Mexican drug cartel setting up camps in AZ..

[Blades4me]

LOL, it seems we no longer have a 2 party system, but rather one party with 2 right wings. Persoanlly I don't think politicians could get any more impotent. But they alway amaze me at how low they can set the bar.

[pxc]

Outwardly, yes, but from 1978 to 2005, Republican presidents actually increased the size of the government more than Democratic ones.

Can't go based strictly on numbers. Some of the promises kept/broken are more important/have bigger impact than others. The one about no new taxation on families making less than $250K makes him look pretty bad.

[J_Bone]

WOW. America is so mis guided and wrongfully represented by the media that everyone thinks they know what they are talking about on issues that are so far geographic and from the truth. It's evident America believes the lies they are told every day and don't have the aptitude to find the truth.

I have lived and have interest in 3 of the 4 boarder states and have lived this issue of concern my whole life. I hope some day it will effect your life and family. I see the majority of you reside far from the area and have no idea of what is really going on here. Then maybe you too will have your eyes opened.

[golfro]

WOW. America is so mis guided and wrongfully represented by the media that everyone thinks they know what they are talking about on issues that are so far geographic and from the truth. It's evident America believes the lies they are told every day and don't have the aptitude to find the truth.

do elaborate, instead of just writing a generic rant and saying people have no idea.

[VinoGolfer]

Wow, not sure I want to venture into this thread given the level of partisanship on display, coupled with the (I'm sorry) rather low level of logical discourse. However, as my location line should show you (unless you are Milwaukee county supervisor!), I live about 60 miles from Mexico. I also live near the Tohono-Oodham Indian reservation, which is huge and also straddles the border, which creates it as a corridor for both human and drug smuggling and rarely gets mentioned in the national coverage. Basically, what you folks thousands of miles away hear about after being filtered through various media outlets, I live every day.

The long and short of it is I would like to see our borders secured. Life in Tucson is fantastic but you do have to accept certain realities. One of them is, if you are an outdoor person, you do not head to certain areas unarmed or alone. If you are into hiking, trail riding your horse(s), moutain biking, or off roading (all of which are hugely popular here) there are areas you have to beware of things. South and east of Tucson, in the Redington Pass area, there are actually signs indicating you are in danger. I can't remember whether they suggest being armed or not. Oh, please know, I am not a gun nut. I'm not a hunter, etc. It's just a tool and a rather uncomfortable tool to own at that.

However, the US needs more immigration, not less. Not only does the US lack homegrown talent in many skilled areas, like engineering, computers/tech, healthcare (think nurses, PT, OTs, etc), with the Boomers about to suck dry all of our social programs, we need an influx of people contributing to the tax base. We are sunk without more immgrants that have skills and even some of those without skills. This fact doesn't mean that the border is not totally porous and that while life here in the border area is fantastic, that the current state of affairs does not impact life here.

Sadly, this argument has become so partisan, both in this thread and on the national scene, it is highly unlikely an intelligent plan that will secure the border and benefit the US through increased and rational immigration will occur.

[mtsalmela80]

I personally love how people in NY are always ready to tell people in Texas and Arizona how to handle the illegal alien problem haha.

[Fatphil]

FEMA = "FIND EVERY MEXCIAN AVAILABLE"

Man those SOB's can build anything!

[Colinb913]

personally, I think the government (national) should concentrate more on the war, the economy, and job loss. the local law enforcement agencies, and DEA, should concentrate on the border. I love politics, all the fighting. Hence my short post. :)

[ghalfaire]

I really tried hard to not respond to this thread. But living in AZ all my life (except for a few years served in the World's largest canoe club) I just can't leave this topic alone. Let me start with this isn't a Republican or Democrat problem, it is a problem of our Government over a period of many years now not protecting it's citizens, which is exactly why the Government was created in the first place. Did you know that 3 of Arizona's southern counties are posted as being not safe and citizens are advised not to travel off road because of drug cartel activity? Did you know that in the Eighties the Government passed a "comprehensive immigration" bill that gave amnesty to all illegal aliens and was supposed to secure the border too. But like a lot of things politicians promise, the border wasn't secured. At that time it was estimated that there were 2 million illegal aliens in OUR country, now there is an estimated 20 million. Did you know that there have been several of our peace officers killed, wounded, and threatened by the drug cartels to harm their families? Did you know that hundreds of our citizens are victims of ID theft, rape, kidnap, murder, ect. at the hands of illegal aliens (some of which had criminal recored in their native land)? Did you know that the drug cartel, never missing an opportunity to abuse the poor, now control all the "trade route" in Arizona and charge people to use them (about $2500/person). If you don't pay you get killed if you try to cross. But if you can't afford the ticket you can work it off by carrying illegal drugs on your back into the U.S. Of course the cartel will supply armed escorts for these human caravans as part of your ticket into the U.S. (these armed escorts recently shot a Deputy Sheriff in Pinal county and killed a rancher along the southern border). Did you know that if these Illegal Aliens have an "anchor baby" that it qualifies for assistance (your tax money)? Illegal aliens also can use any emergency room, which by law cannot turn anyone away, courtesy of the taxpayer. The Idea that illegal aliens contribute to our economy by the taxes they pay is a joke. Most get paid under the table in cash and those that manage to steal someone's ID so they an work make minimum wages or less if their employer knows they are illegal. Much of the income they do make goes back to their families in their native country and is not spent in the USA.

I could go on awhile about the problems here in AZ due directly to illegal immigration. Maybe the worst one is that Osama (not Obama) and his buddies know that our border is porous and it is just a matter of time before someone with the proper equipment to do grave harm to the USA will enter the country and do that harm (not necessarily in AZ either). To me this is a greater and more imminent threat to the County than Iraq or Afghanistan. So I ask those of you that think of this problem in political terms to revise you view and think like an American and show some empathy/sympathy with your fellow citizens on the Southern border. This has nothing to do with liberal, conservative, Republican, Democrat or other monikers that folks hang on one another, it has to do with United States security and independence. If you are a citizen of the United States of America you should be concerned with a Government that seems unconcerned with your security.

[NormH3]

Another interesting piece of information I recently heard was that a large percentage of births at Parkland Hospital in Dallas (where JFK was pronounced dead) were of illegal aliens. Did a little snoping and found this. Unbelieveable.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/parkland.asp