Nothing Is Done

To Protect Borders

Our country's southwest border, which we fought for at the Alamo, is being invaded by illegals from many countries other than Mexico. Although for years numerous requests have been made for border protection, our leaders in Washington do nothing.

People's property is being damaged, citizens are being murdered on their own property, and still nothing is being done. States are going bankrupt supplying aid of various kinds for these illegals that we taxpaying citizens are required to pay. Massachusetts is now stopping aid to illegals because of the financial burden to its state. Ohio is considering laws similar to Arizona.

I am not against people of any race or color, but I am against people entering our country illegally. Most immigrants, as my ancestors were, have come here in a proper manner, applied for citizenship, learned English and became citizens. Most countries have laws for entry; even when one travels to another country one must have identification.

China has its laws. Iran incarcerates if one strays over its border. To enter Mexico one must have identification. You are not welcome if you would be a burden to their economy, and if you enter illegally you will be incarcerated.

So I ask, how can illegals in the United States protest against laws they are breaking? Why is our government doing nothing to protect its citizens? We are a nation of laws that have withstood us well for more than 200 years, and our government chooses not to enforce them. I have made requests of the past two presidents to do their job and enforce those laws and protect our borders. Only one responded.

It will take more than just my request. Before our country is destroyed, write our president, congressmen and senators to enforce our laws and protect our country's borders.

Gloria Mack

Pinehurst

One for the Record

There is no question that umpire Jim Joyce made a bad call in the game that cost Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game. But umpiring, and bad calls, have always been a part of baseball.

How many times in the history of major league baseball has a game been decided by an incorrect call by an umpire? To my knowledge, none of these calls were reversed, even with the outcome of the game at stake.

We teach our youth that baseball is a team sport, and the importance of personal records ranks somewhere below team performance and sportsmanship. How do we justify making the demand for a precedent-setting reversal in this case, when the only thing at stake (albeit a very big one) is the personal record of a perfect game?

If Commissioner Bud Selig reverses this call, Galarraga will go down in history as the pitcher who was awarded a perfect game by a controversial and unprecedented decision by the commissioner to overturn an umpire's call.

As it stands now, Galarraga will forever be remembered as the pitcher who threw a perfect game that is not listed in the record books as such. More importantly, he will be remembered as the man who handled this injustice with a grace, dignity and sportsmanship rarely seen in modern professional sports.

Scott Fletcher

Southern Pines