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My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal
Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure America's Border
Jan Brewer
HarperCollins
Nov 1, 2011 / ISBN 0062106392
Non-fiction / Bio / Government / Politics / Border Control
Amazon
Reviewed
by Eilse Cooper
Arizona Governor
Jan Brewer’s book, Scorpions for Breakfast, allows
readers to gain an in-depth understanding of why illegal immigration
should not be allowed in this country. The theme of the book, “doing
the right thing always means doing the hard thing,” is apparent
throughout, whether fighting for a balanced budget, defending SB
1070, or having to endure abusive personal attacks. She was kind
enough to give an interview about her book.
The book starts out with the governor explaining her decision to
sign SB 1070 and how she wanted to make sure that it would stand
up to a constitutional litmus test as well as making sure a person’s
civil rights were not violated. She noted that the book was written
because “everywhere I traveled people asked me to tell my
story. This is a wake-up call. I was inclined to put my thoughts
down on paper to get the truth out there. The bottom line is that
I felt by writing the book I could vindicate the people of Arizona
and the people of America.”
Since she has become the face and voice for those opposing illegal
immigration, Brewer has had to deal with continuous insulting rhetoric
-- as described in her book -- names such as “Hitler’s
daughter,” and “Satan’s whore.” When asked
about this she commented, “The mass media continues to make
cheap accusations to shut down the debate. They have added fuel
to the fire with their hysterical name-calling. We were hopeful
we might see some civility regarding this issue but it has not happened.
It has only gotten worse, in my opinion. Cardinal Mahony, the Archbishop
of Los Angeles, was one of the first to throw out the Hitler card.
I thought ‘are you kidding me, how outrageous?’”
In the book she goes into great detail explaining how the Obama
administration has decided to take legal action against Arizona,
stating federal law usurps states’ rights. They have filed
a brief opposing the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirement
to vote, suing over the legality of SB 1070, pursuing attrition,
and questioning the E-verify provision, which the supreme court
ruled was legal. She pointed out during the interview that “other
states are moving forward with this type of legislation. The Federal
government needs to stand up and do their job. There are signs in
our desert telling Americans to travel at their own risk. If there
is trouble call 9-1-1, who does he (the President) think are answering
the 9-1-1 calls; it’s the state.”
An interesting point made in the book was that Congressman Ted Poe
(R-TX) had both Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security
Janet Napolitano, under oath, admit they had not read the bill.
She quotes the Congressman as saying, “It’s ten pages.
It’s a lot shorter than the health-care bill, which was 2,000
pages long…” The governor directly commented, “Even
though they have not read the bill they are criticizing it. Isn’t
it outrageous, and for them to admit it. Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano,
with the support of the President of the US acted like they knew
all about it. They took everything out of context.”
The governor acknowledges that the biggest criticism against Arizona’s
enforcement against illegal immigrants is the civil rights issue.
She chronicles, in the book, how SB 1070 does not violate a person’s
civil rights since a person must have committed a violation of the
law first, and the police officer must have reasonable suspicion
that the person is illegal. To make sure that 1070 was implemented
in a non-discriminatory manner, she signed an executive order “requiring
that every police officer in the state be trained in the provisions
of the law and specifically forbidding racial profiling.”
A thought-provoking section of the book is where she explains how
illegal immigration is hurting Americans. Illegal immigrants in
Arizona do not receive welfare benefits, in-state tuition, child-care
assistance, and cannot be hired by businesses. This enables only
American citizens to be a part of the benefit pool, and they don’t
have to compete with the illegal immigrants.
She also wrote a heartfelt section on what illegal immigrants have
to go through - - something ignored by the mass media. The drug
cartels are turning the poor aliens, trying to come across the border,
into mules by forcing each crosser to carry a backpack containing
50 to 60 pounds of marijuana across the desert where the sun is
relentless and the water nonexistent. In the book, she also talks
about the “drop houses,” where illegals that had connections
in America are placed in a boarded-up room. The kidnappers demand
payment in exchange for the immigrant’s life, convincing the
relative by having them listen on the phone as the men were beaten
and begged for their lives.
Brewer frustratingly stated in the interview, “The mass media
doesn’t write about those things, which are happening on a
daily basis. We are in a crisis of violence, human greed, and desperation.
Our citizens are the recipients of the drop houses. Talk about civil
rights; do they care about innocent people having drop houses in
their neighborhoods with the abuse and extortion?”
Scorpions for Breakfast is a well-written, informative
message to Americans that illegal immigration should not be tolerated.
Governor Brewer is a politician who steps up to the plate to do
what is right for Arizona and America. She commented, “right
now I am working very hard to be the best Governor I can be for
the people of Arizona.” America needs more leaders like Jan
Brewer who will do the right thing, even when it is the hard thing
to do.
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