EckerNet.Com

In the 11th hour of his presidency, President Bush finally decided to commute the sentences of two former Border Control Agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.

On his last full day in office, President Bush commuted the controversial sentences of two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a Mexican drug runner in 2005.

The imprisonment of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean had sparked outcry from critics who said the men were just doing their jobs and were punished too harshly. They had been sentenced to 11- and 12-year sentences, respectively.

Their sentences will now expire on March 20 of this year.

It\’s really the least that Bush could do, as these Border Control Agents were simply enforcing the law, something that President Bush didn\’t have the backbone to do.

While it\’s good to see that Bush finally came to his senses regarding these two agents whom never should have been prosecuted to begin with.  It\’s sad to see however, that it took him two years to finally come around to that, and that he didn\’t pardon them.  He just commutted their senses and they still have to stay in jail until March 20th.

With the commution instead of a pardon, President Bush didn\’t even address the side-effects of Ramos and Compean\’s convictions.  Because of their prosecution, we now have a Border Patrol force that is literally afraid to do their jobs, or even return fire when fired upon.  The threat of prosecution for actually controling the border weighs heavily over every action the Border Patrol makes.  A pardon would at least have sent the message that these two didn\’t really do anything wrong, even though it took two years to decide that.

No, instead the miscarriage of justice was simply shortened rather than corrected.  But from President Bush, that\’s about the best we can expect on the border enforcement issue.  What\’s worse it wasn\’t likely to get better, regardless of which candidate won the November election.

[Crossposted at True North]

Israel and Hamas declare a cease-fire…

Israeli troops, some smiling and dancing, began to withdraw from Gaza Sunday after their government and Hamas militants declared an end to a three-week war. But neither side achieved long-term goals, and the burden of consolidating the fragile calm fell to world leaders.

Bottom line…it won\’t last.  Hamas will be launching rockets again within 48 hours.

This is a cease-fire Israel should not have agreed to.  They already had a cease-fire with Hamas, who launched rockets at Israel on a daily basis.  How is this any different?

Israel was making progress.  Killing militants, killing Hamas leaders and not taking significant losses in the process.  Hamas promised to drive Israel out and turn Gaza into a cemetary for Israeli forces…neither happened.  Israel had overwhelming support for the war at home, Arab nations were lukewarm in their opposition to the conflict, and the rest of the world reluctantly acknowledged there were good reasons for it, if not outright supported it.  Conditions are not going to get better than that.

Declaring a ceasefire and negotiating with people that don\’t at least agree to your right to exist is pointless and unfortunately Israeli\’s will pay the price.  This ceasefire will be very temporary.

However, there can be a silver lining for this.  Iran was pushing for this conflict because it needed a distraction from it\’s nuclear weapons program.  And it needed Israel occupied so it could not strike it\’s nuclear weapons facilities.  That distraction no longer exists.

Hamas leaders in the Gaza strip are going to be reluctant to start another conflict with Israel, after seeing many of their fellow leaders fall victim to a mild cause of violet death.  Hamas leaders in Iran are going to be pushing to restart the conflict, using the existance of Jews as an excuse.  How long this ceasefire lasts will depend on how much each group holds sway with the bottom rank of militants.

Like I said above, I\’d wager on less than 48 hours and hope I\’m wrong.

The United States is unique, perhaps, in that in modern history it has never had to deal with a nation failing on it\’s borders.  In it\’s early history, the United States depended on the oceans for protection.  While World War II demonstrated that was no longer possible, and 9/11 confirmed it, we still rely on the oceans to provide us at least a degree of seperation from troubled nations.  Those days are coming to an end, at least if a report from the Defense Department is to be believed.

Mexico is one of two countries that \”bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse,\” according to a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats.

The command\’s \”Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008)\” report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Pakistan on the same level as Mexico. \”In terms of worse-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico.

\”The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and press by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone.\”

This is a big deal for a number of reasons.  Certainly Mexico is an important trade partner as well as a stable presence in Central American.  But more importantly a failed state on our 2000 mile southern border creates a huge national security risk of such weight we haven\’t faced before.

Certainly it raises the importance of security on our southern border.  While the threat of invasion isn\’t likely, the threat of massive influx of refugees is.  More dangerous will be the anarchy that will rule afterwards, in which drug lords and terrorists would hold sway and undoubtably try to push their way into the southern United States.

Suddenly the value of border control obstacles and personnel take on added importance as they would begin to serve a dual role.  A fence would still act as a force multiplier and an effective barrier, much as it has for Israel, which has forced Palestinians to lob rockets rather then send suicide bombers.  Military forces on the border would likely become a critical component of national security, rather than a stop-gap measure to temporarily bolster our Border Control forces.  In the face of such uncertainty and potential threats, we need more security rather than less

In the context of all this, Democrats are seeking to kill further construction of the fence, and in some cases are even advocating that parts of it be torn down.  Some things never really do change, regardless of who is President.

I\’m very reluctant to say this, as I am fully expectant of shock, bewilderment but hopefully not outrage.  I believe I may be the only conservative on the planet that does NOT watch \”24\”.  In fact, I\’ve never watched a single episode.

To pre-emptively answer questions likely to otherwise get left in comments:

Q: Seriously?
A: No seriously, never watched an episode, not a single minute. I also have never watched a single episode of either Sopranos or American Idol, the latter due to an extreme case of absolute disinterest.

Q: Why the hell not?!??
A: Well, I don\’t watch a whole lot of TV to be honest.  My DVR primarily records new episodes of House, Mythbusters, Deadliest Catch and South Park.   Granted the TV is usually tuned to either the History Channel or the Discovery Channel as background noise.  Lately though, their half-assed attempts to convince me that man-made global-warming is real is starting to grate me so often enough, the TV is just off.  Oh….plus MN Wild/Vikings games….

Q: Well why not record 24 as well?!?!?
A: Well, by the time I\’d even heard of the show, it was about 47 seasons ago, so it seems a little silly to record it on now.  Plus it\’s a bit embarrassing but I actually don\’t even really know what channel/time it\’s on either.

Ok so now that we got that out of the way, here\’s the deal.  Since virtually everyone I know seems obsessed with the show and I think they are on episode 368495 by now, I figure it\’s either really good, or they are secretly injecting crack into your veins via television.  Either way, I\’m finally curious.

But like I said, it seems silly to start watching now, but I\’m willing to at least give the show a shot before I continue my current opinion that there are infinitely better things for me to do with my time.  So does anyone own a copy of the first season or two of \”24\” on DVD and would be willing to loan it to me?

Then I can satisfy my curiousity and then continue pitying everyone and I won\’t have to spend any money to do it.

Let me know in the comments.

Found a rather interesting article complaining about the Presidential Inauguration

In Sunday\’s New York Times, John Tierney examined the delicate balancing act administrations face when throwing a lavish inauguration celebration against the backdrop of unsettling world events. Tierney wrote that inaugurations \”become even trickier during times of war, particularly when television images of dancers in black tie can be instantly juxtaposed with soldiers in body armor.\”

Tierney must be confusing the D.C. press corps as it might be expected to function — posing uncomfortable questions to those in power — with the press corps that exists in Washington today. Because the notion that the television networks or 24-hour news channels would spend their inauguration coverage contrasting the scenes of wealthy corporate donors toasting the president while young soldiers and middle-aged Guardsmen battle in Iraq is wildly naive. During the nearly 24 months of war coverage of Iraq, many American news outlets have remained steadfastly allergic to relaying disturbing images of war, particularly anything that shows Americans being wounded or killed. So the idea that broadcast journalists would use this celebration, of all things, as a time to press President Obama on Iraq simply does not reflect the modus operandi of today\’s mainstream media.

It continues citing some of the specific costs:

And it might have been helpful in the limited media debate that did take place about the inauguration\’s costs to point out that if the $40 million to $50 million raised for the Democrat\’s parties had been donated to the war effort, as some have suggested, the money would have covered only about six hours of the U.S. military\’s operations in Iraq. (Costs are running roughly $110,000 per minute there.)

I got a confession….I modified the above slightly, by substituting \”Obama\” for \”Bush\”.  This was an article originally written in 2005 complaining about the $40 million dollar price tag for Bush\’s inauguration.  It\’s odd you\’re not seeing the same outcry over Obama\’s $160 million inauguration price tag.

Nobody is complaining about the type of message a posh and extravagant ceremony is going to look contrasted against people losing their jobs and defaulting on their homes.  Nobody is asking how much better that money could be put to use in helping cover deficit spending.

It\’s amazing how much of a difference Hope&Change makes.  When Bush does it, it\’s terrible and selfish.  When His Holiness does the same thing, except four times worse, then it\’s okay.  Just making sure I understand the new rules.

…and it shows some rather interesting things about their tactics.

“The [immigration] bill will not flood our cities with immigrants. It will not upset the ethnic mix of our society. It will not relax the standards of admission. It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs.”
- Ted Kennedy, 1965

“This amnesty will give citizenship to only 1.1 to 1.3 million illegal aliens. We will secure the borders henceforth. We will never again bring forward another amnesty bill like this.”
- Ted Kennedy, 1986

“Now it is time for action. 2007 is the year we must fix our broken system.”
- Ted Kennedy, 2007

Blah.  I think I still have burnout syndrome from the last election so it\’s hard getting into gear every week.  So bear with my laziness and just read the links I\’ve decided are cool.

This is just golden.  Enviromentalists get all uppity about what they claim is some illegal logging in a nature preserve in Poland.  They demand justice.  Then police find the culprit.  Hint…he\’s short, furry, big teeth, big tail and his name is synonomous with female genitalia.

NOOOOO!!!!!  Ok now they\’ve gone too far!!  I can stand stock portfolios falling.  I can tolerate relatively high unemployment.  I can even overlook homelessness.  But what I absolutely refuse to accept is when the demand for breast implants starts falling because it\’s a luxury they can\’t afford.  I demand a bailout!!!  Just you try looking a boobie in the face….er, nipple and tell me you don\’t want to see more of them.

The Chinese have invented a new type of toilet for their space flights…..this one goes right up your ass.  Now they CLAIM it doesn\’t hurt.  But having looked at the thing I\’m left with two possibilities.  Either they are flat out lying, or the Chinese routinely stick large obtrusive crap up their rectums on a daily basis.

Ok now I\’ve covered at least one link for every \”naughty\” bit of anatomy….moving on…

Want a 2009 calendar that harkins back to the old WWII era posters of pin-up gals??  Plus it goes towards a good cause.  So buy one today!  And then buy one for a wounded vet!

Obama claims He\’s going to outlaw pork.  Captain Ed makes the correct observation that as President, Obama doesn\’t have the legal ability to do that.  More importantly I think is that the party in control never wants to get rid of pork, because when they are in control they get THEIR pork.  So that pork don\’t fly in my eyes.  More than likely the Democrats are looking to create new rules that hides their pork but allows them to flaunt any pork Republicans try to go for.

As some know, I have a MN Firearm Carry permit (and also New Hampshire…Utah to be coming soon).  Some have asked me why I carry and toss out all sorts of the standard objections.  Which I\’m sure to their uneducated mind sound rather intelligent (hint: they\’re not), so I had planned on writing up something that boils down the explanations I\’ve had to several times.  Fortunately, someone has kinda done it already.  Doesn\’t touch on every issues I would mention (so I may do my own in the future) but he also touches on several issues I generally skip.

The funds to prop up ethanol production are running low, article makes that sounds like it\’s a bad thing.

Good news, the US deported 46% more illegals in 2008 than in 2007.  Finish the fence, and a few more years of this rate of deportation and suddenly that old (and stupid) argument that you \”can\’t deport all 12 million\” is rendered moot.

Speaking of the fence, here\’s a link to a map of where the fence has been completed and where it hasn\’t.  Unfortunately what they don\’t show is where that \”fence\” is a simple barbed wire fence more suitable for cattle ranches than the \”Israeli-style\” fence that was promised and intended by Congress.  I\’ve seen plenty of anecdotal evidence that more of it is the former than the latter.

Although one thing that doesn\’t help the immigration problem is when border enforcement agents are too afraid of criminal charges to do their job, or even return fire when under attack.

Still don\’t understand why Congress and/or Obama/Bush feel the need to do something to stimulate the economy.  Really the best thing they could do is either sit down and shut up, or else slash tax rates across the board.  I suppose the historical evidence that government intervention has never helped a recession/depression isn\’t concrete enough for them.

The 100,000th business has signed up to use the E-Verify program, and by the end of this week federal contractors are also required to use it….which of course means Congress should kill it right??

Good to know…Obama\’s pick for Department of Education Secretary has a success rate of 17%.  Now I went to a public school so I\’m not so good with the book learning but I think that means there are a lot of kids that can\’t read.

Obama learns the job isn\’t so easy now that He actually has to show results in an intelligent fashion.  And here I thought He was part of the reality based community.

Ok, even as partisan as I am, it\’s pretty unfair to call the Obama Presidency a failed Presidency when he…you know hasn\’t even taken office yet.  But apparently the New York Times doesn\’t think so.  Yeah, you heard that right…the Grey Lady….the chief Democrat propagandist….is already worrying about Obama being a one term president.

Death row inmate rips out his own eye and eats it.  Huh….kinda makes one wonder what his requested last meal is gonna be.  Yeah and before you scream at me for being insensitive, let\’s remember what he\’s on death row for.  He killed his wife, her daughter, and their son and then ripped out their hearts.  I suggest instead of lethal injection, have him cut out his own heart.

…to watch your wallets.

It\’s that time of year again! The politicians are back to work.

Our state legislature is back in session, with new legislators taking their oaths earlier this week. Now they begin to deal with the $5 billion dollar deficit that Minnesota faces. And it will be an interesting battle since the DFL is apparently unwilling to make any sacrifices themselves….no, that\’s just something the common folk do.

But even worse….our Congress critters are in session as well. And while it\’s amusing to watch the drama that is Franken vs Coleman and Blagovich/Burris vs Everyone, it\’s also serious. With Obama ready to let the US run over a trillion dollar deficit, it suddenly makes Minnesota\’s troubles look petty.

But the drama doesn\’t stop there. On the first day of the 111th Congress, over 400 pieces of legislation were introduced. Some of them mundane and routine, others…..not so much.

H.J.RES.1: Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
I applaud the effort, but with his Holiness already talking trillion dollar deficits, it seems a bit unlikely to happen.

H.J.RES.5: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.
The author Rep. Jose Serrano must be a big Obama fan and is already setting him up to be declared King-For-Life. Just when I thought we were getting over the dynastic presidential politics we\’ve been stuck in for the last couple decades.

H.J.RES.7: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution to provide for a balanced budget for the United States Government and for greater accountability in the enactment of tax legislation.
There were actually quite a few of these. There were also a lot preventing the automatic pay raise that our Congress critters get. Once again, I applaud the effort

H.R.19: To require employers to conduct employment eligibility verification.
Baby steps….in a week all federal contractors are required to use E-Verify, and already 100,000 businesses are using it. This is the next logical step….it\’s that L word that\’s the reason it hasn\’t a chance in hell of passing Congress.

H.R.24: To redesignate the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Well this is just gonna piss off a certain Marine I know who loves to say that \”Yeah, the Marines are a department of the Navy…..the Men\’s Department\”.
Psst, CC, send your complaints to Rep. Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3]

H.R.25: To promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.
Abolishing the IRS… God bless you sir!! Although I\’m not sure I like the administered by the states part. I\’m already paying out my ears for a \”better Minnesota\”, I don\’t think I can afford the whole country as well.

H.R.39: To preserve the Arctic coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, as wilderness in recognition of its extraordinary natural ecosystems and for the permanent good of present and future generations of Americans.
Declare ANWR off limits? Sure!! After all, no need to drill further. It\’s not like gas prices will ever go up ever again. That whole supply vs demand thing is just a myth!!

H.R.48: To amend section 42 of title 18, United States Code, popularly known as the Lacey Act, to add certain species of carp to the list of injurious species that are prohibited from being imported or shipped.
Well the economy is going to hell. We\’re still at war. Terrorists are everywhere. Iran damn near has the bomb. Tom Cruise is making movies again. But heh, at least we got that carp thing figured out right?? We\’re making possession of carp a felony offense….God bless America!

H.R.73: To provide for the collection of data on traffic stops.
Rep Sheila Jackson-Lee is still on her racial profiling kick. Everyone say it with me….\”Aaaaaah, isn\’t she cute!\”. Heh, at least I wasn\’t being racist! At the very least, at least Rep. Jackson has given up her search for the flag Neil Armstrong planted on Mars……no, seriously.

H.R.157: To provide for the treatment of the District of Columbia as a Congressional district for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives, and for other purposes.
Proposed by the non-voting delegate from DC…..everyone say it with me….\”Aaaaah, isn\’t he cute!\”. See now it\’s not sexist! Wait…..it\’s a woman?? Seriously? Wow, I mean I guess I looked at the picture and just figured. Well shucks….sorry, my bad.
Either way I can just imagine her stamping her feet on the house floor, whining that she wants to join the club.

H.R.201: To provide that no automatic pay adjustment for Members of Congress shall be made in the year following a fiscal year in which there is a Federal budget deficit.
I think every member of Congress proposed a variation of these. That\’s gonna be a fun conference committee.

H.R.226: To prevent the Federal Communications Commission from repromulgating the fairness doctrine.
Even Obama has suggested he\’s not going for this but never hurts to be sure.

H.R.257: To prevent children\’s access to firearms.
Oh I see!! I didn\’t realize it was that simple!! If we have a law saying don\’t do it, then it won\’t happen!! Oh it makes perfect sense!!! Too bad we don\’t do that with things like murder, rape, robbery, assault, etc. Actually it\’s just Rep Sheila Jackson-Lee off her racial profiling kick and now on her \”guns are evil!\” kick.

S.J.RES.1: A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to limiting the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve.
But if they can\’t serve in Congress, what else are they gonna do? Who the hell is going to hire an ego-driven drooling moron for any other job??

S.6: A bill to restore and enhance the national security of the United States.
It\’s amusing this was proposed by Senator Harry Reid. Yeah the guy that declared that the war in Iraq is lost and The Surge© has failed wants to lecture the rest of us on how to keep America safe. See what I mean about ego-driven drooling morons?? Seriously, not even McDonalds would hire this guy!

S.38: A bill to establish a United States Boxing Commission to administer the Act, and for other purposes.
Because with all our nations problems, the one that really stands out is the state of boxing. This one was proposed by John McCain, which kinda makes you wonder. Was this one of his big agenda items if he had been elected President?

Oh and there were approximately one metric shit ton of bills on immigration….from both sides of the issue. Kinda making me re-think my prediction that immigration would not become a huge issue this session.