Due to the inability of DHS not implementing the border defense plan authorized by Congress and the lack of political will from elected officials, we now have a drug war on our southern border.  It will take the military, DEA, DHS, DOJ, CIA, and state / local police agencies to stop this violence.  All American citizens are at risk.

The new Secretary of Homeland Security told Congress that drug-related violence along the Mexican border has grown beyond the ability of DHS to handle.  Just yesterday, the DEA announced an operation against a major Mexican drug cartel that netted more than 750 suspects - almost all of them in the U.S.  "I believe this is going to require more than the Department of Homeland Security," Janet Napolitano said Wednesday during her first Capitol Hill appearance since her confirmation last month as homeland security secretary.

"So we are reaching out to the national security adviser, to the attorney general and others about how we within the United States make sure we are doing all we can in a coordinated way to support the president of Mexico," said Ms. Napolitano, explaining that containing border-related drug violence will require more than the 22 agencies and 200,000 employees in her department.

Border violence, which claimed more than 1,000 lives in January and about 6,000 in 2008, is already on the radar of Pentagon and CIA officials, who have said that they may be involved in the current crisis in Mexico.

U.S. intelligence officials have said that the effects of the global economic crisis on Mexico have helped narcotics traffickers recruit more people and corrupt more Mexican officials.  At his first meeting with reporters Wednesday, new CIA Director Leon E. Panetta said that Mexico was a "priority" for the agency.  "Mexico is an area of concern because of the drug wars going on there," Mr. Panetta said. "The president [of Mexico] has courageously taken on that issue, but nevertheless, it's an area that we are paying attention to, a lot of attention to."

Meanwhile Wednesday, Justice Department officials announced the arrest of 755 people associated with Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel as part of a two-year probe dubbed "Operation Xcellerator." The operation also netted $59 million, 12,000 kilograms of cocaine, 16,000 pounds of marijuana and about 1.3 million Ecstasy pills.

In Lexington County, S.C., Deputy Sheriff Ted Xanthakis and his K-9, Arcos, were ambushed by three gang members armed with a 12-gauge shotgun during a Feb. 8 incident in West Columbia, S.C.  Two of the men were identified in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report as members of the Surenos gang, or SUR-13, a collection of hundreds of Mexican-American street gangs with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California and which federal law enforcement agencies accuse of involvement in smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants.

Violence on the Mexican border and its reverberations throughout the U.S. are emerging as one of the gravest and least expected problems confronting the Obama administration, a point that was made by President George W. Bush in a late December interview with The Washington Times.

Mr. Obama will need to deal "with these drug cartels in our own neighborhood," Mr. Bush said. "And the front line of the fight will be Mexico. The drug lords will continue to search for a soft underbelly.  And one of the things that future presidents are going to have to make sure of is that they don't find a safe haven in parts of Central America."

The Obama administration says that the drug-gang violence on the U.S. side of the border does not match what is going on in Mexico's border states, but says there is a contingency plan in place that will not include militarizing the U.S. side of the boundary.  DHS must do their job and we must put the military on our southern border to fight these drug cartels.

Conservative leader Benjamin Netanyahu will be Israel's next prime minister.  Congrats to him on this victory.  It is time that Israel return to its conservative roots in its survival.  However, where are the conservative American Jews?  It seems like most American-Israeli citizens vote for liberal causes in the US.  Will this conservative Jewish movement come to the US?

Israeli President Shimon Peres has chosen Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government. Will Netanyahu have the support of the United States and the Obama administration?  It seems like the new emphasis on "listen to our enemies" will affect our relationship with Israel.
 
It may be that Israel now has to go it alone in its protection of its citizens and its foreign policy. Obama and Clinton may be tougher on Israel, which will be more pro-Islam than it will be pro-Israel.  We hope that Benjamin Netanyahu does not cave to these new policies and creates a government that will challenge Iran and the terrorists in the Middle East.

Below is an article in the Washington Times praising Brad Botwin of his efforts to force Montgomery County to book, process, and report illegal immigrants or fugitives to ICE.  Montgomery County has thousands of criminal activities per month and a recent string of murders.  The half-baked policies of reporting "only" violent criminals to ICE is dumb and does not protect the tax-paying citizens of Montgomery County.  It is time to RECALL and CHALLENGE Ike Leggett and the entire County Council.  Congrats to Brad Botwin on his efforts to make Montgomery County a safer place to live.

Brad Botwin of Help Save Maryland, for his Herculean efforts to force local officials in Montgomery County, Md., to take a more serious approach to dealing with criminal behavior by illegal aliens - efforts which have begun to bear fruit.

For years, elected Montgomery County officials have preened about their “progressive” political views, even making the county an official sanctuary for illegal aliens and banning county employees (most prominently police and corrections officials)) from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. But after several recent arrests of illegal aliens in high-profile murder cases of constituents, local politicians and police realized this sanctuary policy was politically (if not morally) indefensible. So, last week, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Police Chief Thomas Manger announced that county police will start providing federal immigration authorities with the names of all suspects they arrest for violent crimes and handgun violations.  How darn nice of them.

Other local jurisdictions like neighboring Frederick County, Md. have officers undergo special training on immigration enforcement and turn over the names of illegal immigrants arrested for any crime - violent or otherwise. Mr. Botwin and others ask very sensibly: Why shouldn't illegal aliens arrested for burglary or drug trafficking also be subject to deportation? And why shouldn't illegal aliens involved in embezzlement, credit-card fraud or receiving stolen goods be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement? And what about hoodlums carrying knives or machetes? (Illegal aliens arrested in the Nov. 1 murder of an honor student on a country transit bus had been arrested on charges linked to carrying a machete and carrying a switchblade.)

The new Montgomery County policy is just a modest step in the right direction, but even this might not have taken place if it weren't for the work of Mr. Botwin, a federal employee who spends much of his free time working to make Montgomery County's policies more sensible.

Last month, his group won a meeting with Mr. Leggett to discuss the county's permissive policies toward illegals - something that would have been unthinkable a year ago. To the extent that the county is making any progress in the right direction, the public can thank Mr. Botwin.  For working to change Montgomery County's absurdly permissive approach toward illegals, Brad Botwin is the Noble of the Week.

Senate Stimulus: 300,000 Jobs for Illegals?

1 in 7 New Construction Jobs Could Go to Illegal Immigrants

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 4, 2008) — The Senate Stimulus bill currently being considered contains about $104 billion in new government funding for construction projects with the goal of creating jobs for millions of unemployed Americans. Unlike the House version, there is no provision in the bill to bar illegal immigrants from getting these taxpayer-funded jobs. This could result in several hundred thousand illegal immigrants receiving jobs.


The current version of the Senate Stimulus bill (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) contains $104 billion in construction spending, including highways, schools, and public housing.

Government estimates suggest this spending should create about 2 million new construction jobs.

Consistent with other research, the Center Immigration Studies has previously estimated that 15 percent of construction workers are illegal immigrants.

This means that about 300,000 of the construction jobs created by the Senate stimulus could go to illegal aliens (15 percent of 2 million).

Discussion: The $104 billion figure for new construction is based on the current version of the Senate Stimulus bill. Government estimates indicate that each $1 billion spent on construction should create roughly 19,600 construction jobs, each lasting a year.1 Thus $104 billion for construction projects should create construction-related jobs for about 2.04 million workers over several years. The Center for Immigration Studies has estimated that about one out of seven (or 15 percent) of workers employed in construction in the United States are illegal immigrants.2 Thus, if no effort is made to bar illegal immigrants from these jobs, it is extremely likely that about 300,000 will go to illegal immigrants. The House of Representatives version of the stimulus package has a provision requiring contractors to use the E-Verify system, which enables employers to quickly determine if new hires are authorized to work in the United States. At present, the Senate has no such provision.


1 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates indicate that each $1 billion in construction spending directly creates 19,584 construction related jobs. This number comes from Employment Impacts of Highway Infrastructure Investment, April 2008, FHWA. This figure does not include jobs indirectly created by construction spending.

2 Steven A. Camarota, “Dropping Out: Immigrant Entry and Native Exit From the Labor Market, 2000-2005,” Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, March 2006, p. 19. A 2006 Pew Hispanic Center study, “The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.,” estimated that 14 percent of construction workers were illegal immigrants; see page 3 of that report. Both the CIS and Pew studies were based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS). The March 2007 CPS shows that the illegal share of construction workers may have grown to 18 percent, but we use 15 percent in the above discussion to be conservative.

The newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Michael Steele, today announced his transition team to review all party operations and begin preparing for this year’s elections.
 
Comprised of current RNC members, the transition team will help implement the sweeping changes Steele proposed during his campaign for chairman.  Under Chairman Steele’s leadership, the RNC will focus on recruiting a new cadre of top-notch candidates and operatives, build new volunteer networks, and forge new working relationships with state and local parties.  The team will also immediately begin preparing for the gubernatorial and local elections later this year in Virginia and New Jersey, and the special Congressional election in New York State.
 
“We’re going to bring this Party to every corner of the country and ask people to join us and work with us,” Chairman Steele said.  “By standing on our principles – we can expand and grow.  My transition team will take a fresh look at everything with an eye toward preparing to win the campaigns of the future.”
 
The Chairman’s transition team will be led by Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, member of the RNC’s Executive Committee, and one of the young leaders who will help expand the Grand Old Party.
 
“Michael is committed to our conservative cause, has strong leadership skills, and the ability to connect with and energize our grassroots supporters,” Priebus said.  “Our core fundamental principles remain strong and mirror those of the majority of Americans.  We must improve our outreach efforts in order to grow as a Party.  I look forward to continuing my partnership with him and the RNC.”
 
Co-Chairmen Of The Steele Transition Team Include:
 
Saul Anuzis is the current Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.  Anuzis founded the telecommunications firm Quick Connect USA, is a leader in the use of technology in political campaigns, and an active blogger.   
 
Henry Barbour is the current National Committeeman from Mississippi.  Barbour has served as the campaign manager for Chip Pickering and Haley Barbour, the current Governor of Mississippi and former RNC Chairman.
 
Pat Brady is the current National Committeeman from Illinois.  He is an attorney and originally from St. Charles, IL.  Brady previously worked as a federal prosecutor in California and in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
 
Jim Greer is the current Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.  Prior to his expanded work for the Republican Party in Florida, Greer was the Acting President & CEO of Regulatory Compliance Services, Inc. and J. Greer & Associates.
 
Holly Hughes is the current National Committeewoman from Michigan.  Hughes is a small business owner and a former Montague Area Public School Board member.
 
Bo Palacios is the current National Committeeman from the Northern Mariana Islands.  Palacios is currently a Legislative Assistant with the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands Resident Representative.
 
Shawn Steel is the current National Committeeman from California.  From 2001-2003, Steel served the California Republican Party as Chairman.  He is also the founding director of the California chapter of the Club for Growth.
 
Joyce Tehres is the current National Committeewoman from Maryland.  From 1989-1998, Tehres served as Chair of the Maryland Republican Party.
 
Bob Tiernan is the current Chairman of the Republican Party of Oregon.  Tiernan is a business consultant from Lake Oswego and a former state representative.