>"Last week it was claims of an armed standoff between Mexican soldiers, drug smugglers and nearly 30 U.S. law enforcement officials on the Rio Grande"

It would have been helpful if someone had thought to take some pictures of the event. Video cameras, cameras, phones with cameras are fairly common these days.

Absent concrete evidence or official confirmation, we're left wondering whether this is real, semi-real, or just anti-Mexican propaganda. I'd guess semi-real, but who knows?

We've got a pretty active thread going on over at The Agonist on this issue right now called: The Border Line. It might be worth your time. Several of our readers are specialists on the border area and they find some good nuggets every now and then.

http://agonist.org/story/2006/1/27/211421/235

Vinegaron, pictures were taken of the incident. It clearly shows a Humvee with armed soldiers pulling security while drug runners unload an SUV that became stuck along the river bed. After transfering the drugs, they torched the SUV. CNN and other outlets aired these photos last week.

There has alway been some illegal aliens coming in from Mexico to work in agriculture. However, farmers are now having a hard time finding farm workers because they have gone into Construction and Jobs that use to be reserved for U.S. Citizens or legal residences. The Bush Administration is using illegal aliens to drive down wages for U.S. citizens. This is the reason behind the encrease in anti-Illegal immigrant activities in the U.S. This is anti-illegal alien attitude was not the idea of the Republican party. While a few, like Tancredo, have been pushing it for a long time, it has become an issue because of the voters back home are pushing them.
Besides the jobs issue, Border security has become a national security issue since 9/11. It is rather odd that there would be any controversy over an "illegal" act.
I am regarded as a Liberal, but I am not a "free trade", or "open borders" liberal.

American wages were overly inflated in the first place because Asia was not developed enough and Europe was rebuilding for the last 50 years. Now that the world is going into balance again all is coming into place. In 10-15 years the salaries in India, China , Europe and US will be almost the same for the same work. Theirs will go up while yours go down. Prices are doing it already. Salaries are next.

Once the number of Taco Bells on each side of the border is equalised everything will be okay. Remember the Alamo Rental Car!

In the insulated world of Washington DC. Where everything is reduced to tradeoffs & Money, Power, & Corruption, Resides & Prevails!

Our President & Congress are totally removed from the real world Americans Citizens must live in.

The daily worrying about jobs, Medical care, educating their children in failing schools systems. elderly parents, Crime, Drugs and a host of other problems that face the Middle Class and Working Citizens face each & every day.

Their Jobs are being outsourced to Cheap Labor Countries & Jobs that can't be outsourced the Politicians are bringing in Slave Labor to the USA to take their Jobs!

But all our Politicians are Concerned about is rising the Money for their next Election!

The open Borders with up to 10,000 pouring through each and every day joining the 20 to 30 million Illegal Aliens already here, That Does not Concern them!

The fact that no Nation on Earth can withstand an Illegal Invasion of this magnitude of poorly educated Illegal immigrants with an average 6 grade education & a 50% school dropout rate! That Does not Concern Them!

To do so, is & will continue to profoundly change the country for the worse and turning it into a facsimile of the country where the Illegal Aliens came from, That Does not Concern them!

The lowing of our Standard of Living by an estimated 200 Billion a year & growing rapidity, or the 100 Billions it takes to provide Illegal Alien Medical care, educate their children at the expense of our kids Education, Etc. That Does not Concern them!

The Lost of Millions of Jobs to Illegal Aliens working at Slave Labor Rates, That Does not Concern Them!

The Diseases brought across our Open Borders and possible WMD by Terrorist & 10, of Thousands American Citizens killed, That Does not Concern them.

The great chance that Bird Flu will cross our borders from Mexico, That Does not Concern them!

The billions of dollars worth of Drugs pouring across our Borders & enslaving million of American Citizens, Including many of our kids & Increasing our Crime rate. That Does not Concern them!

The Barrios populated by Illegal Aliens and English not spoke, that reject Americans & American Ideals, where Americans are not welcome and in fact will most likely be robbed or killed if you dare go there, That Does not Concern them!

The Vicious Illegal gangs spreading form Coast to Coast Killing, Robbing, Raping more American Citizens every year than was killed in 9/11, That Does not Concern them!

The long wait when a American goes in to a Lab. for Tests because the place is full of Illegal Aliens getting the Tests free that American Citizens have to pay for, than you are charged 5 times the amount it should cost to help offset the services provided free to Illegal Aliens , That Does not Concern them!

But the Gathering Storm of Protests from Coast to Coast by Irate Americans Citizens feed-up with Open Borders and the bankrupting of our Medical facilities our Schools in the pits. Illegal Aliens loitering around every Home Depot & Parking lots etc. making obscene gestures and rude remarks at every woman that passes by, that is Starting to Concern Them!.

How to address the problem and pacify upset voters while still Serving their Money Masters, The Lobbyist that Greedy Business and Corporation employ to pay the Politicians great sums of money to keep the Slave Labor flowing, That Concerns Them!

But then, they think they can use the Political Lies that has always worked well in the past.

I share your concerns and it is time to get tough and close our borders & punish them by fining them a great sum of 1000.00 dollars that will teach them! Like John McCain's & Ted Kennedy S-1033 bill.

Of course, their yearly kids Birth plus all the others benefits they get makes that 1000.00 fine less than nothing! Most Americans Citizens would love to pay a one time fee of 1000.00 for life time Medical Care, even without all the other Welfare benefits Illegal Aliens get.

But while getting tough our Politicians plead that the ones here Illegally should be Rewarded & Allowed to stay by getting green cards, guess workers etc.

But Surprise, only one part of the plan by our Corrupt Politicians is ever implemented, the Rewards Part!

They forget the Enforcement Part, Which sets off the next great wave of Illegal Invasion, now the rate crossing our Borders doubles and a few years down the road a new crop of Politicians repeat the same tired trick but having learned from their predecessors they are even more skilled liars and spin artists!

But this time, our Citizens are wise to the Politicians Lies....Write, Call & Fax and demand our Borders be closed and NO Rewards for Law breakers already here! Demand that Businesses using Illegal Aliens be fined 10,000.00 dollars first offense and double the previous fine for each new offense thereafter!

Don't be fooled by the Politicians Asinine statement that they are concerned also but they can't apprehend millions of Illegal Aliens, like John McCain recently said on Lou Dobbs show.

It is simple, Oh Brilliant & Wise Senator, No Jobs, No Benefits , No Rewards, No Illegal Aliens! Deporting them is not necessary, they will deport their selves!

Poll after Poll indicates over 80% of American Citizens want our Borders Closed and Illegal Aliens here returned to their home counties!

We will soon see which Politicians vote for American Citizens, or Mexico & Vicente Fox & Corruption as usual!

When our Borders are closed and one here Illegally are gone, Our budget deficit will decrease by Billions, Our schools will make a Great Improvement, Our Medical care will Improve & cost go down, Our Standard of living will go up, The Crime rate will take a Hugh drop down, and Our Economy will soar!

If we are lucky, maybe even our Politicians may be a little less Corrupt!

Go to http://www.numbersusa.com to Fax free your very own States... Corrupt Politicians!

Why don't these Mexican columnists ever recognize the fact that Mexico doesn't allow illegal immigration either. In fact, their laws are even stricter that ours. By their logic, Mexico has a phobia against immigration, too.

I'm here to say that I, an educated professional, am against the illegal immigration epidemic with all my heart and soul. Our country is being overrun, it is being conquered, and our American culture is pushed aside. Opponents of the invasion are slandered as "racists," the most damaging, career-ending charge of today. It's quite a witchhunt out there.

Americans need to stand up for their nation!

in america, every day, someone is shot because they run from the police. on the mex. border, nothing happens to illegals when try to elude capture, except that if captured, they are brought to a place and fed well and given medical attention if they are sick or injured,then lay on their arses until they can be flown back home. i know this because when i was young and foolish, i had several drinks and was arrested and thrown in jail for drunk driving and made to pay helatious fines, not to mention having it on my record the rest of my life. while i languished there for 48 hrs. i was in a cell next to where they held illegals until they could be flown home. i couldnt believe that their cell doors were never closed and our police officers were taking food orders from them for jack in the box and mcdonalds. a pretty strong deterent for them not to repeat the offense, wouldn't you say?

While I agree with a lot of what "Feed-Up with Sell outs" (though not the way s/he articulated it) I can't help wonder if s/he is a natural born citizen. What's with all the extra capitalization and syntax errors?
FYI - you only need to capitalize proper nouns, acronyms, and the first word in a new sentence. Anything more is just annoying and hard to read.

THE ONLY WAY TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK IS TO GO TO THE WHITE HOUSE AND TAKE IT BACK THIS IS OUR COUNTRY TO PROTECT SO LETS PROTECT IT. YOU MUST START WERE THE PROBLEM IS . IN D.C.BUT IT TAKE MORE THAN A FEW HUNDRED IT TAKE MILLIONS WITH GUNS . WE MUST PROTECT THE U.S. AT ALL COST FROM OTHERS THIS INCLUDS OUR SO CALLED LEADERS ON LAND AND OVER SEAS!THERE ARE MILLIONS OF US THAT FEEL THIS WAY AND THE TIME IS COMING WHERE IT WILL HAVE TO BE DONE.

Re Fed Up and slave labor:
slave labor maybe, but "slave" labor that in many cases faces such desperate conditions at home that folks spend a fortune and risk their lives to become America's "slave" labor. I have a lot of admiration for many, if not most illegal immigrants, which is a different issue from saying what our policy should be towards their presence. Having good government in the developing world (not to mention at home)is an essential part of the solution.

You all,

spreckenzie deutch?

Only 1/3 of germans would approve of the use military force, to prevent Iran from getting the bomb.

So, Germans, by and large, believe, that military confrontation is not a legit use to curb nuclearization of the middle east.

So despite the inevitable failure of the EU-3 negotiations, with the crazed mullahs of Iran, the germans would not approve of military means. I suppose that includes a blockade under sanctions that would lead to a Gulf of Token resolution.

The tiger tanks growls but with no teeth.
What a bunch of zeig-heil pussies.
The europeans dont wear six-shooters.
Not to worry, gunslinger Bush, does.

Iran, is that last significant nut to crack in the middle east, its moderation spells ultimate victory on the war of terror, but how do we get there, I might ask. Intractable Jidah fascism leading to islamic domination at least to the extent of the old islam empire from spain to indonesia, while trembling the west, is their course, pursued in earnest.

Do we coward and hide behind fortress europe, and await D-Day, and extinction, for do we remain on the offensive, and meet the threat.

Ya, Ich habe nein balle!!!

My Dad Has A Gun!!! November 8th 2005
President Bush, my beloved president, my hero.

I look back these days, at 50 years of age, and think that I did have a happy childhood. I remember so well playing with building blocks and toy soldiers with Billy and Bobby across the street, and I played slot-cars at my home, while the TV aired the Beatles on the Ed Sulivan Show, with pooky, our dog, running about barking. It was a good time for me, warm and secure. But one day, my dad came home with a weapon, a long big shinny rifle, with boxes of ammo. I recall how he would point it out the window, in mock shooting of anyone coming uninvited. Then at night, the TV showed burning buildings, the city of Watts had exploded in flames, in race riots, and the riots were spreading across the nation. I distinctly recall viewing three national guardsmen on TV, in blood-spattered battle fatigues on the streets of Watts, pointing rifles in the air, standing next to a large sign, reading, "turn left or get shot". I ran across the street the next day, and exclaimed to Billy and Bobby, "MY DAD HAS A GUN!!!". My happy little home was now Fortress 238th Street, in Torrance California.

My grandparents and parents came to California in the 1950s, from on the demilitarized zone in Cleveland Ohio, separating the white and black communities. My grandpa would not watch NBA basketball because it had too many blacks playing. My parents did watch the NBA, but were not much better. I recall one time, while at a newspaper boys' rally, where I called a white boy the N-word, and a black boy looked at me in surprise. I immediately apologized, but in thinking about, I became ashamed of myself. I grew to hate my grandparent's bigotry, for contaminating my childhood parlance. My parents, now much guarded in their speech, still retain to this day residual bias, but at least conduct themselves civilly these days. I will certainly teach my children to judge people by the content of character and not the color of skin. It takes generations of social unrest, violence, and divisiveness to over come deep seated prejudices resulting from a mass immigration of peoples who are not readily assimilate into American culture.

The last slave ship, the Nightingale, destined for the slave market in the USA, was captured by Yankee cruisers off the west coast of Africa in 1861, yet it really took hundreds of blockading gunboats plying off the southern ports to finally shut down the slave trade. In 1863, when New York threaten to secede from the union, the large Irish population, from the migration from the Ireland potato famine, went on a draft riot, mostly sparked by fears of dying for freed blacks that would take their jobs, as poor blacks were then publicly lynched in the streets of New York. Our heroes from the battle of Gettysburg were called into New York to baby-sit the Irish as the blacks coward in fear for their lives.

North America effectively imported slaves until there were millions of blacks vastly outnumbering their white southern task masters. As a result, it has taken a civil war, and race riots, and 150 years hence of social unrest to substantially rid our society of that problem of importing, in mass, a race of peoples who were not immediately assimilated into the American culture. That mass importation of slaves directly lead to a devastating civil war and almost a divided nation. We can only absorb so many immigrants within a given span of time, without devastating consequences. We have been there and done that. And now, there are growing race tensions between blacks and Hispanics in Los Angeles when eyeing limited employment opportunities. The minute men on the southern border are getting close to armed vigilantism, and John Brown's treason of 1859. Have we not learned anything? Are we blind?

These days, we have a porous southern border where millions of uneducated, unskilled, illegal immigrates are invading the US homeland, with no end in sight. While the compassion for the low income people is admirable, the present expansion of the welfare state, creating huge deficits, is merely laying out more bait for continued illegal immigration. The US constitution, that directly authorizes a standing army to prevent invasion, is being ignored, in contradiction of sworn oaths by law makers to uphold the constitution, another national disgrace, tantamount to treason.

I was channel flipping TV the other day and came across channel 7, KABC in Los Angeles, and heard a commercial in Spanish, first one I have ever heard on mainstream network prime time broadcast. I cannot channel flip the AM radio at all any more, as at least 50% of the stations are Latino, so the Latinos have effectively captured one entire media outlet in the Los Angeles market, that I do not visit any longer. Maybe KABC, a major network is going Mexican as well. I can just see the KABC nightly news anchors all wearing sombreros, backed-up by the TJ brass. I hope Mr. Bill OReilly does not speak Spanish, I would not want to turn him off as well, though I bet he would look good in a sombrero. I can not eat the cafeteria work food any longer, as all of it is now saturated with salsa, despite recurring objections, and so I have to bring my sandwiches and fruit to work each day. The cashier does speak English very well, and communicating over charge errors creates complications, so in stead, I have to use my broken Spanish to make up for the lack of communication. In my liberal state, California is now publishing, under state imposed directives, multilingual literature, to the deprivations of poor Americans needing assistance or tax relief. We should spend our US tax dollars to only support Americans furthering American culture, while encouraging the display of various other ethics cultures only within moderation, to have a wide diverse mix furthering tolerance.
Yet, in spite of it all, I don't have a prejudicial bone in my body, but you know, every time I see a head scarf on the streets, I think of 3000 dead in NY, and get outraged. And now, there are riots in Paris, and I am shocked. An open border with a generous welfare state spells doom in the long run. There is little from the Muslim leaders condemning this outrage as 400 towns burn in France, and spreading to England, Denmark, Belgium, and Germany, all with the same immigration problem. What a mess that I don't want here in the US, yet Muslim immigration is also on the rise as well, and they to do not readily assimilate with their jihadist mentality, and their cultural disdain for the infidels. I see and hear it all clearly, now, the deafening blaring of Jihad singing coming from the local mosque in downtown Laguna Beach California, signaling all to join in state imposed mandatory mid-day four-hour siestas.

Mexicans are not coming here for all the right reasons. Sure, I respect the dignity of work, but vast uncontrolled illegal immigration goes way beyond that sympathetic view. The illegal immigrants come here in the first instance to violate immigration laws. Crime is not one of the right reasons to come here. The illegal immigrants come here, not to readily assimilate but to promote their mexicanism in this country with their special studies, their bilingual education, their salsa food, their bilingual literature, their capture of AM radio, their capture of weak minded politicians, their Mexican flags in downtown LA or in Georgia, and their Cinco De Mayo, inter alia. Sure I like a little foreign culture in the mix, but not one that dominate over US culture. The illegal immigrants come here to peddle their drugs, to join gangs, degrade property values, and effectively to generate resentment, that will ultimately result to racial riots in the out years, when the US cuts back the hand outs. The illegal worker immigrants come here to simply earn money, not generally with their families to relocate and assimilate and waive the US flag, but to send their money back to Mexico, damaging increased trade. President Fox should build industry in Mexico with cheap labor for the US to exploit, so as to lift their economy, as the way it has been done for centuries. The border must be closed, with a US offer of generous recurring temporary work visas, without any amnesty.

I do not want East Los Angeles, Santa Ana, San Diego, or other southern US cities, from El Paso TX, to Denver CO, to Albuquerque NM, to Phoenix AZ, to go up in flames in the out years. I am tired of the poor-me victimization political card, or race based affirmative action, or the ruination of Americanism, or the political race card, or the weak-minded political pandering, or the eventual bigotry leading to violence and destruction and deaths that necessarily flows from an unrestrained importation of a vast number foreigners that are not readily assimilated into American culture, to only then leave that problem to my children to solve.

The GOP is destined to be marginalized by the inaction on the southern border. For the next decade, the issues that drive US politics will be WEDMI (Wed-Me), that is War, Economy, Deficit, Marriage, and Invasion. A recent FoxNews OReilly survey indicates that Americans, including the conservative base, do not believe that the current administration will get tuff on the US southern border. There is a lack of confidence that is building in the conservative circles. However, most Americans still believed that the Republicans have better leadership and vision over the Democrats who have no vision whatsoever, and simply spew their hate, while pandering any fringe group having a receptive ear.

We Americans deserve better than the lesser of two incompetent political parties. As in Raider Football, the cry seems to be, JUST WIN BABY, while the team is repetitively penalized for unsportman like conduct. I will not vote for the Republicans merely because they are the lesser of two incompetent evils, as does a vast numbers of Americans who simply choose not to vote at all. I recently received a request to contribute to the GOP again, but wrote back, only if President Bush closes the southern border. I will not support dereliction of duty, perceived as nearly treason.

As to WEDMI, the -E-conomy is miraculously holding strong but interest rates and inflation are rising spelling immanent stagnation, the -D-eficits remain unacceptably high, the -W-ar is not perceived as going well, the US government has failed to utterly stop the southern -I-nvasion, and has failed to pass a constitution amendment defining -M-arriage as between a man an a woman, though there is some good to come in the out years in packing the supreme court with conservatives. So as I see it, that is two marginal positives, and three bad negatives. That is simply an unacceptable report card for the current administration. I had not voted since President Reagan, and did not vote in the Gore v Bush election, as well, but when I saw the BOLD leadership of president Bush in Iraq, I crawled out of my hole, cut the check to the GOP, and pounded the payment on the streets three days a week for three months prior to the election Bush v Kerry, all by myself, in a sea of liberals, relearning childhood dodgeball skills from bottles being regularly thrown at me. The southern border needs to be shut down, and if it is not, and done soon, I will merely buy a gun, barricade the front door, defend my fortress, and crawl back into my happy little world, and leave you all to your pathetic selves.

Sincerely

So-Cal Amigo