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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL National trumps local laws in regard to immigration Dear Readers, Immigration is a “hot button” issue in the current political cam paign. Nationally, Congress has been tied up in knots, seemingly unable to reach a consensus on what to do to resolve the crisis of the mil- A jfm } Jim Rockefeller The “Law” man lions of undocumented immi grants, who appear to be per manently embedded in our economy and workforce. Our elected officials cannot even seem to agree on what to do (and how much it will cost) to protect our borders. This paralysis has left local Why are there so few mentoring relationships? The past two weeks of articles on men toring have evoked some interesting responses. One reader sent this e-mail: “I have been unable to find a busi ness men tor, even though I tried. One of the hard est things about find ing a men- Dennis Hooper Leaders Building Leaders * tor is the rejection. It’s hard not to take it personally.” At least this reader has tried. I speculate that many readers have never even sought a mentor, merely because of the fear of rejec tion. “Why would someone with experience be interest ed in spending some of his or her valuable time helping me?” Let’s face it - somebody has to initiate every relation ship, right? Are you going to just wait around and hope individuals with more expe rience invite you to be the beneficiary of their under standing? LETTER From page 4A season make a difference with your donations. Visit our Letters to the editor Forget digital, think one-liter engine President George W. Bush just tried to man date that all vehicles should get 35 mpg by 2025. To put it mildly, this is a bunch of crap! Since 1996 they have had vehicles that get 150 mph but the U.S. has banned these cars. Why? Are they a terrorist threat? In 2004 these one-liter engine cars got 234 mpg but their average high speed was only 140 kph (75 mph) but the U.S. has banned this technol ogy from its shores, so that Exxon/Mobile and the oil/gas After 57 years of business in downtown Perry, I have decided to retire and enjoy the future years. Through these many years I have met many wonderful people - not only in Perry but tourists as well. To all my loyal customers who | have supported me in the past, as well as those just passing through, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation!!! Naturally I will miss seeing everyone, but / am also looking forward to possibly some travel and time with close friends. Once again, thank you . for your business, and remember -1 still will be in Perry and hope to see you on occasion. ~Barbara Jones communities struggling for solutions. In our larger cit ies, like New York, Chicago, and LA, local officials seem to have embraced a policy of toleration of immigrants; other, smaller, communities have decided to take a dif ferent approach. They have decided to pass laws designed to root out undocumented aliens and to punish those that provide them with shel ter and jobs. Hazleton, Penn., is one of those communities. A city in Pennsylvania’s coal country, population roughly 25,000, Hazleton has been a defined community since 1857. Its total population has changed little in the past century. But now it finds itself at the fore front of local attempts to do what the national govern ment has refused to do to put Oh, it can happen, but it’s pretty rare. The prob ability is that anyone you might want as a mentor is already overcommitted. You may be of the opinion that this individual would never be willing to focus his or her attention on helping you uniquely. Maybe that’s so. I’ve worked with many lead ers, most of whom didn’t have a strong initial inter est in developing others. Competent leaders have a lot on their minds - like solv ing operational problems, balancing cash flows, and figuring how to attract com petent staff to handle future growth. Time is clearly a limitation, but many strong leaders have never even con sidered being a mentor. Still, as the Bible suggests (Matthew 7:7), I encourage any individual who wants help in building skills to ask! And keep on asking! Just because one individual turns you down is no reason to avoid asking someone else. Or even asking that same person again three months later! Okay, failure of the mentor or potential mentee to ask website at www.goodwill works.org to find a convenient Goodwill donation center and our extended holiday hours of operation. Thank you for your support to help Goodwill tycoons can get rich by charg ing us $3 a gallon. When they start produc ing more gas, they start run ning ships aground, or they start catching fire. They can afford the $75 million fine and cleanup when they have been making record profit in the last three years. Exxon/Mobil’s CEO retired with a record unheard of $440 million retire ment package and use of the company jet anytime he needs it. Really? Get a $440 million compensation package and JONES •JEWELERS, INC. 904 Carroll Street • Perry, GA 31069 Phone: (478)987-1531 in place an aggressive local immigration policy. In 2006, mirroring maybe as many as 35 other local ordinances from around the country, Hazleton, Pa., attempted to force employ ers and landlords to verify the immigration status of their employees and tenants. These attempts, though, are likely to run afoul of our Constitution ... which is the reason for this column. In past columns, I have commented on the concept of “preemption.” This con stitutional principle carves out areas of national poli cy where, once the federal government acts, states and local governments are unable to pass laws in conflict with those enacted by Congress. This is true for immigra tion policy. Congress has is one reason. A mentoring relationship won’t generate itself! What are some other reasons mentoring relation ships either fail or are not started? ■ Chemistry isn’t right. ■ Potential allegations of favoritism. ■ Risks associated with poor performance of the mentor or mentee. ■ Pride (“I’m too good to ask for help.”) ■ Pride (“I’m too valuable to use my time helping just one person.”) ■ The organization never legitimized mentoring rela tionships. ■ The organization has forced mentoring rela tionships, and they’ve not worked. ■ The relationship out lived its usefulness. I’m sure a book could be written on each reason. There are probably many more explanations. This is just the list I’ve catalogued from my experience. I’m sure somebody somewhere has done some research on this subject. I’ve just not looked hard enough for it! But I did find this resource after a lot of looking: The build lives, families, and com munities - one job at a time. - James K. Stiff President/CEO Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA he cannot afford to purchase a plane ticket. These 1 liter engine cars exists, American Motors has verified that these cars get over 230 mph but they are banned in the U.S. But yet, the U.S. has decid ed that we need digital TV broadcast so that we can play catch up with Japan. Instead of cars that get over 150 mpg to help out the average citizen of the U.S. that is forced to pay high gas prices. - Mark Silver, Cochran OPINION passed a number of laws regulating immigration and sfetting a national agenda. This power flows from the Constitution and Congress’ Article I responsibility to establish the rules for “natu ralization.” Because of this action, national law trumps local law by what is called the “supremacy clause” of the Constitution. When Congress passes a law, it cannot be contradicted by local action. Thus, local gov ernments are powerless to regulate employers’ use of undocumented immigrants. Or so the U.S. Chamber of Commerce argued in its “friendly” Brief in support of the named and unnamed individual plaintiffs. Sitting in a trial on whether or not to issue a permanent injunction against Hazleton Mentor Handbook by Bobby and Richard Clinton (1991). A pastor friend introduced me to the “The Constellation Model” they describe: ■ upward mentors - those who have gone before and can share their experience with you ■ inside lateral mentors - peers who provide confiden tial perspective and account ability ■ outside lateral mentors - trusted colleagues with no explicit role on your team, yet they provide trusted objective perspective and external accountability ■ downward mentors (mentees) - those who are just learning what you’ve already experienced With all these possibilities for helping or being helped, the real question shouldn’t be “Why are there so few mentoring relationships?” The more appropriate ques tion is “Why are you not in a mentoring relationship with someone, as either mentor or * Houston 2323 Highway 127 j Perry, GA • 218-5254 www.houstonlake.com Proud to support the from Chris & Beth Murman i jii ’'lllii' A xjj s*sMßß*»« * *fes*S**x .-.wj _(taL _ L SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2007 ♦ enforcement of its ordi nance, Judge James M. Munley, of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, sided with the Chamber and the Plaintiffs in a verdict issued a few months ago. He found that Hazleton’s regulations treaded in areas where Congress had seized the exclusive right to act. It could not take away an employer’s business license for employing undocument ed immigrants; the same for fining landlords SI,OOO per day for renting to one. So, yet another legal rock has been thrown in the ocean of our frustrating immigration policy conun drum. Those smarter than me can debate the wisdom of Hazleton’s reaction (some might say overreaction) to the perceived threat of shad mentee?” Dennis Hooper guides leaders as they build orga nizations of excellence. He Assessing Your Leadership Skills -SBS/person Where Framing Is An Art 918 Carroll Street • Perry, GA 478-987-4079 owy undocumented immi grants; but Hazleton is clearly powerless to reflect the will of its citizens. Our Constitution says our solutions must come from Congress, not Hazleton, Pa., or Houston County. Hopefully, Congress will stop playing political games soon and deal with the problem - we cannot afford inaction any longer. Local attorney Jim Rockefeller owns the Rockefeller Law Center and is a former Houston County Chief Assistant District Attorney, and a former Miami Prosecutor. E-mail confidential legal questions to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter. com. Visit www.rockefeller lawcenter.com for Frequently Asked Questions and Jim’s blog, The Rockefeller Report. was certified as a personal coach five years ago. Contact Dennis at 478-988-0237 or dhooper2@juno.com. F. Dennis Hooper Certified Leadership Development Coach Building leaders and organizations of excellence (478) 988-0237 dhooper2(fi>juno.com' 5A 54338 j 56852