Obama Family Wisdom

Meet the plain-speaker who understands welfare's pitfalls.

For being hailed as the finest orator of his generation, Barack Obama's speeches leave surprisingly little long-term impact.  Can anyone remember a famous phrase he's said, or a profound truth?

Where is his "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," "With malice toward none, with charity toward all," "The torch has been passed to a new generation," or even "I did not have sexual relations with that woman"?

The only memorable thing he's said is remembered only because he recycles it in almost every speech: "Let me be perfectly clear," a verbal warning that an unusually opaque and unintelligible lie is about to ooze from between his lips.

This is a completely avoidable shame, because his relatives are quite able to make their points in a clear and memorable way, even those for whom English is not their first language and who openly admit to being born in Kenya.

Take his Aunt Zeituni Onyango, a years-long illegal immigrant who has subsisted unmolested on American taxpayer dollars for almost all that time.  WBZ-TV of Boston reports:

Zeituni Onyango said she came to the United States in 2000 and had every intention of leaving. Then, however, she says she got deathly ill and was hospitalized. When she recovered, she said she was broke and couldn't afford to leave. For two years Onyango said she lived in a homeless shelter, before she was assigned public housing despite thousands of legal residents also awaiting assistance. "I didn't take any advantage of the system. The system took advantage of me. I didn't ask for it; they gave it to me. Ask your system. I didn't create it or vote for it. Go and ask your system," she said unapologetically.

And she's right. The system provided her assistance despite her status as an illegal immigrant. [emphasis added]

In a handful of words, Aunt Zeituni declaimed more truth than an entire term's worth of State of the Union Addresses while putting her finger squarely on the problem: Americans are too generous for their own good.

She came to the United States perfectly legally; fair enough.  When it was time for her to leave, she didn't, on account of lack of funds.

How is this possible?  Many other countries require legal visitors on temporary visas to supply proof of a return plane ticket - no return ticket, no entry.  Our political masters have decided not to impose this requirement.

Similarly, most other countries keep a record of who comes into the country and who leaves, so as to match up the two lists and know who's illegally present.  Then the cops go round up the excess for deportation.

Yes, we do some deportations as the Left is constantly in tears over.  While we watch who comes in (by plane if not across the Rio Grande), however, we don't bother to keep a record of who goes out.  So we really have no idea of illegal overstayers, much less be able to try to send them back where they came from.

Then, we find, this illegally-present person was assigned public housing in front of lawful Americans!  The report doesn't say, but there's no reason to suppose she got special treatment; odds are, her name got put on the list and eventually made its way to the top.  Bluer-than-blue Massachusetts is a "sanctuary" state that refuses to enforce America's immigration laws even against illegal immigrant terrorists.

The welfare bureaucrats certainly saw no reason to ask for proof that harmless Aunt Zeituni had any rightful claim on a free house.  In point of fact, the bureaucracy had every reason not to ask for verification.  The more people they can house, the more money then can shovel out the door, and the more money they can ask for next year.

The only way to stop them housing illegals would be to make it a firing offense for a social worker to sign off on benefits for an illegal.  Short of that, the financial incentives all run the wrong way.

We've previously seen how illegal immigrants cost hospitals fortunes, as well as generating anchor babies that will cost even more.  Aunt Zeituni apparently didn't intentionally set out to defraud America as so many do; she happened into it by bad personal luck followed by the excellent luck of being in America at the time.  But just like all too many natural born citizens, once she was sucked into the welfare maw she couldn't get out.

So whose fault is it?  No sane sick person is going to want to go back to an African grass hut when a modern American hospital, or even a clean American homeless shelter, is on offer.

Throw in a free apartment and $700 a month disability payment, and you wonder why illegal immigrants come and stay?  It's more a miracle why anyone would ever leave!

Aunt Zeituni has no degree from Harvard nor a teleprompter to assist in her orations, but she understands reality and reveals far more wisdom than her nephew can even comprehend.

Refuse illegals the welfare benefits and other freebies to which citizens are entitled, and they will leave.  Hand out money and valuables right and left, and not only will illegals stay forever, we'll get more.  Only a very highly educated person could fail to understand this simple point.

Maybe we put the wrong Obama in the White House, given that the existence of an American birth certificate seems of no particular concern?

Read other Scragged.com articles by Hobbes or other articles on Immigration.
Reader Comments

Aunt Zeituni seems to be saying that because she had no money to afford to return to her native country, she was hoping that the US would "kick her out" thereby providing her a free ticket home. She doesn't seem happy that she was instead assigned to welfare prison. It would be a lot cheaper to give her the free ride home, and if given the choice, I bet she would take it.

September 28, 2010 11:40 AM

"and if given the choice, I bet she would take it"

I dunno. You make a good point, but consider what she would be returning to. Total poverty in Africa or lower-middle class in the United States. I know which one I'd pick.

September 28, 2010 11:50 AM

I've know a couple people from Kenya. My brother is married to a Kenyan born woman. The other was a guy I attended college with. Both of them love Kenya. While there is significant real poverty in Kenya there is also plenty of middle and upper class people there.

September 28, 2010 2:16 PM

And that's the really galling thing here - no bureaucrat would ever give her a free ticket home even though it would save the taxpayers thousands, PRECISELY BECAUSE it would save the taxpayer thousands. They WANT to justify their massive and ever-growing budget; she's one more "client" in need of their "services" and they want her to stay that way as long as possible, regardless of cost or her own desires.

September 28, 2010 4:07 PM

Hobbes - many thanks for an excellent article and the last line is the absolute best!

October 4, 2010 4:27 PM

It has occurred to me that companies face stiff fines and possible jail time for hiring illegal immigrants. It hardly seems right to exempt governmental agencies from similar punishment for paying people.

October 10, 2010 10:30 AM

They DO get punished the same way all government agencies get punished when they foul up - they get forced to take a bigger budget next year.

October 10, 2010 2:12 PM

'Let me be perfectly clear' Mr. Hobbes that you are biased against Mr. Obama simply for the reason that you whites are always victim of inferiority complex. Few immigrants from No-Land are not happy with his policies of peace because their weapons manufacturing units will not earn profit for them to continue their mischievous activities to rule the world through their wealth accumulated through exploiting International Banking system. Who are these blacks from Kenya including Aunt Zeituni Onyango ? They are the ones whose ancestors were brought by white immigrants(Originally English, mostly criminals, expelled to a distant Island not to return back to England)chain locked, loaded in their ships, brought to develop North American Infra structure-- land, agriculture, roads, industry , construct statue of Liberty and White house to Transform it to The United States Of America, today you are boosting on. No hurting meant, the United States Belong to Aboriginals and no else. Double standards induce lot of stresses & strains and result in imbalance in one's thinking. Let President Obama undo some of the Wrongs- for your healing.
'And she's right. The system provided her assistance despite her status as an illegal immigrant. [Emphasis added]',which you are too and are being provided same kind of assistance since ages out of the resources belong to the real Americans-Aboriginals. There is no second opinion that Europe was developed out of resources pirated through colonization in Fifteenth to Eighteenth Centuries from Africa & Asia. Your Continent is since exploiting rest of the world, consuming and eating away everything on way and polluting the planet with your garbage - the reason Africans live in grass huts and Americans in villas.America has a moral obligation to compensate the rest of the world it is exploiting and mind it ,retaining helpless illegal immigrants is part of that compensation.


October 14, 2010 3:41 PM

1. Many white American's died to set blacks free.
2. Blacks enslaved blacks and sold them to whites who brought them across the Atlantic.
3. A vast majority of whites today have never owned slaves.
4. There is no ethnic group that has not at some point in history owned slaves.
5. What is done, is done.

If you feel the need to live in the past without worrying about the future that is your problem. America exploits the rest of the world just as the rest of the world exploits America. America has not used the force of arms to open up trade routes in decades. Anyone trading with America does so with their own interests in mind. If the rulers of other areas are corrupt or stupid that is not America's fault.

There is a choice, we can all live in squaller together or you can get up and contribute to the world. America can not force you to help yourself but throwing money at someone makes them weak, useless, and unproductive.

Whats done is done, I will not be punished for the sins of my father. Quite bitching and do something about the problem. America can not solve anyone else's problem, that would be the height of arrogance.

October 15, 2010 9:58 AM
Add Your Comment...
4000 characters remaining
Loading question...