Our Flag is Passing By

Our Flag is Passing By

by H.H. Bennett

Hats off!

Along the street there comes

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,

A flash of color beneath the sky:

Hats off!

Our flag is passing by!

Blue and crimson and white it shines,

Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.

Hats off!

The colors before us fly;

But more than the flag is passing by.

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,

Fought to make and to save the State;

Weary marches and sinking ships;

Cheers of victory on dying lips;

Days of plenty and years of peace,

March of a strong land's swift increase:

Equal justice, right and law,

Stately honor and reverent awe;

Sign of a nation, great and strong,

To ward her people from foreign wrong;

Pride and glory and honor, all

Live in the colors to stand or fall.

Hats off!

Along the street there comes

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,

And loyal hearts are beating high:

Hats off!

Our flag is passing by!

Ireland’s ‘brain drain’ uses up their quota of US, Canadian and Australian visas

Mass exodus of the Irish continues but many will have to wait for 2013

KATE HICKEY, IrishCentral Editor - Friday, June 8, 2012

Ireland’s “brain drain” is quickly using up the annual working visa quotas for the United States, Canada and Australia.

Those hopeful Irish emigrants thinking of traveling to Canada to work will have to wait until next year to apply for visas. In March Canada made 5,350 visas available to Irish and UK residents under the International Experience Canada (IEC) programme but they’ve all been used. Now applicants will have to hold their plans until 2013.

A record number of Irish have also being emigrating to Australia. It seems that as Australia increases the number of work visas available the Irish fill the gap. The Irish Times reported that in the first six months of 2011 a record 21,753 Irish nationals got working visas for Australia. The year the figures will be even higher.

As for the United States, where working visa status is more difficult to achieve, the Irish have already almost used up their quota for the H1B visas (a sponsorship visa for degree holders).

According to New York’s O’Brien & Associates, attorneys at law, “As of June 5, 2012, approximately 55,600 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. USCIS has receipted 18,700 H-1B petitions for advanced degree holders.

Once again the caps are 65,000 for bachelor’s degree holders and 20,000 for advanced degree holders, so the countdown to exhaustion of the quota is really on.”

Those Irish students wishing to come to the US directly after college have the option to apply for a “J” visa which lasts for one year while the J1 or J2 visa allows student to work just for three months during the summer season. In New York at least the evidence of J1 students arriving for the summer is everywhere. Job applications at local bars and construction sites are on the up and the GAA teams in the Bronx are stocked for the season.

Despite the outflow of people according to the CSO unemployment in Ireland is 14.8 percent (or 309,000 people of work).

Unemployment has dropped by one percent since the same period last year. However with an estimated 111 Irish people emigrating every week it’s hard to trust the bare statistics.

The most revealing facts among the statistics were the number of long term unemployed. This figure has risen from 7.8 percent to 8.9 percent in the last year. These are people who have been unemployed for one year or more.

Comment:

These very alarming figures are a testimonial to the gross incompetence of a succession of bumbling Irish political administrations. It seems that no matter which party is in power the incompetence is merely passed on from one to another with no viable solution in sight other than exporting their youth on the “emigrant ship”. They don’t seem to give a “tinker’s damn” about anything other than lining their pockets with the obscene golden handshakes and lifetime pensions that they have carved out for themselves at the expense of the long suffering Irish taxpayer. Their insatiable greed is a classic example of the old addage, “On any given day there is more money stolen with a pencil than with a gun”. Shame on them!!

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

I am a Proud American!

By Mark Steven Ward

This is dedicated to all the Men and Women throughout the History of The United States of America, who have put on a uniform to serve this GREAT Nation, and to all those Men and Women who have died in the service of this GREAT Nation. This is also dedicated to my Hero, my Father, Sergeant Major Mark H. Ward JR, who fought in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam and is now serving in God's Army.

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! I am the Spirit of America. I was there when the first shot was heard around the world, the Battle of Bunker Hill (Breeds Hill). I was there with General George Washington at Valley Forge that cold winter. I was there at the Battle of Yorktown. I was there when The Second Continental Congress signed The Declaration of Independence. I was there when this new Nation received her New Flag.

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! I was there at the Battle of Baltimore when the British bombarded Fort McHenry and Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner. I was there with Andy Jackson at the battle of New Orleans.

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! I was there at the Alamo when Texans' fought for their Independence.

I AM PROUD TO BE AMERICAN! I was there at Fort Sumter. I was there at the Battle of Antietam. I was there at the Battle of Shiloh. I was there at the Battle of Chickamauga. I was there at the Battle of Gettysburg and I was there when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Manor.

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! I was there when this nation started to spread more westward and we had to fight against the Great Indian Nations of the Sioux, the Comanche, the Apache, and the Cheyenne. I was there with General George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! I was there on the USS Maine when she blew up and Remember the Maine became our Battle Cry. I was there with Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan Hill. I was there at all the Battles of The Spanish-American War. The FORGOTTEN WAR!!

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! I was with General John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Force when they landed in France. I was there at the Battle of Cantigny. I was there at the Battles of Belleau Wood and Chateau-Thierry. I was there at the Second Battle of the Marne. I was there at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. I was there at the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

I AM PROUND TO BE AN AMERICAN! I was there on December 7, 1941, A Date which will live in INFAMY, at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. I was there at Bataan and Corregidor. I was with the American and Filipino prisoners on The Bataan Death March where thousands died on their way to Japanese POW Camps. I was there at the Sea Battle of the Coral Sea. I was there at the Sea Battle of Midway. I was there at the Battle of Guadalcanal. I was there at the Philippines Campaign. I was there at the Battle of Iwo Jima. I was there at the Battle of Okinawa. I was there in the B-29 Superfortresses that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I was there at the North African Campaign. I was there at the Invasion of Sicily and Italy. I was there in Operation Overlord, the Invasion of Normandy. I was there at the Battle of the Bulge and I was in Bastogne when General Anthony McAuliffe replied "NUTS" to the surrender request. I was in the B-17 Flying Fortresses that brought the war to the heartland of Germany. I was there at the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen when the American forces crossed the Rhine and began the Race for Berlin.

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! I was there in South Korea when the North Koreans invaded the South and nearly driving the US and ROK defenders in to the sea. I was there at the Beachhead at Inchon. I am still there in South Korea today guarding at shaky armistice since no peace treaty has been signed.

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! I was there in South Vietnam fighting another Communist country takeover.

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! I was there when terrorist attacked the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC. I was on United Airlines Flight 93 when it crashed in Summerset County, Pennsylvania. I was there in Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. I was there in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. I am there in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. I am there wherever I need to be fighting a Global War on Terrorism.

Comment:

Memorial Day is set aside each year to honor our “American Patriot Dead”, those who have given their lives in defense of the greatest nation on earth and our cherished American way of life. There are many who do not hesitate to criticize us and label us as imperialists but the fact is there is not a more generous, compassionate race of people on the face of the earth than Americans. Throughout our history we have never hesitated to demonstrate that legendary generosity and compassion for the needs of others whether those needs were caused by natural disasters, political unrest, poverty, hunger, disease or a myriad of other problems. We have always been the first to respond to the needs of others. The valiant men and women of our military forces have fought in foreign lands as well as on our own soil since our American Revolutionary War to preserve our dedication to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, not only for our own citizens, but for people of other freedom loving nations as well.

We have seen the dedicated men and women of our American military forces return home from two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan with life altering injuries and tragically many in flag draped coffins after answering our nation’s call. Please take time to honor them for their service to or nation on this and every Memorial Day. May God Bless our Troops and our Veterans both young and old.

All gave Some – Some gave All

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Edna Kenny in dark over jobs 'snub' to young graduates

Enda Kenny in dark over jobs 'snub' to young graduates

Chaos at highest level over re-hiring of retired staff in public service

 Michael Brennan and Eoghan MacConnell  May 15 2012

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny last night admitted he didn't know why retired public servants were being brought back to work while thousands of young graduates languish on the dole.

In what amounted to a frank admission of chaos at the highest level, Mr Kenny said: "I don't think I actually know the scale of what's involved here."

And Public Spending Minister Brendan Howlin admitted there is no central record of the retired staff being brought back in to work for state bodies -- or why they are being rehired.

The controversy widened last night after revelations that civil servants are back at their desks, despite taking early retirement and a more lucrative pension under a special deal earlier this year. Some are senior officials in top roles.

But no one in the Government could give firm guidelines on where and when it was acceptable to favour retired people over younger graduates.

Thousands of potential candidates who are not being considered include young teachers, nurses and newly qualified vets.

There is only a vague policy on re-hiring. It says people can be brought back after retirement for a task where their skills or experience are required.

But Mr Kenny said he would prefer to see jobseekers getting priority over retired people.

"I know that in the case of many retired public servants that the instructions are that, where it is possible to hire new people, that should be done."

However, that will bring little solace to the thousands who have graduated over recent years and are looking for work or contemplating emigration.

While there is a recruitment embargo, there was growing evidence last night that hundreds of retirees have been brought back on contracts across the whole public service.

Advertised

Most of the retirees being rehired are on short-term contracts and the positions are not being advertised.

It emerged that 254 teachers are working in schools, despite being retired from duty, to get children through Leaving Cert classes in July.

But the HSE is still refusing to say how many retired health staff have been hired -- even though it is the largest employer in the public sector.

The issue has come to the fore since almost 8,000 public sector workers retired early last February.

The Government is under growing pressure to clarify who it wants to fill gaps in the public service. Some positions have been justified because of the experience that retirees can bring to a role -- this is often the case where teachers return to help a class finish an important exam year.

But in some cases managers are suspected of bringing back retired workers because it is easier than setting out to advertise and interview fresh candidates.

Without any detail or breakdown of where and why the retirees are working, the Government is facing huge criticism for not having a firm set of guidelines in place.

Salary

The retirees who have returned to work include a wide range of staff, from 59 vets working for the Department of Agriculture as meat inspectors, to the chief medical officer in the Department of Social Protection, who was rehired on a salary of up to €102,152.

Fianna Fail TD Billy Kelleher, who obtained the initial figures, said that most public servants who were rehired were denying jobs to those who were unemployed.

"If you retire, all things being equal, you shouldn't be able to come back.

"I just believe there are plenty of young people out there and people with qualifications and skills who could easily take up these jobs," he said.

According to the most recent figures, the State spent €15.4m on rehired retired public servants in 2010.

This is expected to soar this year given the high number of retirements before February's deadline to get a better pension deal.

Comment:

The level of government incompetence is incredible. The man in charge of the government admits that he does not know why people who have retired by their own choice are being rehired on short term contracts to do the very same jobs that they retired from with their retirement pay plus the salary that goes with the job. Great work if you can get it !!! However, the downside is that those jobs are not available to younger workers that are coming into the work force and they are forced to choose between the dole or emigration. Is it any wonder why the Irish government are strongly in favor of the proposed “Irish E-3 Visa Program” in the U.S. It could drastically reduce the ever expanding number of Irish people who are forced onto the dole queue by government incompetence.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Ireland’s President Michael D Higgins first visit to US this May

Visit takes place early next month

 Irish Central - Editorial

The Irish government has announced the first visit to the U.S. by new Irish president Michael D. Higgins to take place in early May. He will speak at the American Ireland Fund dinner in New York on May 3, as well as address the American Irish Historical Society and the Irish Business Network.

Higgins has been off to a very good start in his presidency, pressing the issues of minority rights and making clear where the responsibility for Ireland’s perilous financial situation lies.

Higgins was a long time activist on many such issues, so his presidency has been predictable in that regard, but his outspoken comments have certainly been welcome.

Higgins spent time in the U.S. at Indiana University and is an old hand in dealing with the American Irish diaspora.

His attitude to America has always been that of a left wing Irish parliamentarian, ill at ease with many of America’s foreign policy decisions.

It will be interesting to see where his thoughts stray during his U.S. visit on many such issues.

Higgins has long been a champion of immigrant rights, especially in Britain where he has often visited the Irish community there.

We can hope that he can help move on the current discussion around the E-3 visa bill which has stalled in Congress, and do his best to help progress it.

The Irish president is heavily circumscribed for speaking out by the constitutional restraints, and Higgins has always been outspoken, so the job will really test his political patience.

It will be an interesting visit to assess Ireland’s new president and his impact on the Irish American community. He has started well given the deep regard and respect for his two predecessors Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson.

Comment:

Regardless of the office that he holds, Mr. Higgins should be afforded the same reception here that he showed to U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and again to U.S.  President George W. Bush in 2004 on their visits to Ireland. His attitude toward their visits left a great deal to be desired, on the other hand, his enthusiastic participation in the obnoxious demonstrations at Shannon Airport were absolutely beyond the pale. They were organized to intentionally ridicule, cajole, and insult our valiant American troops during their fueling stopovers going to and coming from Iraq and Afghanistan. These heroic young men and women were subjected to intense ridicule by these idiotic demonstrators for honorably serving our country.

Anybody who participated in these reprehensible demonstrations, including Mr. Higgins, should be held accountable for their actions and treated accordingly.

If any progress is to be made on the proposed Irish E-3 Visas, which looks doubtful at this time, it won't be as a result of any effort on his part. That is a matter to be decided by the U.S. Congress not by a politician from another country with a long standing anti - American agenda such as that of Mr. Higgins.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

 An Uachtaran -Wee Michael D.

Michael D. Higgins – The most anti-American head of state in the western world. This fact is sure to do wonders for American business and tourism.

He protested against the US Presidential visit to Ireland in 1984.
He protested against the US Presidential visit to Ireland in 2004.

Michael D. Higgins has always been Ireland's No.1 participant in anti-American protests and demonstrations

E3 Visa For Irish Citizens

E3 Visa For Irish Citizens

Apr 9, 2012

Visa Info
At end of last year we wrote about the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act 2011 which among other things will reduce wait times dramatically for Chinese and Indian nationals who are on long Green Card waiting lists with EB-2 and EB-3 Visa Categories.
However one other part of this legislation which we didn’t cover much is an addition to the E3 visa category. The E3 Visa is a work visa category that is currently exclusive to Australian nationals and has an annual quota of 10,500 per year. For many years, the Irish American groups and the Irish Government and been lobbying various US Congressmen and Senators (particularly those in large Irish ancestry districts and states) to expand the E-3 visa to include Irish nationals.
As a reminder the main facets of the current E3 Visa for Australians include;
- Available to Australian Citizens which means demand is low relative to annual quota
- An Annual Quota of 10,500 (reset every October 1)
- A Partner Visa called E-3D which allows dependent married spouses and minors to accompany E-3 Visa holder
- Spouse E3-D visa allows partner to work (differs from H-4 visa which is partner visa for H-1B that doesn’t allow working)
- Visa holder has to be Australian citizen but spouse does not
- Allows work based on Specialty Occupation and Bachelor’s Degree conditions
- Can be applied for at any time of the year (unlike the H-1B visa)
- Is for 2 years and can be renewed indefinitely (unlike the H-1B visa which is for 3 years but only renewable once)
- Is NOT a dual intent visa unlike the H-1B visa (but it is not technically prohibited to have a concurrent Green Card application)
- Has no filing fees for the employer
Given the E-3 visa annual quota has barely breached 3,000 since its inception in October 2005, it has a lot of capacity available.

Negative Effect on Irish Applicants

However one point that has been largely ignored in relation to Irish citizens apart from the obvious pandering for votes by Senators and Congress people around the country with heavy Irish constituencies is that this bill can have a negative effect on current Irish immigrants in the country.
Irish immigrants currently in the country who may have pending PERM applications (Green Card or Permanent Residency petitions) will actually be disadvantaged by this entire bill passing through Congress. Because of the removal of limitations on all the Chinese and Indian nationals in particular artificially restricted from having too many of the annual quota of Green Cards awarded to them from the various waiting lists, current Irish immigrants on the waiting lists will now have to wait longer.

Comment:

Why is it that proponents of the "temporary (supposedly indefinitely renewable) work permits", better known as the Irish E-3 Visas never discuss the negative aspects of this "feel good, proposed legislation"? Why is it that so many our undocumented Irish nationals have expressed feelings of utter disgust with those who started out a few years ago with busloads of undocumented Irish full of grandiose promises of "Legalize the Irish". It seems that the buses have all run out of gas just like those who made promises they knew they could never keep. It is time for them to stand up and tell the truth. This is an election year and no politician in his right mind is going to take a chance of alienating any segment of the voting public by showing favoritism toward any ethnicity to the detriment of others. Like it or not, my friends, this is political reality!!!

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America

Senator Grassley moves forward with a proposal on E3 visa bill

Republican had opposed Sen. Scott Brown’s bill currently in the Senate

ANTOINETTE KELLY - IrishCentral.com Staff Writer - March 18, 2012

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa has come forward with an offer to move the E3 visa bill ahead. The bill would allow 10,500 Irish to come legally to America on renewable work visas.

“An up or down vote on Sen. Brown's Irish visa bill would be acceptable to Sen. Grassley with some modifications dealing with the skill level of those receiving an E3 visa,” Beth Levine, communications director for Grassley told CNN.

However, Levine warned that talks were ongoing adding that Grassley’s staff are “still discussing modifications with the sponsors of the bill."

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) has lined up 53 Democratic senators behind his version of the E3 bill.

Grassley had been holding up passage of the bill in the US senate as well as linked legislation that would allow more skilled emigrants from India and China.

Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass) was criticized this week concerning the lack of progress on the E3 visa bill which would allow 10,500 annual work visas for Irish immigrants. The bill is an amendment attached to a wider bill dealing with hi tech visas for Indians and Chinese.

On Febuary 8th, Brown said the visa bill he filed was “about to pop” on Capitol Hill however as of late there was been no significant developments.

In a statement to CNN, Brown’s office said the E3 visa was vital to the Irish community.

"For decades, the Irish have been unfairly shut out by our immigration laws. In an effort to increase visa prospects and maintain the close bond between the United States and Ireland.

“Sen. Brown is working in a bipartisan way to add the Irish E3 program to larger, House-passed visa legislation that benefits several other countries."

Brown's Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Warren agreed that many skilled Irish cannot access the U.S. because of the current system.

Comment:

Some Thoughts on the "Irish E-3 Visa Program"

Lets get real, folks. The proposed "Irish E-3 Visa Program" is nothing more or less than a useless piece of “feel good legislation” that would allow some of its self aggrandizing supporters to pat themselves on the back, but which totally ignores the plight of our undocumented Irish nationals.

Less than a week ago, I read an article which stated that 300 Irish per week have been coming to New York, not to the United States but to one city in the United States, in search of work. They must be coming on visa waivers since there has been no legislation passed recently that would allow them to come here with work authorization. What is going to happen to them when their visa waivers expire? The answer is simple. Most will elect to stay here and will lapse “out of status”. They will then join the thousands of Irish nationals already here in that very unenviable immigration category.

How can advocates of the so called “Irish E-3 Visas” possibly fail to recognize this already large and constantly growing problem that begs to be resolved NOW before advocating for more Irish to come here on “temporary non immigrant work permits” that cannot be converted to permanent residency visas. It is far more beneficial to the United States of America and to all concerned to allow our undocumented Irish nationals to adjust their status and continue to pursue their ultimate goal of American citizenship. Proponents of the “Irish E-3 Visas” would serve our own undocumented Irish nationals, “E-3 visa recipients” who could also wind up “out of status” when their visa extension requests are denied, and Irish American immigration activists, in a much more meaningful way if they would get honest and tell the truth about the many negative aspects of this seriously flawed visa program.

Tell the truth about the apprehensions for minor infractions, the protracted detentions in prisons with hardened criminals, the eventual deportations followed by a ten year bar from re-entry. Tell the truth about how the passage of the proposed “Irish E-3 Visas” will inevitably drive our undocumented Irish nationals further underground. Tell the truth about the drastic increase in cases of severe depression, the increased usage of drugs and alcohol, and yes very sadly, the increase in suicides.

Jack Meehan, Past National President

Ancient Order of Hibernians in America