We in the US have a very serious problem on our southern border.  As I have said before, only the military can solve the violence across our southern border.  Drugs and guns equal violence. 

The Mexican government is losing ground against the drug cartels and the government may lose control of its population, laws, and goverance.  The US is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Mexican government to train them and help them fight the drug runners.  It boils down to the US and Mexico securing its border--very simple.

A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives initiative to reduce the flow of weapons from the United States to Mexico has "significant weaknesses" that undermine its effectiveness, including ATF's failure to share intelligence information with Mexican authorities and some of its U.S. law enforcement partners, a report said Tuesday.

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said deficiencies were identified in Project Gunrunner, despite increased ATF activity associated with the program, including the number of cases initiated and referred for prosecution and an increase in gun-dealer compliance inspections on the Southwest border.

"Drug traffickers have turned to the United States as a primary source of weapons, and these drug traffickers routinely smuggle guns from the United States into Mexico," Mr. Fine said. "Despite the increased ATF activity associated with Project Gunrunner, we found that significant weaknesses in ATF's implementation of Project Gunrunner undermine its effectiveness."

ATF began Project Gunrunner as a pilot program in Texas in 2005 and expanded it into a national initiative in 2006. Agents and investigators were assigned along the border to increase "strategic coverage" of the region and disrupt firearms-trafficking corridors.

As war rages between rival drug cartels in Mexico, ATF and other law-enforcement agencies have seized thousands of firearms, including assault rifles, semiautomatic rifles, grenade launchers, pistols and .38 caliber "Super" pistols. More than 31,000 people have been killed across Mexico since December 2006 in that nation's ongoing drug war.

The ATF has said Project Gunrunner sought to deprive the drug cartels of weapons, suppress firearms trafficking and stem gun violence on both sides of the border.

But Mr. Fine said a review of the project identified deficiencies in ATF's intelligence tracking and information sharing. The IG's office said ATF does not systematically and consistently exchange intelligence with Mexican and with other federal law enforcement agencies.

The 138-page report also said intelligence personnel in ATF's Southwest border field divisions do not routinely share firearms-trafficking intelligence with each other. It said the ATF focuses largely on inspections of gun dealers and investigations of "straw purchasers," rather than on higher-level traffickers, smugglers and the ultimate recipients of the trafficked guns.

The report noted that 68 percent of Project Gunrunner prosecutions were single-defendant cases; that some ATF managers discouraged field personnel from conducting complex conspiracy investigations targeting higher-level members of trafficking rings; and that ATF also has not made fuller use of federal law enforcement resources to conduct more complex conspiracy investigations.

It also said the majority of recovered guns in Mexico were not traced, although trace requests to ATF for guns recovered in Mexico increased from 5,834 in fiscal 2004 to 22,000 in fiscal 2009. It said most trace requests from Mexico are considered "unsuccessful" because of missing or improperly entered gun data. It also noted that ATF had a substantial backlog in responding to requests for information from Mexican authorities.

ATF Deputy Director Kenneth E. Melson, in a letter to the Inspector General's Office in response to the report, said the agency was "concerned that the review did not adequately reflect the challenges that the United States and Mexico face in seeking to reduce violence, gun and drug trafficking along the border.

As one can see, the human trafficking, drug running, and killings are a real threat to our national security.

Read my lips---noone making less than $250,000 will pay more taxes.  The below new taxes will tax every American citizen.  Is it the "No Tax Obama Plan"?

In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will  take effect.  They will hit families and small businesses in three great  waves on January 1, 2011:

First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors,  small business owners, and families.   These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise.  The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed).  The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.  All the rates in between will also rise.  Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.  The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

 - The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
 - The 25% bracket rises to 28%
 - The 28% bracket rises to 31%
 - The 33% bracket rises to 36%
 - The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family.  The "marriage penalty" (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of  income.  The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per  child.  The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.  The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax.  This year, there is no death tax.  For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million.  A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors.  The capital gains tax will rise  from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011.  The dividends tax will  rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011.  These rates will  rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

Second Wave: Obamacare

There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare.  Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011.  Now senior citizens are at riak of losing their AARP health plans.  They include:

The "Medicine Cabinet Tax"  Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

The "Special Needs Kids Tax"  This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit).  There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year.  Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.

The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike.  This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

All real estate transactions will be taxed at a 3.5% rate to help pay for health care and seniors will have to terminate their current AARP plans.

Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they'll be in for a nasty surprise-the AMT won't be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.  The major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress' failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families-rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million.  These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level.  The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or "depreciate") equipment purchases up to $250,000.  This will be cut all the way down to $25,000.  Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment.  In January of 2011, all of it will have to be "depreciated."

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses.  There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place.  The biggest is the loss of the "research and experimentation tax credit," but there are many, many others.  Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced.  The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.  Tax credits for education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.  Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.  Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.  The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed.  Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA.  This contribution also counts toward an annual "required minimum distribution."  This ability will no longer be there. 

The government wants to stop individual donations so the government can do it all and provide everything to everyone.  Obama and the liberal left want the government to run every aspect of our lives.  This gives the former President Bush's statement about taxes (Read My Lips)----a whole new meaning.

From The London Daily Telegraph Editor On Foreign Relations
 
"Let me be clear: I'm not normally in favour of boycotts, and I love the American people. I holiday in their country regularly, and hate the tedious snobby sneers against the United States. But the American people chose to elect an idiot who seems hell bent on insulting their allies, and something must be done to stop Obama's reckless foreign policy, before he does the dirty on his allies on every issue."
One of the most poorly kept secrets in Washington is President Obama's animosity toward Great Britain, presumably because of what he regards as its sins while ruling Kenya (1895-1963).

One of Barack Hussein Obama's first acts as president was to return to Britain a bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office since 9/11.  He followed this up by denying Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on his first state visit, the usual joint press conference with flags.

The president was "too tired" to grant the leader of America's closest ally a proper welcome, his aides told British journalists.

Mr. Obama followed this up with cheesy gifts for Mr. Brown and the Queen. Columnist Ian Martin described his behavior as "rudeness personified." There was more rudeness in store for Mr. Brown at the opening session of the United Nations in September. "The prime minister was forced to dash through the kitchens of the UN in New York to secure five minutes of face time with President Obama after five requests for a sit down meeting were rejected by the White House," said London Telegraph columnist David Hughes.  Mr. Obama's "churlishness is unforgivable," Mr. Hughes said.

The administration went beyond snubs and slights last week when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed the demand of Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, a Hugo Chavez ally, for mediation of Argentina's specious claim to the Falkland Islands, a British dependency since 1833. The people who live in the Falklands, who speak English, want nothing to do with Argentina. When, in 1982, an earlier Argentine dictatorship tried to seize the Falklands by force, the British -- with strong support from President Ronald Reagan -- expelled them.

"It is truly shocking that Barack Obama has decided to disregard our shared history," wrote Telegraph columnist Toby Young. "Does Britain's friendship really mean so little to him?" One could ask, does the friendship of anyone in the entire world mean anything to him?

"I recently asked several senior administration officials, separately, to name a foreign leader with whom Barack Obama has forged a strong personal relationship during his first year in office," wrote Jackson Diehl, deputy editorial page editor of the Washington Post, on Monday. "A lot of hemming and hawing ensued." One official named French President Nicolas Sarkozy, but his contempt for Mr. Obama is an open secret. Another named German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But, said Mr. Diehl, "Merkel too has been conspicuously cool toward Obama."

Mr. Obama certainly doesn't care about the Poles and Czechs, whom he has betrayed on missile defense. Honduras and Israel also can attest that he's been an unreliable ally and an unfaithful friend.  Ironically, our relations with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have never been worse. Russia has offered nothing in exchange for Mr. Obama's abandonment of missile defense. Russia and China won't support serious sanctions on Iran. Syria's support for terrorism has not diminished despite efforts to normalize diplomatic relations. The reclusive military dictatorship that runs Burma has responded to our efforts at "engagement" by deepening its ties to North Korea.

And the Chinese make little effort to disguise their contempt for him.  With his support of the mosque in NYC, Obama has lost the goodwill of New Yorkers and the families of the dead from 9-11.

For the first time in a long time, the President of the United States is actually distrusted by its allies and not in the least feared by its adversaries. Nor is Mr. Obama now respected by the majority of Americans.

Understandably focused on the dismal economy and Mr. Obama's relentless efforts to nationalize and socialize health care, Americans apparently have yet to notice his dismal performance and lack of respect in the world community.  They soon will.  We told you who Obama is, but you would not listen....

Back in 1965, the late Senator Teddy Kennedy crammed the “Immigration Reform Act” down the throats of the American people. He changed the manageable numbers from 150,000 annually to 1.5 million annually. He said, “The bill will not cause American workers to lose their jobs and that our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually.”

Today, we suffer 20 million unemployed Americans and 35 million subsisting on food stamps.  In 40 years, Kennedy’s legacy stuffed this civilization with an added 100 million people.  If not stopped and stopped soon, the United States will add 100 million by 2035.

“Forty-five years later, over a million immigrants come into our country every year causing millions of American workers to lose their jobs,” said Goode. “With unemployment above 10 percent, no one can say with a straight face that “immigrants are doing the jobs Americans won’t do.” Without that justification, a moratorium is just plain old common sense.”

We now have 30 million illegals that consist of gang members, criminals, anchor babies, and others who rob our nation of jobs, our tax payer dollars, and our national identity.  Please see the below article.


By Frosty Wooldridge

Last week in Arizona, an illegal alien from Mexico walked across the line, shot rancher Robert Krentz off his ATV, inspected his victim, and calmly walked back across the border—unscathed and untouched.

In Denver, another illegal alien, Francis Hernandez, driving drunk at 80 miles an hour through a stop light, ran over and killed two women and a three year old child, Martin Kudlis, while he licked his ice cream cone at a Baskin-Robbins with his parents. In court last week, jurors sentenced Hernandez to 60 years in prison. Too late!  Both women and the child died because police failed to prosecute and deport Hernandez after 19 arrests.

Kudlis’ father said, “They should have hung him!”

Unfortunately, Denver’s Mayor John Hickenlooper and Colorado’s Governor Bill Ritter both support and allow Denver, Colorado to remain a “Sanctuary City” for illegals.  That’s why police arrested Hernandez 19 times, but let him go instead of deporting him.  Several years back, another illegal alien Garcia Gomez, caught three times by Denver police and released—executed police officer Don Young in the back of the head.

Every week, week in and week out, American citizens watch their loved ones die or suffer injuries from illegal aliens raping, killing, drunk driving killings, shop lifting, stealing, pitching drugs to their kids and an endless array of anchor babies, job thefts, ID forgeries and lawlessness—all 20 million of them.

WHEN IS ENOUGH, ENOUGH MISTER OBAMA?

With our schools being destroyed, our hospitals systems being overwhelmed and our prisons filled beyond capacity, when is enough, enough Mr. Obama? 

What reason does the president give for amnesty?  He wants to make 20 million criminal aliens legal? Give them full citizenship rights?  Give them voting rights?  Give them full access to our entire welfare programs and social security?  At what cost? 

The Heritage Foundation answered that one:  if illegal aliens enjoy amnesty, it will cost American taxpayers between $3 trillion and $5 trillion to give 15 to 20 million and more illegal aliens—a free pass into America.

In a piece in The Social Contract, winter 2009-2010, www.thesocialcontract.com , “Time for an immigration moratorium” by former U.S. Congressman Virgil Goode, he said, “With a 10 percent unemployment rate, now is the time for the Obama administration to stand up for citizens and legal immigrant workers.  Now is the time for the president to enforce immigration laws. When the jobs stolen by illegal immigrants are recovered for citizens and legal workers, American workers will benefit.  Obama could create eight million jobs for citizens and legal workers simply by enforcing immigration laws.”

That simple!  That easy!  Just show ICE agents handcuffing executives on the nightly news from Swift, Hormel, Amour, McDonalds, Marriott Hotels, restaurants, Tyson Chicken, roofing and construction firms—and you would see them shedding illegal workers overnight.  You would see illegals purchasing one way bus tickets back to Mexico.

“Even if we completely stopped illegal immigration tomorrow,” said Goode, “the government still issues 75,000 permanent work visas and 50,000 temporary work visas EVERY MONTH. These 125,000 jobs should go to Americans first.  The Census bureau found that one in every six workers in the US is foreign born.”

Both Maryland and Virginia are trying to lure the Northrop Grumman headquarters to its state.  Who will win this selection?  It will be based on taxes, safe neighborhoods, quality of life, transportation, office space, a business-friendly approach, and other perks that are normally offered by the state's business development office. 

I predict Virginia will offer Northrop Grumman the best option as I will discuss below.

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. says it's moving its corporate office from Los Angeles to the Washington area to be closer to key government customers and will move by 2011. Northrop said it was looking for a location in the Washington area, including the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. It plans to pick a site by this spring and open the office in summer 2011.

The corporate office will house only 300 of Northrop's 120,000 employees worldwide but give it a symbolic and physical tie to the nation's capital. Other defense contractors are located near Washington, including Lockheed Martin Corp., which is based in the suburb of Bethesda, Md.

Northrop said about 30,000 employees would remain in California to perform research, development and manufacturing. The company's aerospace systems sector is based in Redondo Beach, Calif.

Jack Northrop founded Northrop Aircraft Inc. in California in 1939. The company built jet fighters for the United States and other militaries, then expanded to make guided missiles, the B-2 stealth bomber and other defense systems. Northrop also provides electronics, shipbuilding and technical services to government customers and other companies.

Virginia has lower taxes, a business-friendly Governor and legislature, more affordable housing, a better quality of life that includes safer streets, better road and mass transit ssytems, and better office space choices.

Maryland offers a union mentality, a spend-thrift Governor and legislature, higher taxes, and a lower quality of life.  This includes the fact that Maryland welcomes illegal immigrants so there is more crime, more MS-13 gangs, and higher taxes to pay for the illegals.  Also, the state has pushed the fact that they are gay and homosexual-friendly and are pushing this unpopular liberal agenda.

Maryland is losing more and more citizens because they are getting fed up with a Democrat controlled state that taxes too much, spends too much, does not protect their citizens, and pushs  ultra-liberal social agendas.

In the below article, Secretary Napolitano tells the American public that all is well along our borders and that DHS has met their milestones set by Congress.  This is a false statement.  The true metrics of what is happening on our borders are not discussed. 

What are real metrics and not just "puff"?  The goal of this administration is ANMESTY for 20 million illegals.

What should be measured:
1.  Number of illegals that get across the border
2.  Number of human traffickers
3.  Number of drug runners
4.  Amount of drugs coming across the border
5.  Number of local and state agencies assisting under 287 (g)
6.  Number of Day Labor Centers across America
7.  Number of Consular offices opened by Mexico and other Central/South American countries
8.  Number of country origins of illeglas arrested
9.  Correct number of miles of fence that are built to specification
10. Number of actual agents on the border
11. Number of cameras, UAVs, and sensors on the border
12. Coordination with ICE on arresting illegals and business owners who give them jobs

Napolitano pronounces US border more secure now
By SUZANNE GAMBOA (AP)

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has met many of the border
security benchmarks Congress set in 2007 as a prerequisite to
immigration reform and now it's time to change the law, Homeland
Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday.

Napolitano, designated by President Barack Obama to lead the
administration's immigration reform efforts, said many members of
Congress had said they could support immigration reform, but only after
border security improved, Napolitano said.

"Fast forward to today, and many of the benchmarks these members of
Congress set in 2007 have been met," she said in a speech to the Center
for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

She cited construction of 600 miles of border fence and the hiring of
more than 20,000 Border Patrol agents. Illegal immigration has also
fallen sharply because of better enforcement and the economy.

"I've been dealing hands-on with immigration issues since 1993, so
trust me: I know a major shift when I see one, and what I have seen
makes reform far more attainable this time around," Napolitano said.

Congress passed tough immigration enforcement legislation in 2006 that
called for building 700 miles of border fences and barriers. Immigration
critics have said the fence has not been built with double layers as the
law required and is not all fencing.

"How can they claim that enforcement is 'done' when there are more than
400 open miles of border with Mexico, hundreds of thousands of criminal
and fugitive aliens and millions of illegal immigrants taking American
jobs?" said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the House
Judiciary Committee, which oversees immigration and border issues.

Napolitano said the immigration and border security improvements are
not enough. "The laws themselves need to be reformed," she said.

Obama has repeatedly said immigration reform is a priority, although it
has been pushed further down the list as he has taken on the economy and
health care reform.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he would introduce legislation
by early next year. New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, who heads the Senate
Democrats' campaign arm, has said immigration reform must be done by
March or it won't be taken up until after the 2010 elections.

Both the Clinton and Bush administrations were wrong in their approach to North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.  One cannot deal with a dictator who seeks free international aid and money, yet is not trustworthy in any negotiations.   Stop giving any aid to North Korea.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Saturday said North Korea had a stark choice -- to remain a pariah or "chart a new course" - but suggested that the Obama administration would not return to a policy of trying to bribe Pyongyang to stop building nuclear weapons.  The Obama administration is totally correct on stopping aid to this dictator.

Five days after North Korea tested a nuclear device for the second time, Mr. Gates issued a tough warning to the reclusive state, "The choice to continue as a destitute, international pariah, or chart a new course, is North Korea's alone to make," The world is waiting."

The defense secretary said the U.S. would protect itself and its allies if North Korea escalates further. At the same time, he suggested that the Obama administration would not pursue a policy followed by its two predecessors.  North Korean leaders "create a crisis, and then the rest of us pay a price to return to the status-quo ante," he told the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security conference in Singapore organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Mr. Gates referred to steps North Korea took in 2002 and 2003 to expel U.N. inspectors from its main nuclear plant at Yongbyon and begin producing plutonium for atomic weapons after the collapse of a prior agreement with the United States.  In 2007, during six-nation negotiations, Pyongyang agreed to disable the complex in exchange for a series of economic benefits from the U.S. and the four other countries in the talks - South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.

Until 2002, Yongbyon was frozen under the 1994 accord known as the Agreed Framework, which was negotiated after another crisis created by the North, and gave North Korea various economic benefits, including heavy fuel oil and the foundation for two civilian nuclear reactors.

"As the expression goes in the United States, 'I'm tired of buying the same horse twice,' " Mr. Gates said Saturday in an allusion to Yongbyon's freezing or disablement.  The Obama administration has asked Congress for $100 million in economic aid for the communist state as part of the six-party talks in next year's budget, but that money looks unlikely to be spent as North Korea continues a belligerent response to U.S. overtures.

"Clearly, we've taught them bad habits," said Richard Armitage, who was deputy secretary of state from 2001 to 2005 and is also attending the Singapore conference. "They sold Yongbyon to Bill Clinton once, to George Bush twice, and I have no doubt that they will try to sell it to Mr. Obama."

North Korea's bad behavior should not be rewarded and that the US should not be blackmailed.  It is time to be tough with North Korea.  It is time for a total blockade of North Korea.  If this had been accomplished 8 or 16 years ago, we would not have nuclear weapons in North Korea or Iran.

Senator McCain must oppose the Senate Bailout Bill and come up with a new plan that the House Republicans can pass.  In the current form, the Senate Bill is grand larceny of the bank accounts of Americans. 

If Senator McCain wants to win the Presidential election, he must expose the "pork" and be a leader on this issue.  All businessmen are against this bill.  All taxpayers are against this bill.  Put the money in the market for "liquidity", but do not bail out the executives who made the bad decisions.  Senator McCain--wake up, be forceful and lead on this issue.  You are not running for the Senate where you have to get along--you are running for President where you have to lead.

Does anyone remember the RTC?  This government bailout was supposed to be once in a life time rescue of the real estate market.  However, the multi-millionaires on Wall Street now want the American taxpayer to rescue them--again.  The current crisis has been caused by Congress and the financial institutions who have reaped millions of dollars in fees for BAD LOANS.

The massive federal "scheme" ($700 billion and apparently growing) to have taxpayers buy up bad mortgages that is currently being cobbled together by the Bush administration and a bipartisan coalition on Capitol Hill is a terrible idea. It constitutes a large transfer of wealth from the American taxpayer in an effort to revive failed private-sector businesses that should be permitted to fail - something that is essential if a free-market capitalist system is to survive and prosper in the future.