Bruce DeCell, member of 9/11 Families for a Secure America, shares his conversation with US Senator John McCain after a chance meeting aboard a train.

When I entered the First Class car at the front of the train and took my seat, I was surprised to find myself sitting across from Senator John McCain, one of the leading proponents of S. 2845, the Senate’s legislative response to the 9/11 Commission. The Senator was reading a stack of papers and not paying attention to anyone around him as the train left the station.

I introduced myself to Senator McCain as a 9/11 family member and told him that I had just left the conference committee meeting concerning the 9/11 legislation. I stated that I am a member of 9-11 Families for a Secure America, which supports the immigration provisions in the House bill, H.R. 10. He cut me off and insisted that the House bill will never be passed because it contains provisions that were not in the 9/11 Commission’s report. He said that the 9/11 Commissioners themselves had pointed that out. I told him that I had a chart with me that quoted language from the Commission’s work to support each of the immigration provisions in the House bill. I asked if he would go through it with me. He refused.

I then pointed out that the Senate bill does not address the need for tighter border security. I mentioned the Time magazine article, which said about 4,000 illegal aliens cross the border nightly, and a recent newspaper article about 25 Chechens who crossed illegally from Mexico into the United States. After dismissing the report of the Chechens crossing as unsubstantiated, Sen. McCain went on to say that the issue of people crossing the border illegally is a largely an issue of race. He said that the only way to stop people from coming to work in the United States is to enforce employer sanctions. I agreed that we need to enforce employer sanctions and suggested that our elected officials should provide the funding necessary to do so. He had no comment.

Next, I asked Senator McCain if he thinks that all those who illegally cross the border are coming only to work here. He insisted that American employers need these workers because U.S. citizens won't do the jobs they take. (Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to talk about the fact that these people are being exploited by employers who want cheap labor.) Incredibly, he also said that he doesn’t think that “other than Mexicans” (OTM's) crossing illegally present a security threat to the United States.

It was then that Senator McCain told me he was finished speaking to me and that he had reading to do. I sat back, enraged and frustrated and wondering how our country can possibly survive with “leaders” like Senator McCain.

Another reason to vote for Stuart Starky.

Despite their lock-step endorsement of President Bush and incumbents in the remainder of House races, the Arizona Republic is endorsing the Democratic challenger in District 2, Randy Camacho.

Democratic candidate Randy Camacho is the answer in the 2nd Congressional District. He's a pragmatist, someone who will concentrate on getting things done, not on scoring ideological points.

Meanwhile, Franks was glad to sign on as co-sponsor to legislation that clearly violates the constitutional separation of powers: HR 3920 would have allowed Congress to reverse decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.

John McCain and Stuart Starky debated eachother in Tucson yesterday in the first of three debates.

Starky, who qualified for the Nov. 2 ballot after crisscrossing Arizona in his Kia, defended gay marriage, called for the decriminalization of marijuana and railed against President Bush's education reform centerpiece, the No Child Left Behind act. The eighth-grade teacher said No Child Left Behind has been an abysmal failure that he's witnessed firsthand.

Libertarian candidate Ernest Hancock was denied participation in the debate.

Starky is indeed a longshot, but he's earned my vote. Still, I doubt that an overwhelming majority of Arizonans are even aware of the identity of McCain's opposition in the 2004 Senate race.

John McCain is no friend of the American worker as his voting record makes quite clear. I actually received a letter from McCain in a similar light, verifying his brazen indifference to the plight of American workers. Basically, Senator McCain feels that corporate entities should be able to replace American workers for cheaper imported non-immigrant visa workers. He made reference to fictitious protections for American workers but did not address the factual evidence presented to him that there is no protection, according to the letter of the law, for a worker who is replaced by visa worker and that even if there was such a stipulation in effect, there are no provisions for verification and/or enforcement of such measures.

Arizona voters have a better choice in the 2004 Senate race, and his name is Stuart Starky. Starky is the Democratic contender for McCain's seat which will be decided at the Arizona polling spots next month. Starky, in stark contrast to Mr. McCain, received a 100% rating from rescueamericanjobs.org.

McCain agreed to debate Starky, then backed out, but now has agreed to honor his commitment for scheduled debates with his challenger. Three debates are scheduled for October, with the first one slated for October 15 in Tucson.