You may recall that in the 2008 national election, Tony Romero, Emmitt Smith and the rest of the Dallas Cowboys’ starting lineup (at the time) appeared as registered voters in Nevada. The problem, of course, was that none of the Dallas Cowboys lived in Nevada.

A raid on the local office of ACORN, which stood for the ill-fated Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, confirmed the group, whose purpose was to help the underprivileged to vote, had somehow registered the pro football players in a tragic misuse of ethics and effort.

That’s called voter fraud and, several weeks ago, the Tennessee state legislature took another step towards eliminating it. This time it appears that with a Republican-backed House and Senate the law makers will soon mandate voters in the state to provide a photo ID at the polls which has been needed. Remember the dead people who voted in Memphis about the same time?

Let’s face it, to ride an airplane, buy beer at the store, or cash a check at the bank a person must have a photo ID. But as unbelievable as it sounds, a Nashville Tennessean editorialist responded with a scathing opinion that claimed such action would “disenfranchise” eligible voters and that “stigmatizing groups of people should not be the role of government.”

What’s this guy been smoking? The bill is being sponsored by state Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and it makes sound and valid sense in a day where there are those who cheat and commit fraud in our midst. Ketron is also supporting a bill that says the Tennessee driver’s license test should be given in English only and a huge public majority will support that as well.

I think when our signage and our laws are in English, a person must have an elementary grip on the language to drive an automobile and must be able to respond to the voice commands of a law enforcement officer in an emergency. France, Russia, Germany and the rest of the world do not have signs in English. That’s not bias against the United States, it’s common sense.

The Nashville editorial claimed that Volkswagen AG officials are “not comfortable” with the English-only law and that Gov. Bill Haslam is worried that the law will send the wrong message to international businesses considering Tennessee. Well, guess what? This is the United States and the reason Volkswagen AG built a colossal factory here is to make U.S. dollars.

Let me make this real simple. America has some problems right now that we don’t want. We have a huge influx of illegal aliens that have pretty well ruined the landscape of some wonderful foreigners who came to this country in the right and lawful manner. That’s not our fault but it’s the elephant in the room.

Tennesseans, and especially those in Hamilton and Bradley County, are thrilled to death the new VW Passat is being built here by American hands but in every game there are the rules and that’s how we are going to play. The English-only test is part of living here. When you go to the emergency room, God forbid, they don’t have an interpreter for every language.

When you watch TV, we don’t have subtitles, neither in French nor Afrikaners. This is America. Because things are pretty good here compared to other places, we have evil people who want to knock us down, gain any exception to any law in order to pull us down to their level.

We found out about that on 9/11 and, since then, things have really changed. Some feel the Department of Homeland Security has gone overboard, even making people have their shoes X-rayed at the airport, but because of a foreign attack that killed innocent people our rules have gotten tougher.

One thing those who complain at Volkswagen seem to have forgotten is that in order to purchase one of their marvelous automobiles – anywhere in the United States – the potential buyer must produce a state driver’s license, written in English, with a photo on it. It is a Federal law.

If the lack of a photo ID causes one person not to cast a vote, let’s place the blame where it should be. It is that voter’s fault because between now and the next election, a non-driving photo ID can be easily obtainable at any Tennessee driver’s license location.

This isn’t bias. This isn’t prejudice. This is life.

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