Pubdate: Thu, 26 May 2005 Source: Summit Daily News (CO) Copyright: 2005 Summit Daily News Contact: http://www.summitdaily.com/home.php Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/587 Author: Dara Lillis MINUTEMEN PEERING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION Mike McCraken ("Frisco man among Minutemen," May 23) describes himself as a "free market capitalist." One might assume, therefore, he has a good understanding of the law of supply and demand. The tacit support of the government for the employment of illegal immigrants, for extremely low wages and often under harsh and abusive conditions, in a variety of industries (fruit picking and meat packing, among many others) creates a huge demand. It is foolish and inefficient, as the continuing failure of the "war on drugs" demonstrates, to attack such a problem at the supply end. Mr. McCraken and his Minutemen companions would do better to redirect their energies to campaigning for an end to this distasteful turning-of-a-blind-eye in order to keep the price of orange juice etc. down. To characterize this as a national security issue is plain wrong. The terrorists of Sept. 11 came into this country with visas and plane tickets, not across the Rio Grande and the Arizona desert. Dara Lillis Frisco - --- MAP posted-by: Beth