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Upon hearing about the statement made by Mr. Miller my 19 year old step son became very agitated. He is President of the student body at Independence Community College and deals with foreign students on a daily basis. My wife and I discussed with him the statements made by Mr. Miller and how improper they were. As the implications of what Mr. Miller had said began to dawn on my son he became more angry. The following is a letter to the Editor that he wrote that he sent out to all area Newspapers on August 16th, 2005;
Dear Editor,
Is your name Gonzales, Chue, maybe it's McCafferty or even Abdul. If so,
you may be the victim of closer scrutiny before you can get HealthWave
coverage for your child. During recent committee meetings on children’s
health issues, District 12 State Representative Frank Miller (R) -
Independence, asked whether officials check into "foreign-sounding
names" on the list of HealthWave (public health insurance for low-income
children whose parents don't qualify for Medicaid and don't earn enough
to buy private insurance) applicants. He said the state should be
vigilant for terrorists. Mr. Miller's remarks drew a rebuke from the
head of Kansas' Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission, who
termed Miller's question xenophobic.
Mr. Miller's irrational fear of anything which sounds foreign or strange
leaves me to wonder exactly how many of his constituents he has racially
profiled already, in his mind. Elias Garcia, Commission Executive
Director voiced this opinion stating "flagging a person because of his
name "strikes at the core of racial profiling." Director Garcia further
went on to state "on its face that's a discriminatory question, that's
going back to the McCarthy era. That's unfortunate."
In response, Mr. Miller stated, "I don't want to be cruel to anyone, but
we have to do something about the absolute runaway illegal immigration."
I guess that denying children health care, whether they are in this
country illegally or not is Mr. Miller's idea of doing something about
runaway immigration. All Children are innocent and cannot be held
accountable for the fact that their parents may be in our country
illegally. Our duty as human beings and Americans is to provide and help
the innocent, needy, and children. Like the recent remarks Mr. Miller
made during the special session stating that "my children are educated."
I guess his children have also received health care so it's not a
concern of his whether other children, foreign or otherwise, receive it.
My last name is Denning. Does that mean that I am a member of the IRA
(Irish Republican Army)? Just because I have an Irish name? Under Mr.
Miller’s reasoning, it would seem so. I was born and bred in America and
I love this country with all my heart and I don't care where in the
World a child is from, if he or she needs my help I will always be there
to give it no matter what their last name is.
Ricky Denning
Independence, Kansas
Mr. Millers remarks are Draconian to say the least and he should be made to answer for them! But what became even more outlandish was what happened when I posted the letter, at my sons request, on the Kansas Democratic Party Website at http://www.ksdp.org The daughter of Frank Miller, Dr. Ruth Hanke PHD (in music education), posted a response to my sons letter but instead of addressing the issue he had raised she choose to attack me and to try and defend her Fathers outlandish remarks. The following is Dr. Ruth's posts and my responses to them.
“Poorly Behaved McCarthyist?” or “Poorly Behaved Agencies?
Representative
Frank Miller (R) was born and raised in Colombia, South America, the
son of American Presbyterian missionaries. He came to America when
he was 16 to graduate from an American high school. In high school
he met Sarah Martinez, who he later wed and had three children with.
Sarah, an elementary school teacher, was born in Texas; her parents
were both legal immigrants from Mexico. After Frank served in the
Navy, he received his masters and went to work for Ralston Purina
International in Milan, Italy. Then his family came back to America
where he eventually worked for M.E.C. in Southeast Kansas and
brought $40+ million in international monies from mostly Asian
countries into the area.
"Xenophobic" - I don't think so.
How do I know all this about Representative Frank Miller, because I
am his daughter. My parents would speak English and Spanish in our
home. We were also taught in our home: music, art, religion, morals,
giving to our community, and about our heritage as Hispanic American
children.
About my father always having health insurance. Dad worked his way
through college milking cows and most dairy farmers do not offer
insurance to their milkers. I personally have gone many years
without health insurance because I could not afford the high
premiums and presently my deductible per family member is $2,500.
“Poorly Behaved McCarthyist?” or “Poorly Behaved Agencies?” Kansas
has a problem and it’s the later. All agencies in Kansas must abide
by the law: HealthWave is no exception.
Some of the issues which concern my father:
He is concerned with agencies making their own laws.
He is concerned with the growing number of illegal immigrants in our
state and country.
He is also very concerned with the high premiums, high deductibles,
and low coverage of the average Kansas family health plan.
Maybe what should really be mentioned is this: James A. George
(a.k.a. The GYPSY) will do anything to get free campaign publicity.
Mr. George is running for (D) Representative in Kansas District 12,
against my father, (R) Representative Frank Miller.
I have some questions for Mr. James George:
How would Mr. James George follow up on illegal immigrants in
Kansas?
Is Mr. James George going to propose an increase in taxes to give
all this free health care to illegal immigrants?
Does Mr. James George feel that laws can be changed by any
government agency when a rational breaking of the law can be made by
that agency?
Sincerely,
Ruth Hanke, PhD Education – Curriculum & Instruction
WAY OFF BASE!
First and foremost....
There has been no secret made on this site or anywhere else that I
am running against Mr. Miller. As a matter of fact I have been quite
vocal about it. Second, trying to make me look as though I do not
know what I am talking about by throwing my nick name around is
childish to say the least. I came by the nick name through my proud
family heritage and have used it in my professional life with pride.
My friends and family also call me by it. So to make it seem like it
lessens me and what I have to say makes one seem foolish to say the
least. I also own a Tattoo and Piercing Studio. I have tattoos and
ride a motorcycle, do all these things combined make my personal
opinion or what I have to say any less important or pertinent?
I do not have a Masters or a PHD, I am not a scholar and will never
claim to be. I am not one of the privileged few and I am just like
the other 90% of the population. I am just a simple, compassionate,
middle class working man who knows right from wrong. Regardless of
Mr. Millers background, which is evidently a diverse one, it is
wrong to make children suspect. When someone makes statements like
the "Foreign Sounding Names" statement that Mr. Miller made then
their integrity and position must be called into question. When you
look at Mr. Millers background it creates further concern as to why
he would make statements such as those he made and people question
why. That is what my son as well as others have done. The statement
was way out of line and then to add to it a mention of terrorism was
astounding in it's scope of implication. I nor my son called Mr.
Miller a McCarthyist nor xenophobic, that came from other sources
but I do understand the reference and cannot disagree with it.
Likewise my son merely expanded on the statements that were made by
others.
Mr. Miller claims to be a compassionate Christian yet would deny
children health care because of the legal status of their parents. I
am sure that I am not the only one that finds a problem with this. I
am a Christian and strongly believe in the teachings of Jesus and
something that he once pointed out to us has always stayed with me:
"As you do to these children so you do to me." Can I turn my back on
a child no matter their legal status? Can you? I do not think that
compassion recognizes State nor International Boundaries and it
certainly does not recognize mans law. Gods law does and shall
always stand above that!
Now to answer your questions;
Q: How would Mr. James George follow up on illegal immigrants in
Kansas?
A: Within the boundaries of the law! The Immigration service has
it's duty to locate and deport illegal immigrants. Just like with
any law enforcement agency it must investigate and execute its
duties. If you start looking at every single person with a "Foreign
Sounding Name" then you would be wasting time and tax payers dollars
because lets not forget.... We all have foreign sounding names in
the great melting pot that is America. Most illegal immigrants have
one thing in common. They all come here to work. Having lived in
Texas for 10 years of my life I know that most illegals are found
within the work place. What makes it difficult is the fact that once
deported many illegals find their way back into this country. The
problem lies along our international borders, not within Kansas.
Every day thousands of illegals are stopped from entering but
thousands more get through. Our government is working hard to make
our borders more secure. All we can do as a Nation is let our
agencies do the job they have been doing until our borders our safe.
What we can do in Kansas is encourage our companies NOT to hire and
immediately report undocumented workers and to educate the general
public that they should contact the INS if they know of an illegal
resident. Education is far less expensive than ignorance.
Q: Is Mr. James George going to propose an increase in taxes to give
all this free health care to illegal immigrants?
A: It absolutely amazes me that the conservative Republicans mind
always looks at taxes as a solution to financial problems. There are
other answers to financing programs than taxes. Let's not forget
that the State is a business and as a business it must diversify.
Many States have businesses that they maintain that help support and
lessen the tax burden. Currently there are many questions before the
law makers that deal with this exact issue. If the Conservative
house can break away from Constitutional amendments limiting the
Supreme courts powers long enough in the next session to deal with
these issues then some funding solutions might be forth coming.
Raising taxes is not the answer creating other sources of income for
the State is the more logical route to take and the one I support!
Q: Does Mr. James George feel that laws can be changed by any
government agency when a rational breaking of the law can be made by
that agency?
A: A rational breaking of the law or a compassionate breaking of the
law? I do not believe that we can put a limit on compassion. Let me
give you an example of this: If I am driving down the road in my car
and my passenger has a heart attack I will run every stop light,
break every speed limit and break every single traffic law I can to
get my passenger to a hospital and the emergency care that could
save their life. Is it rational? I believe so because it would be
irrational not to hurry. Is it compassionate? You bet it is! So how
different would it be with a child that required health care? Is it
rational to deny a child health care simply because they are not a
legal citizen of this country? I think not! Is it compassionate to
lend a hand to those that need it regardless of race, creed, color,
religion and national origin? Yes it is!
There are some cases where being a compassionate person and
Christian far outweigh the financial considerations. Racial
profiling is racial profiling no matter how you may try to justify
it and the bigotry that accompanies it is one of the ugliest sides
of man. I did not put those words into Mr. Miller's mouth. He is
responsible for them!
For the record, I cannot afford Health Insurance for myself neither
because of the outrageous premiums and high deductibles. These are
issues that must be addressed and dealt with for every Kansan. If
Mr. Miller is that concerned with affordable health care for Kansans
then it made absolutely no sense for Mr. Miller to vote against a
program that would have helped provide more affordable health care
for small business owners, such as myself, and their employees.
Every individual who posts upon this forum is here to voice their
opinions and concerns regarding the issues of the day. That does not
mean they are out to get "free publicity" simply because they are
concerned citizens. I was voicing my opinion about the issues I felt
strongly about, long before I ever announced my candidacy.
"The elected official works for the people! You do not make promises
to your boss which are beyond your power to keep and expect to hold
your position."
-James A. George, MTA (Master Tattoo Artist) - Skin Art Creations
Tattoo Emporium-
Independence, Kansas
During the course of these posts there were some very good comments made by others. The bottom line was that most were shocked, dismayed and in general disagreement with what Mr. Miller and Dr. Ruth had to stay. I felt that the posts were starting to stray from and miss the original intent of the letter that my son had wrote so I attempted to get the subject back on track and to bring closure to the discussion with the following post.
LET'S MOVE AHEAD WITH THE ISSUES
There have been some very good
comments concerning Mr. Millers remarks and a lot of good
insight has been given even from Mr. Millers daughter. It is
only right and proper that Dr. Ruth defends and tries to divert
attention away from what her father said. It still however
remains a part of the record and it brings up some very good and
important issues. In the ignorance of the statement a truth was
revealed.... That of racial profiling. How sad it is that as
advanced of a society that we are we still carry with us those
same old fears and prejudices. These are not issues that will
disappear overnight for they have gone on for eons. These fears
and prejudices were increased with the events of 911. Now
everyone of middle eastern heritage is suspect. This is sad and
without merit. How soon we forget the lessons of WWII where
American citizens of Nipponese heritage were rounded up and put
into "Protective Custody" for the general safety. It is a sorry
period of our history and one that is very seldom discussed.
This era will reveal the same sort of sad story of fear and
prejudice. So what can be done about it? Well for one we can
face those lies that are told about people of different
Geographic origins and reveal the truth behind them. You know
the lies I speak of I do not have to tell them here but I will
give you an example using my own ancestry;
"Gypsies are thieves and charlatan's." That is the lie now here
is the truth; Gypsies are craftsmen, artisans and merchants. In
fact Gypsies were the first traveling salesmen making many of
the items by hand that they sold. Gypsies are very spiritual
(most are Christian) and hold family very dear and close.
Traveling Gypsies used to "Trade" items as they passed through a
region. They might pick a few apples but they would leave behind
an item as trade such as a trinket of some sort. Gypsies are
barterers and nothing more. See how knowing the truth takes away
the lie?
So how does this relate to issues that concern us? Well to start
with we need to stop "Racial Profiling" of people no matter
their race, creed, religion or national origins. And when I say
we I mean our Government agencies also because they are just as
bad about it as the individual. Next we need to get employers to
stop hiring illegal immigrants. Those companies that continue to
do so must be made to face heavy fines that would go into work
programs for legal citizens looking for job training and
placement opportunities. If these companies find out that it is
not worth the cost of hiring illegals then they might raise
their wages and hire legitimate American citizens who want to
work. So what is the next step? Education! The general public
must be educated to understand that the illegal immigrant
problem effects them in every phase of their life and that it is
imperative that they report those instances that they are aware
of to the proper agency i.e.; INS. We must also be more vigilant
of Foreign Companies and how they move their money in and out of
the country. It is far too easy now for Foreign companies to
take money out of the country and avoid paying the taxes that
they should by rights owe to the USA.
This is just one of the many issues that we have ahead of us but
it is important! Other issues of concern include affordable
health care and education financing. These are Kansas issues
that I am sure will be addressed in the days ahead so lets now
concentrate on the important things that this issue revealed and
not the thoughtless, ignorant comment that was made. It's time
to move ahead.
"The elected official works for the people! You do not make
promises to your boss which are beyond your power to keep and
expect to hold your position."
-James A. George-
Unfortunately Mr. Miller and Dr. Ruth did not know when to leave well enough alone. And made an attempt to justify Mr. Millers remarks and what Dr. Ruth had already said with the following post. Please note that the Press Release that Dr. Ruth mentions is not ON her Father but rather was wrote BY her father and sent to area newspapers to try and justify his remarks.
Racist or Concerned Patriot?
I've read all
of the most recent postings and I think it is so wonderful
how everyone is commenting and trying to figure out
solutions to one of our problems in America - illegal
immigrants.
Here is a recent Press Release on my father (Representative
Frank Miller). I thought this Press Release might be of
interest to some of you:
----------------------------------
Racist or Concerned Patriot? 8/20/05
Representative Frank Miller recently has been the target of
some very vile attacks made on him due to a question he
posed during a recent committee meeting in Topeka and that
was misinterpreted by the press. During the regular interim
committee hearings on “Children’s Issues”, a question asked
by Miller has become the subject of “Miller Bashing” by
several newspapers and different writers.
“This is a free country and I would be the first to defend
the freedom of speech, but sometimes the vile nature of how
some writers characterize the target of their criticism only
portrays the true intention of the author. I admit my
question could have been better phrased, however my main
concern was for the safety of fellow Americans. The threat
of terrorism is real and we must consider many alternatives
to defend ourselves,” said Miller.
Miller indicated that he grew up mostly in Colombia, South
America, and he and his sister were the only Americans in
the school. His best friend was Rafael Escorcia who became
one of the first Columbian military aviators to be trained
as a jet pilot. It was sad that Rafael was killed in his jet
after a flame-out malfunction forced him to make an
emergency jungle landing on a strip that was too short for
him to avoid a tragic crash. A second close friend of
Miller’s was Doris May. He was an African Columbian and an
outstanding athlete, with a great sense of humor. Last
Miller heard was that Doris became a preacher. Miller said,
“I have many very dear and fond memories of my friends in
Colombia.
He graduated from High School in Huntsville, Texas, and
during that last year was smitten by a beautiful Mexican
girl named Sarah Martinez. Sarah passed away from a very
rare blood disease in 1999 after 43 years of marriage. Frank
says, “Sarah was a wonderful wife and mother of our three
children, and her loss was devastating to me!”
“My concern, and I think a concern of many of my fellow
Americans is – what are we going to do to stop the flood of
illegal immigrants from coming across our borders? How much
more of a social welfare burden are we going to impose on
the generosity of the American People?” asks Frank? Current
news and television clearly indicates this has become a
major economic and social dilemma for many States, and
especially for Texas, Arizona, and California.
Frank has categorically stated that he is not a racist,
child hater, nor is he xenophobic. “I too have compassion
and want to see children get HealthWave care even though
their parents are in this country illegally. However, we
must realize the cost will be born by every United States
citizen and legal immigrant. After doing business and/or
traveling to over 45 countries in the world – no way am I
xenophobic!” Miller clarified.
______________
I hope this helps.
I also want to make it clear that when I posted (a.k.a. The
GYPSY) it was only to inform the readers of this site, that
when they scrolled down that James George's other name was
The GYPSY; and that he was politically running against my
father. This was only done for the readers of this site: for
consistency and proper perspective.
I may not agree with someone, but I would not mock or label
them, because then they will not listen, and you can never
change anyone's point of view if they are not listening.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ruth Hanke
My response follows and it was the last thing I had to state on the www.ksdp.org website forum.
CONSISTENCY AND PROPER PERSPECTIVE
I want to thank
Dr. Ruth for her concern in wishing to inform the users of
this site that James A. George and "The GYPSY" are one and
the same person. It is also very helpful of you to point out
that I am running against your Father for the District 12
seat, But it was really not needed. I have been posting on
this site for some time and as I previously stated it is no
secret that I am running especially to users of this site. I
trust that people who read these postings are sharp enough
to realize that the submitter, "The GYPSY" is the person who
signed the posting, James A. George. It is an insult to the
intelligence of the users of this site to suggest that they
would not be smart enough to know that.
Nice "Hoorah" press release by Mr. Miller to say, "Some of
my best friends are...." but the remarks are what they are
and no amount of justification can detract from what has
been spoken. People can recognize back-tracking when they
see it. To further dignify discussion on this subject just
takes away from the real issues that need to be addressed.
Just for the record, I fail to see how terrorism relates to
health care for under priviledged children. They are two
different things and one has nothing to do with the other.
Apparently paranoia runs deep. I have said all I am going to
say on this subject! Let's move on to more important issues!
"The elected official works for the people! You do not make
promises to your boss which are beyond your power to keep
and expect to hold your position."
-James A. George-
IN CONCLUSION: The sad thing is that Mr. Miller in making the inference that he can't possibly be a racist because some of his best friends are Hispanic only showed exactely how much of a racist he may indeed be. What made it even worse however was the use of his departed wife to state further that he is not a racist, i.e.; I can't be a racist because..... It seems to me that Mr. Miller may be the worst sort of racist their is: The type that does not realize that they are a racist and that's the saddest thing of all.