There is a Republican legislative proposal on the table which would require that every recipient of a Guinn Millennium Scholarship fill out a federal student aid form and provide a Social Security number. This is to assure that only U.S. citizens and legal residents receive the subsidy. Which has Richard Siegal, head of the Nevada chapter of the ACLU, squealing like a stuck pig.
The reality, Siegel says, is that there are illegal aliens who “have been in Nevada for more than five years…(who) have achieved a grade-point average necessary for the scholarship and the Legislature should give them a gold star. And that gold star should be allowing them to remain eligible for the Millennium Scholarship.”
1.) When did the government pass a five-year statute of limitations on breaking the country’s immigration laws? If I rob a bank and don’t get caught for five years, does that mean I get to keep the money?
2.) As we can see by the fact that about a third of incoming college freshmen have to take remedial classes in the Three R’s, merely attaining an inflated grade-point average in high school shouldn’t be the benchmark for qualifying for the scholarship. That’s like making hopping over a crack in the sidewalk the benchmark for becoming an Olympic high-jumper.
Siegel then goes on to play the race card, complaining that, “This is only being voted on this way because there is almost no Latino representation in the Legislature.” Siegel added, “We now have at least 25 percent Latino population in Nevada and no representation in the Senate.”
1.) Hmmm. Did Hispanic Sen. Bob Coffin have some kind of operation to remove the Hispanic blood he got from his mother’s side of the family from his system; or are you only Hispanic if your last name ends with a “z”?
2.) Does this mean Siegel supports racial quotas in the Legislature? Should we require that at least half of the Legislature be made up of women? How about only allowing one in ten members to be black?
3.) I seem to recall during reapportionment back in 2001 that one particular senate district was carved out to ASSURE an overwhelming Hispanic majority. That seat, I believe, is held by non-Hispanic state Sen. Maggie Carlton. I could be wrong, but heck, if Hispanics in a Hispanic-majority district won’t even vote for a Hispanic, why should anyone else?
As then-Speaker Joe Dini pointed out back then, “You could create a 75-25 percent district. It doesn’t mean a Hispanic will get elected. You need the right candidate.”
It’s kinda hard to take the ACLU seriously on this one, huh?
Posted on March 31st, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada
(Do Not Use My Name)
The word “illegal” gets battered around too much and now the ACLU is pulling our emotional strings. Was the intent to allow documented or undocumented aliens, be they Hanpantic or another nationality, to be able to qualify for the Millennium scholarshi? Documented aliens who work generally pay their taxes and become citizens. They should be allowed the chance. The undocumented ones who apply are illegals and should be reported to the INS so that their parents can be questioned.
My humble opinion.
Scholarship should be allowed to die when tobacco money runs out (this was envisioned to be 2009), as that was the legislative intent when it was created in 1999. California used to give away full scholarships for years, then there was a tax revolt and the free ride ended….
Unfortunately, it seems that the legislature believes that children of millionaire need a hand up and a hand out. Quinn set the program up in order to create more demand for higher education so that would increase capital demand for the system. I think only 40% of the tobacco money goes to health programs.
Those millions of tobacco money for scholarship could and should go towards increasing SCHIP program.
It’s ALWAYS hard to take the ACLU…seriously or otherwise.
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