The Hispandering of Obama and McCain

"In back-to-back speeches to Latino public officials, John McCain and Barack Obama position themselves as devoted champions for Hispanics in hopes of luring support from the fast-growing and critical voting bloc."-Reuters

That includes amnesty and a path to citizenship for the illegals who have broken our laws. Hey stupidos! Why would you grant citizenship to people whose first act in our country is to break our laws. A recent poll had the question which candidate do you favor for immigration reform. Obama or McCain. I did not answer because there was no choice for "none of the above". Which is how I plan to vote in November too!

Hola Hamptons

I spent last week out on the beach in Amagansett. There were a lot of changes from my last visit there in the summer of 2007. The Amagansett Farmers market was closed and so was Gordons a long time restaurant in town. But, even more striking was my visit to the IGA Supermarket. Between the workers stocking the shelves to the primarily Hispanic customers. I felt as though I was shopping in a supermarket in Mexico not in the United States. Meanwhile in tawny East Hampton the illegals are line up all along Newton Lane. They sit on the fences right outside the playground. I wonder how long before some East Hampton liberals child is molested by one of these frustrated illegals waiting for work.

Oil suckers.

As I continue to drive in my 38 mpg vehicle. I got some amusement from the news that those who bought SUV's over the past few years now find themselves unable to trade them in. Because these gas guzzlers have nobody buying them. This is good news that perhaps we as a country will finally come down to the reality of "wants and needs". Until that happens those who still say they can not live without an SUV can kiss my gASS tank.

Remembering Russert

I was out working on my sailboat when I heard the news that Tim Russert had died. The local NPR station had just switched from it's classical music format to the nightly broadcast of All Things Considered. The headlines started with "one of Washington's most respected journalists had died". I thought immediately it must have been Helen Thomas the longtime elder icon of the Washington press corp. I was shocked that they started they mentioned Tim Russert.

What made Russert different from many of the other journalists in the mainstream media is his middle class background. There are far to few journalists today who have the sensitivity and common sense of the middle class. Tim because of his growing up in Buffalo the son of a hard working middle class sanitation truck driver understood what it meant to be middle class in America and never forgot it. He was more in tune with that segment of the American public than many of the others in the mainstream media. There are not many others in the media with the same sensibility. With Russert gone politics will not be the same, America will not be the same.

Bloggers: The new Sheriff in town

Howard Kurz in the Washington Post has the story of citizen journalist and blogger Mayhill Fowler who scooped the mainstream media with both Obama's "bitter" comments and Bill Clinton's comments on the Vanity Fair piece. Good for her at getting at the truth of some of these politicians runnoing for office. Here are some of the money quotes:

"Fowler is part of a new breed -- citizen journalist, liberal advocate, agent provocateur -- and her success has stirred questions about her methods."

How dare she get at the unvarnished truth instead of the sugar coated pundent filled one that the mainstream media provides. Stand back MSM there is a new sheriff in town.

"She is one of 2,500 people, from writers to academics to accountants, working with Off the Bus, a $200,000 venture launched by the Huffington Post and New Assignment, the brainchild of New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen. The idea is to unleash ordinary folks on the presidential campaign and give them a technology-powered megaphone"

The mainstream media journalists and editors had better understand they do not have a monopoly on the truth or are not the final word on what is news.

Once again: Enforcement works!

The Washington Post had a front page story yesterday about how Operation Streamline a Homeland Security enforcement program along the U.S. Mexico border is actually yielding some impressive results. It seems our Federal Government is finally getting the message: ENFORCEMENT WORKS! It is about time! Here are some of the money quotes:

Federal law enforcement agencies have increased criminal prosecutions of immigration violators to record levels, in part by filing minor charges against virtually every person caught illegally crossing some stretches of the U.S.-Mexico border, according to new U.S. data.

Officials say the threat of prison and a criminal record is a powerful deterrent, one that is helping drive down illegal immigration along the nearly 2,000-mile frontier between the United States and Mexico.

In testimony to Congress this spring, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that Operation Streamline "is a very good program, and we are working to get it expanded across other parts of the border" because "it has a great deterrent effect

Federal officials credit the program and other measures for contributing to a 20 percent drop in apprehensions of illegal immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border in 2007, to 859,000. That figure is on track to drop an additional 15 percent this year.

In areas where it has been applied -- which total about 500 miles, or one-fourth of the border -- Operation Streamline has slowed border traffic more substantially.

It's worked beautifully. Crime has dropped 76 percent in Del Rio, with the lowest level of illegal crossings they have ever seen," said Rep. John Culberson, a Houston area Republican who has worked with two border-district Democrats to promote the program. "Law enforcement is simple if you just enforce the law rigorously."

I tip my hat to Michael Chertoff and all those involved in enforcing this program along with BIG thank you. I am beginning to feel that our Federal Government is finally starting to do something about illegal immigration and it's a good feeling.