Tom Tancredo the man who should be President.

I watched a speech given the other day by Tom Tancredo to some people in New Hampshire. While the mainstream media runs after the Clinton, Obama, McCain bandwagons it is candidates like Tancredo who speak honestly for the American people and the country. I'm a registered Democrat but, I have respect a Republican like Tancredo for speaking truthfully as this speech in New Hampshire shows. That's what this country needs. Turn off the cable news channels and watch this speech unvarnished by the mainstream media spin. A little truth and honesty won't hurt you.

IMAGE vs. reality on illegal immigration

One of the biggest problems regarding illegal immigration is the businesses that continually hire the illegals. In some cases business hire illegals who produce identification that is fraudulent because it is an American citizens identity.
The Federal Government has embarked on a new program called IMAGE where companies can volunteer to participate in more stringent inspection of all it's employees and the legality of their documents. In exchange for the businesses knowing the legal status the government will not conduct sweeping raids of a company's facilities only those workers who supply fraudulent documents are effected.
Still Some businesses like Smithfield Packing Co still don't seem get it as this quote shows:

"This is terrible for everyone, us, the employees, their families," said Dennis Pittman, a company spokesman. "It's heart-wrenching. These are our better people. These are folks who have been with us seven, eight, nine years. They are good people. People have been in tears. Fifty or so people have quit."

How about the American customers who have had their identity stolen by your illegal immigrant employees Mr. Pittman? Is that not terrible? Or does not concern the company? Some companies just don't get it! Our immigration laws need to be enforced. Period! End of story. Companies have to understand that they need to hire people who are in this country legally to work, who pay taxes, and obey U.S laws just like their customers do.

Eh tu. BBC?

I usually watch the BBC News here in Washington D.C. at 10 p.m. I have always felt that it covered more international news and had in depth stories severely lacking in the U.S. media. Last night the Beeb newscast spent several minutes on the story of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty winning the "reality" show Celebrity Big Brother. While I am use to the vapid mainstream U.S. media covering such non news. I was disappointed to see the BBC sink to such levels and allow such non important crap news take up precious airtime.

The Libby Trial & Little Miss Run Amuck

Things should be heating up in Washington this week in the Scooter Libby trial. I can't wait to see what neo con cheerleader and former New York Times reporter Judy Miller aka "little miss run amuck" has to say on the stand. After the way she helped Libby cover his tracks.

Krauthammer is half right.

It was 8 degrees Fahrenheit outside of Rancho de BCP here on Long Island this morning. It is cold but, a reality check of the calender shows that it is winter. Of course energy is on my mind today. Energy is also on the mind that neo-con thinker Charles Krauthammer in his column in the Washington Post today too.
Krauthammer has it half right. He calls for a tax on gasoline to raise it to about $4.00 which would help to discourage Americans buying over sized gas guzzeling SUV's as they make trips to go get milk or the visit to the mall. Maybe then there would be less American blood being spilled in places like Iraq in order to make sure there is no oil left behind for America's oil guzzling bender. One of the areas where Krauthammer fails is in his promotion of nuclear power, Krauthammer obviously has not read the memo. But, also more importantly Krauthammer makes no mention of one of the most abundant energy sources on earth and that is solar and wind. Conservatives like Krauthammer always seem to forget about these energy sources even though probably it is the most renewable resource as the sun comes up every morning. Perhaps another reason is because once solar takes hold there won't be a continuing revenue stream for their cronies in the corporate offices.

Unlike U.S. energy policy Rancho de BCP uses a variety of sources to heat it's interior. When I wake up I open the blinds to allow the east facing windows to let in the warm morning sun to allow some of that free energy to start the heating up the house. Today, because of the low temperature after I started making the coffee I lit a fire in the fireplace. The fireplace is actually a cast iron Franklin stove centrally located in the house that radiates heat to the living room and up stairs rooms. It is fueled by the tree limbs and wood gathered over the year from the quarter acre rancho de BCP. It is also fueled by the paper junk mail, newspapers that come in the mailbox. Those tree limbs and junk mail never end up in the local landfill they are put to use adding BTU's to the house which also keeps dollars in my wallet.

After the fireplace and morning sun have taken care of the early morning warm up. The two hot water solar panels I installed back in the mid eighties take over and through my conversion scheme actually pumps air heated of about 90 to 115 degrees into the house. Only after all these energy sources have done all they could do I turn to natural gas for heating. There are still plenty of energy improvements I need to make to make things even more efficient that allow me to tell the energy companies to shove it and I am not waiting for the Federal government to help me do them.

And the problem is?

The Washington Post on Monday had an article on the push by some pro-illegal immigrant groups to push the Democrats toward some type of immigration bill in their favor. They see problems like:

"Pressure to allow in more workers has been mounting since Congress passed a law in September to fund hundreds of miles of new fences along the border with Mexico and a series of raids against illegal workers last month by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security."

And the problem is? With a border crackdown and the Federal Government actually starting to protect our borders businesses are beginning to realize that the unlimited hiring of illegal workers may be coming to an end and that they will FINALLY need to obey the law like many middle class taxpayers do. That's not a problem that's part of the solution.

"On January 8, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Hispanic Federation asked Democratic leaders to take action on immigration within 100 days, saying the raids "stirred further emotion and fear" in the Hispanic communities."

And the problem is? If you have broken the law as the illegal immigrants have done by entering this country illegally and therefore continually violate our laws you should be in fear because you know you have broken the law. That's not a problem. Fear for those who break the law is a good motivator to actually stop breaking the law and do things legally. That's part of the solution to illegal immigration.

Now this is a problem:

"ACLU lawyers said the lawsuit, for which they seek class-action status, is the first to argue that illegal immigrants should be treated better than convicted criminals or pretrial inmates because they are held on civil-administrative, not criminal, grounds."

Memo to the ACLU: When a person enters the United States illegally they have broken U.S. immigration laws. Criminal illegal immigrants are not supposed to be treated better than other criminals. The problem here is that the American Civil Liberties Union needs to change it's name to the Aliens Civil Liberties Union.


BCP
http://www.cafepress.com/beercanpolitics

The State of the Union.

I was traveling back to Long Island from Washington last night during President Bush State of the Union speech last night and did not hear it. But, looking at the transcript this morning a few things caught my eye.

"So let us work together to reform the budget process, expose every earmark to the light of day and to a vote in Congress, and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in half by the end of this session."

How about eliminating all earmarks not just half of them by doing that you also eliminate the cost at the same time.

"Changing the tax code is a vital and necessary step to making health care affordable for more Americans.

Hmmm... Health care and taxes are related? Maybe American will get healthier by eliminating all taxes. Health care is made affordable by reducing the cost of health care not by changing the tax code!

"We need to reduce costs and medical errors with better information technology."

Like what? A multibillion dollar federal database that contains the medical records of every American? I thought the NSA, CIA and FBI was doing that already. I have a better idea give each patient an SD memory card that they can keep in their wallets that contains all their medical records. They can keep their records private or give it out to whichever medical personal the person wants, The Federal Government is not involved. I get my SD cards at Best Buys and don't need the Federal Government to give me one.

"Extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration system worthy of America, with laws that are fair and borders that are secure. When laws and borders are routinely violated, this harms the interests of our country."

Hey George how about telling that to the guys standing on our neighborhood street corners who have traveled over 1500 miles from the Mexican border. Better yet tell ICE to start rounding these people up because as you said they harm the interests of our country (and add additional cost local middle class tax payers) You can start with the illegal immigrant deportation fugitive Elvira Arellano who is hiding in plain sight in Chicago.

"We will enforce our immigration laws at the work site, and give employers the tools to verify the legal status of their workers so there is no excuse left for violating the law."

Why start now? You have failed to do any meaningful workplace enforcement in six years though that is the current law. When does a business have any excuse for violating the law? Perhaps you should allow the public to refuse to pay for any products or restaurant bills where the company or restaurant employs illegal immigrants. That would be much more effective than anything you have done in your six years in office.

"We need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country, without animosity and without amnesty."

How about this for a fair and easily understood policy :

NO RESPECT FOR THOSE WHO DON'T RESPECT OUR LAWS

"We must continue changing the way America generates electric power by even greater use of clean-coal technology; solar and wind energy; and clean, safe nuclear power."

George if you've ever dealt with coal and nuclear you would know neither is clean and in the case of nuclear you need to put the word lethal before it. How else do you explain the reason for burying the waste generated by the nuclear industry deep inside a mountain in Nevada. And before you use the word "safe" before you mention nuclear power again please read the memo!

Knock my socks off?

The White House spinmeisters have been promoting that the President Bush's State of the Union speech tonight will "knock our socks off" Yeah right! As always it's easy for Bush to talk but, many times he does not do the walk. Remember this line from last years State of the Union:

"America is addicted to oil."

Really, George? Now what has been done by you in the past year to correct that?

The White House is also talking that the speech will address issues like immigration. here's an idea George, how about about enforcing the laws already on the books.

Then there is education where where he is supposed to extend the No Child Left Behind program to high schools. Great just what the middle class taxpayer needs. A new Federal program put forward by the bumbler in chief that will raise our local school taxes even more.

Though perhaps President Bush will mention something about Iraq tonight. Something bold and dramatic like renaming the country FUBAR.

What's in store?

I have not been blogging for the past few days because I have been busy setting up the BEER CAN POLITICS online store: http://www.cafepress.com/beercanpolitics. It's not that there has been anything to blog about it's was just time consuming to learn all the intricacies of jpeg an .png graphics files. Not to mention getting software to make and/or convert such files. Then of course when I was ready to start blogging BLOGGER was not allowing access. And then work gets in the way too. What's a blogger to do but sign on another day. Anyway, please drop by the store http://www.cafepress.com/beercanpolitics for "clothes and items with a message". And drop by hereat Beer Can Politics as I warm up the keyboard from D.C.

Strange things are happening.

The U.S. Attorney for San Diego Carol Lam has resigned. It seems she did not jump she was pushed. Lam was the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the corrupt criminal Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Who received millions of dollars in bribes from military defense contractors.
What is really interesting are the comments from a Republican Congressman in California named Darrell Issa. Here is some background:

"In a Tuesday phone interview from his Washington office, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, said Lam was asked to step down. Issa declined to name the source of the information, but said "it was a high-ranking administration official involved in the decision process."

Hmmm... What really made me laugh was Issa's past criticism of Lam:

"For years, Issa has been critical of Lam for what he said was her failure to more aggressively prosecute illegal-immigrant smugglers."And I have had one-on-one conversations with Ms. Lam, urging her to be more aware of the policy priority that the president has given," he said, referring to Bush's promises to secure the nation's borders."

"In an October 2005 letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, for example, Issa blasted Lam's office for failing to prosecute two cases of smugglers who were repeat offenders. In the letter, Issa called her failure to do so the result of "lax prosecutorial standard."

This is hysterical. Apparently, this idiot Issa does not have a clue that the failure to prosecute illegal immigrant smugglers let alone illegal immigrants starts with the policies of George W. Bush and his legal water boy and Attorney General Alberto R(aza) Gonzales. Who are both failing to secure our nations borders and continue to allow illegal immigrants to roam around our country with impunity. They are the ones who should be resigning!

Hey is this rug moving?

Hey middle class boomers get ready to land on your butts as talk in Washington moves to the deficit. The Washington Post has an article on the plans and they will be coming for your Social Security, here is the some of the money quotes:

"The government is living far beyond its means, he said, and if not for excess cash in the Social Security trust fund, it would be recording deficits on a magnitude not seen since the recession of the early 1990s. Take away the Social Security money, and the deficit would have been $434 billion last year, about 3.3 percent of GDP, which rose 6 percent in 2005, compared with 2004."

And then there is this red flag:

"I'm quite sure they want to get the word out about entitlements and educate the public. This could be a new way of putting Social Security and Medicare at the top of the agenda,"

You add this up with Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy and Republican John McCain's amnesty plan for the illegal immigrants to be able get Social Security benefits even if they used identity theft to get a Social Security card and you cab pretty much kiss your Social Security good bye.

An American Injustice!

There were rallies today in support of two U.S. Border agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos who are to report to jail this Thursday. I could not attend any of the rallies but I had this sign as I drove from Long Island to Washington D.C.:

It can really turn your stomach to see how our Federal Government can persecute these two Border Patrol Agents who were pursuing a drug dealer who crossed the U.S. border. Meanwhile, President Bush used his pardon powers for:

"Pardons For Drug Dealers, Jail For Border Patrol Agents
President George W. Bush has pardoned 14 criminals, including several drug dealers and a man convicted for bombing a coal mine, but he refused to pardon two U.S. Border Patrol agents sentenced to prison for intercepting an illegal immigrant drug smuggler at the Texas-Mexico border last year. "

http://www.corruptionchronicles.com/2007/01/pardons_for_drug_dealers_jail.html

Democrats cave and leave taxpayers in the dark.

So much for changing things in Washington as the Democrats cave into the Pharmaceutical lobby. As usual the taxpayers wallets will be the ones who suffer. Here are some of the money quotes from the Washington Post article:

"To strengthen their position, drug firms and their trade groups have been transforming their Washington operations by hiring top Democratic lobbyists to gain access to new committee chairmen, bolstering Democratic political donations and spending millions on public relations campaigns to overcome an image, indicated in recent surveys, that the industry puts profits ahead of patients.".

How does this happen? Senator Charles Grassley explains it very simply:

"You can hardly swing a cat by the tail in Washington without hitting a pharmaceutical lobbyist," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), a key sponsor of the 2003 legislation that created the current program."

And that is the problem Senator! Instead of swinging dead cats our elected politicians need to be swinging baseball bats! Maybe then there would be a few less lobbyists and better legislation for us taxpayers who pay the bills.

Welcome to Operation F.U.B.A.R!

I don't think anybody said it better than Sen. Chuck Hagel Republican Senator from Nebraska:

The criticism and tough questioning was not limited to Democrats on the committee. Hagel, a Vietnam veteran, said sending more troops to quell what he called an "out-of-control" civil war was both morally and tactically wrong.
"This speech given last night by this president represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, if it's carried out,"-Washington Post

Welcome to Operation F.U.B.A.R!

Knee deep in the big muddy!

The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment No man will be able to swim."

"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"The Captain said to him."

All we need is a little determination;Men, follow me, I'll lead on."

We were -- neck deep in the Big Muddy And the big fool said to push on.

-Knee Deep in the Big Muddy

Pete Seeger

Washington Post Headline:

"Bush Works To Rally Support for Iraq 'Surge'"

George Bush the blundering, decider President has decided that 20,000 troops may be enough to turn around Baghdad and Iraq. He keeps forgetting that our military is designed to blow things up and kill people. The last thing the United States needs to do at this point is to blow more things up and kill more people unless he wants to create more enemies for us. If these new troops are not going their to blow things up and kill people they will be used as Police men and military troops make bad police men.

Biden passed the first BCP test

I ran into Delaware Senator Joe Biden recently who just announced on Meet the Press he plans to be running for President in 08. My girlfriend and I have always liked Joe Biden who I always thought would be a good guy to sit down with a beer in a bar and discuss politics. But, I never met him personally. I'm am happy to say he at least passed the BCP handshake test. Solid, warm and strong. Unlike Barack Obama whose handshake felt like he had not lifted anything heavier than a piece of paper his whole life. So BCP is giving Biden the thumbs up for now.

ILLEGALS R US

The corporate weasels at TOYS R US are despicable. They had a contest to give a $25,000 Savings Bond to the first baby born in the UNITED STATES after midnight on January 1, 2007.

"according to the official rules, the mother must be a legal U.S. resident."

Guess what?

"the prize instead was awarded to the runner-up - Jayden Swain, born 19 seconds after midnight at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Ga. - after the contest administrator was told that Yuki's mother "was not a legal resident of the United States."

Here is the weaselly response from Toys R Us:

"We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy. As a result, we have decided to award all three babies in the grand prize pool a $25,000 savings bond."

Oh yeah the third baby in the running was born in Bay Shore, N.Y., to a couple from El Salvador.

Don't even ask about that that situation!

HEY PELOSI, REID & BUSH FORGET IRAQ

While all the mainstream media buzz is on the speculation whether George Bush will call for a surge of troops for Baghdad. An incident occurred in the Unites States where National Guard troops where over run by invaders from Mexico. Most of the major national media ignored this story when it happened last Wednesday even though it should have been viewed as a major National Security concern. While idiot politicians like President Bush, John McCain, Ted Kennedy, Flake, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and my congressman Tim Bishop continue to call for amnesty for the illegal immigrants National Guard troops are being over run by drug dealers and paramilitary organizations on our own borders. Who is in control? Certainly not the U.S. Government. When are those in Washington going to get serious about protecting the U.S. borders. It's pretty serious situation when the U.S. government is not in control of it's own borders let alone Baghdad.

Who's delusional?

From today's Washington Post:

"The late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist took a powerful sedative during his first decade on the Supreme Court and grew so dependent on it that he became delusional and tried to escape from a hospital in his pajamas when he stopped taking the drug in 1981, according to newly released FBI files. "

Delusional eh? Maybe the Democrats should open up an investigation into what's in the Whitehouse medicine cabinet.

Illegal immigration and turberculosis both on the rise.

There was a recent report on the BBC about the rise of tuberculosis the one disease in the United States where Police can forcibily bring people in for treatment. The BBC unlike the mainstream U.S. media actually points to the cause of the problem which is the increased amount of illegal immigration into the U.S.
But, even the BBC report has some bias in it and drops some important facts. It says the immigrants who are treated for tuberculosis are treated for free. That may be. But, you know someone is paying for the treatment (including private hospital rooms) and that of course is the taxpayers.

This land is?

I was reading an article in today's Washington Post about local officals being recruited to help enforce immigration law. But, what really caught my eye was the article had a quote from a guy named Ricardo Juarez. Who is a coordinator of the immigrant advocacy group Mexicans Without Borders. You can put that information the Hola Suckers file.

Bringing out the dead on TV.

I left Washington yesterday afternoon. I thought the 5:10 Amtrak might have been packed because of the wall to wall coverage of Gerald Ford's funeral. Thankfully, it was not. That's the trouble with television coverage of events like Fords funeral in Washington. You do not always get a true perspective of events. Tight camera shots can give the impression that thousands and thousands of people line the streets or the pews. Leading one to believe that streets will be packed and traffic snarled. TV news can be sometimes create an illusion for us viewers.
One interesting shot I did see on TV yesterday was watching Bush's legal water boy Alberto R(aza) Gonzales siting in the seat behind Bill and Hillary Clinton. Gonzales body language was fascinating to watch as he strained to over hear the conversation between the Clintons . Not since J. Edgar Hoover have we had an administration official who wishes to snoop into the lives of American citizens more than Gonzales. I was amused by this shot.
After the extended coverage of Ford's funeral (which I think even Ford would have said enough already) following on the weekend reports of Saddam Hussein's hanging and the funeral of James Brown all I can say is:

I SEE DEAD PEOPLE.