction to a condition that has been plaguing this nation for years?

Immigration has virtually only been mentioned in passing by both Bush and Obama; our borders are no more secure than they were 20 years ago, no matter what Mr. Obama says.

I'll make no apologies; I believe entering this country illegally is a crime and should be treated as such. Illegal aliens are criminals, regardless of their reasons for coming here. This was an important issue ten years ago; it's too bad it took all this time to actually address it now. Well, I guess it's better late than never; now that Washington is on the "bandwagon", perhaps they will finally protect our borders!

( this is my last post this week as I have some commitments on Friday; have a nice week-end)