I just finished watching “Pacific.” I taped it over the weekend. My eyes are swollen from crying. Why, you may ask? Our young men then, and our young men and women now, have sacrificed so much for this country. I, too, am a veteran. I served between Korea and Vietnam, did nothing special, but was willing to put my life on the line for my country. Our youth are giving so much for our safety and freedoms, and our politicians are kowtowing to those for whom the law means nothing. It is costing taxpayers billions (Arizona is paying almost a billion for illegal incarceration alone). Our own citizens and legal immigrants are having programs cut because of lack of funds, yet we pay for those here illegally…judicial, health, education and food stamps. We haven’t addressed the cost of translating every document known to man.

I see the Seattle City Council decided to boycott Arizona. Are you so disconnected with our populace that you don’t understand that the bulk of our citizens want restrictions on illegals? This is not a racial issue. Think about it from your heart. Your own ethnicity is flowing into our country using services meant for citizens. Where does your allegiance lie? Is it with your fellow Americans of every stripe or the folks from your ethnic group? I am of Scottish heritage, but my allegiance is with the United States of America.

My great nephew came back from Afghanistan last year with half his face blown off. He has had surgery after surgery this past year. What in God’s name was he fighting for? It certainly wasn’t for a country for whom its citizens weren’t first and foremost. Most of these young people joined the military; they were not drafted. They tend to be less educated and will need jobs when they come home. Many of these jobs have been filled by illegals, paid under the table and not paying taxes. They have driven down the wages of many of these jobs.

I love my country from the depth of my being, but I am so ashamed. We are being destroyed from within. Most of our elected officials do not listen and do not respond. I am an expert on this matter. I am the white-haired granny who registered my furry friend Duncan MacDonald to vote using our flawed registration system. I wrote before, during and after with no response from anyone. I was not read any “rights.” (If I had been a non-English speaker, I would have been read my rights in my native tongue). The politicians were non-truth tellers and the judicial system was a disgrace. I would not believe the Lord’s prayer from most politicians or the court system.

May I paraphrase a quote I heard in a movie recently? Very apropos: “Anyone who serves up his country as an appetizer for the enemy isn’t fit for office.”

Will we follow the fall of other great societies of the past? Changes must be made. Our country is failing fast. I do hope you will listen to your fellow Americans and make decisions for the betterment of our once great democratic republic.

PS: I will purchase nothing from King or Pierce county until the boycott is negated. I will send my donations to every politician in Arizona who supports this issue. And I applaud Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio who has the gonadal fortitude to to support the American citizen rather than the PC crowd.

Jane Murray Balogh, Federal Way