Israel is finally getting tough--again.  Talking with Hamas (or Iran) does not work, but swift, hard military action does.  Hamas must be stopped now before they are fully dug-in and supplied by Iran.

Israel's air force obliterated symbols of Hamas power on the third day of its overwhelming assault on Gaza on Monday, striking a house next to the Hamas premier's home, devastating a security compound and flattening a five-story building at a university closely linked to the Islamic group.

Israel launched the deadliest attack against Palestinians in decades on Saturday in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns.  Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak told Israel's parliament in a special session that Israel was not fighting the residents of Gaza "but we have a war to the bitter end against Hamas and its branches."

The strikes appear to have gravely damaged Hamas' ability to launch rockets but a medium-range rocket fired at the Israeli city of Ashkelon killed a man there Monday and wounded several others. It was the second fatality in Israel since the beginning of the offensive and the first person ever to be killed by a rocket in Ashkelon, a city of 120,000.

Israel cannot make the same mistake in Gaza as they did in Lebanon.  They cannot let Iran arm the Palestinians, like Hamas just north of Israel.  Good job in fighting the terrorists in Gaza.  Remain tough and be on the offensive.

President Bush has agreed to provide the automakers a $17.4B loan or emergency government aid.  He is doing this so the auto companies do not fail on his watch.  He will give them enough dollars to sustain themselves until he leaves office.  That is more tax money being wasted.  President Bush has been a very good President, but he has been the biggest spender we have ever had in the White House.

We, the tax payers are bailing out the unions, not restructuring the auto industry.  We are giving the unions our hard-earned tax money so they can continue to fund millions of dollars of political ads for the Democrat Party.   

The troubled U.S. auto industry will receive emergency loans of up to $17.4 billion from the federal government in return for a proposed extensive restructuring of its outstanding debt and labor costs over the coming year, President Bush said today.

In a step the President said was necessary to avoid a "disorderly" collapse of an industry that directly or indirectly supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, he said the federal aid is meant only to provide a window while the companies decide how to restructure and prove that they are financially viable.

If that is not done by March 31, Bush said, the federal government will call its loans and let individual companies declare bankruptcy or fail.  Well, by then the auto industry will have billions of dollars of our money---and then they declare bankruptcy or fail?

Ike Leggett should be recalled and thrown out of office due to his open-border policy for illegal aliens.  Citizens in Montgomery County are being robbed and murdered every day by illegal aliens.  When will the citizens of Montgomery County have enough of his open-arms policy to illegals, CASA de Maryland and Day Labor Centers?  When will Montgoemry County citizens demand that our tax money not be spent on illegal aliens?

Chief Manger must be given the authority for his officers to be ICE certified through the DHS 287g program.  We must have law enforcement do their job and not have the politicians stand in their way of our safety.  We need a full-court press on the illegal criminals and the MS-13 gangs.

Below is an article from the Washington Post questioning the approach to illegal aliens in our community. 

Montgomery County considers a new policy for undocumented immigrants.

A 14-YEAR-OLD shot on a county bus. An elderly woman burned alive in her house. A waiter stabbed to death. These are some of the horrific murders allegedly committed by undocumented immigrants in Montgomery County in recent months.
County officials are considering whether to take a more aggressive role in determining whether criminal suspects are in the county illegally. This would be an appropriate response to the outbreak of violence, but any new policy must be carefully balanced.

Because some of the murder suspects already had criminal records, the spike in violence has brought scrutiny to the county's policy for holding undocumented immigrants. As reported by the Gazette newspaper's Sebastian Montes, law enforcement officials check for outstanding immigration warrants but don't actively seek out a suspect's immigration status. Federal agents have up to 72 hours to pick up suspected illegal immigrants; the county may release the suspects after that. Illegal immigrants also aren't prevented from posting bail.
 
One of the undocumented immigrants suspected of murder had been caught with marijuana in an elementary school six weeks before the slaying took place. Another was previously arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. Despite their immigration status, both were freed.
 
The county reasonably contends that it is up to federal agents to enforce immigration law. A strident policy, county officials argue, could foster distrust in the immigrant community and discourage informants from coming forward, not to mention cross the line into racial profiling.
But in response to the killings, law enforcement officials say they are looking to revise county policy to target perpetrators of violent crimes who may be in the country illegally.

Officers may be given latitude to look into the immigration status of a suspect who was born in another country, for example. The county is expected to announce any policy revisions by the end of the month. Montgomery authorities shouldn't waste tax dollars on a witch hunt for illegal immigrants. Giving police officers more authority while limiting their scope is the right approach.