News and Notes (Arizona Edition)

1. So tell me, if you were Arizona, what would you do? You have a huge increase in crime, a huge increase in medical expenses, a huge outcry from law-abiding citizens and you have a federal government who basically is voting "present."

So what would you do?

2. Here is living proof that liberals have no clue: "

"Dear Arizona: If you don't change your immigration policy, I will have to stop drinking your enjoyable brand of iced tea," Twittered Jody Beth in Los Angeles.

Um, Ms. Beth? Perhaps your public school education didn't teach you to read the label, but Arizona Ice Tea is brewed in Nassau County, NY.

3. Has any real boycott ever really worked?

4. The Democrats are making a huge deal about this new Arizona law. In fact, John Kerry (did you know he served in Vietnam?) called it unpatriotic. In Kerry's world, writing a law that enforces a federal law is unpatriotic, but lying under oath about your fellow soldiers is perfectly "American."

Someone should tell John F. Kerry that there was a really good reason he lost the an unpopular George Bush.

5. For those who have tried to label the good people of Arizona as "Nazis" or "racists," here is the main part of the Arizona statute that has them all riled up:

"For any lawful contact made by a law enforcement official or a law enforcement agency…where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person…"

Exactly what part of that paragraph evokes herding people us and shooting them for being undesirables? Did the Nazis use "probable cause?" Did the Nazis use "reasonable suspicion?"

Last time I read Holocaust history - and believe me, I am very knowledgeable on the subject, the Nazis arrested you simply for being Jewish. At no time did they care whether you were, or weren't. If they thought you were, you were as good as dead. I'm sorry, but I don't see Hispanic concentration camps, or death marches happening in Arizona based on this law.

6. President Obama called the new Arizona law "stupid." This is the same man who called the Cambridge, MA police "stupid" for arresting his friend when he was assumed breaking into a house.

This President is so incompetent that he doesn't quite grasp the gravity of how much his words mean. His actions today will only serve two purposes - to alienate the citizens of Arizona, who already feel their federal government cares little about them and there safety, and it also serves to rile up the opposition, thinking that they have the President's support. This is not the way a true leader behaves.

Yet, we've seen it time and again with Obama. We see it with the way he deals with Iran and we've definitely seen it is the way he has taken sides in Israel. Because of his reckless disregard for our allies, Obama has already set back the peace process 30 years. Seriously, do you truly believe the Palestinians are interested in negotiating when they know now that Obama will demand everything they want from Israel?

Elections do mean something. Electing Obama has weakened our nation's strength exponentially. Why do you think Europeans like us better? Because we're "stronger" or because we've been taken down a peg, or two (or three or four).

7. President Calderon of Mexico is very upset at the State of Arizona, because of this new law. He said it opens "the door "to intolerance, hate, discrimination and abuse in law enforcement."

Do any of you know what the Mexican law is regarding illegal immigration? Take a look:

— The Mexican government will bar foreigners if they upset "the equilibrium of the national demographics." How's that for racial and ethnic profiling?

— If outsiders do not enhance the country's "economic or national interests" or are "not found to be physically or mentally healthy," they are not welcome. Neither are those who show "contempt against national sovereignty or security." They must not be economic burdens on society and must have clean criminal histories. Those seeking to obtain Mexican citizenship must show a birth certificate, provide a bank statement proving economic independence, pass an exam and prove they can provide their own health care.

— Illegal entry into the country is equivalent to a felony punishable by two years' imprisonment. Document fraud is subject to fine and imprisonment; so is alien marriage fraud. Evading deportation is a serious crime; illegal re-entry after deportation is punishable by ten years' imprisonment. Foreigners may be kicked out of the country without due process and the endless bites at the litigation apple that illegal aliens are afforded in our country (see, for example, President Obama's illegal alien aunt — a fugitive from deportation for eight years who is awaiting a second decision on her previously rejected asylum claim).

— Law enforcement officials at all levels — by national mandate — must cooperate to enforce immigration laws, including illegal alien arrests and deportations. The Mexican military is also required to assist in immigration enforcement operations. Native-born Mexicans are empowered to make citizens' arrests of illegal aliens and turn them in to authorities.

— Ready to show your papers? Mexico's National Catalog of Foreigners tracks all outside tourists and foreign nationals. A National Population Registry tracks and verifies the identity of every member of the population, who must carry a citizens' identity card. Visitors who do not possess proper documents and identification are subject to arrest as illegal aliens.

According to Michelle Malkin:

"All of these provisions are enshrined in Mexico's Ley General de Poblacion (General Law of the Population) and were spotlighted in a 2006 research paper published by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Security Policy. There's been no public clamor for "comprehensive immigration reform" in Mexico, however, because pro-illegal alien speech by outsiders is prohibited."

Why is it that we're supposed to have open borders, but Mexico doesn't? Granted, we are a far superior country, as far as becoming prosperous and free. But before El Presidente opens his stupid mouth, he should practice what he preaches.

8. If you were a legal immigrant to this country, what would you think about this? Would you feel that you made a terrible mistake, abiding by the law while all these others came across illegally?

9. If concluded that all of those who are against this new law are so because they either haven't read the bill, hate conservatives so much that they will never agree on anything, simply need something to scream and protest about or are for complete open borders. Clearly, the politicians who call this law racist are only doing so to pander to those who will eventually voting, should Obama's amnesty pass. Nancy Pelosi is already trying to find new voters in Puerto Rico.

10. There is a certain arrogance in a President who claims it's racist to demand non-citizens to "show their papers" regarding citizenship, but has no problem whatsoever in having citizens "show their papers" to prove they have health insurance. This law is only intrusive in the case where the person is exhibiting unlawful behavior. But the health care law in intrusive for EVERYONE.

Now i have driven through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. I have been stopped countless times by immigration officials along Interstate 10. One time, while driving a U-Haul, I was stopped, and had the truck thoroughly inspected. But I didn't complain. Why should I? I was doing nothing wrong and these men were simply doing their legally enforced law. So I had nothing to worry about.

Did they ask me for my "papers?" Hell yeah they did. And I supplied them with my state-issued driver's license and my proof of rental for the truck. I even showed them my automobile insurance card. I had no trouble with them and I was glad to help. When these leftists scream that the state of Arizona is being intrusive for "asking for papers," are they unaware that Americans everyday are asked for their licenses every time they are stopped by a cop? Isn't that intrusive also?

My problem with Democrats is that they are so transparent. They yelled and screamed when it was proposed that people show a picture ID at the polling booth. But why? Don't you have to show it when you use a credit card? How about when you enter a federal building? What about when you're stopped by a cop? Or when you board an airplane?

The real reason they don't want the voter ID law is because then there can be no voter fraud. If everyone must show their ID, then illegal aliens can't vote - or at least it becomes increasingly harder to do. It's a shameless tactic that calls into question the true integrity of the Democrat Party and yes, their patriotism.

Looking the other way at illegal immigration does not serve this country well. We are a nation of laws and when these laws are ignored, it leads to a lack of respect for the rule of law and eventual anarchy. The President swore, under oath, to uphold the constitution of the United States. Whether he likes it or not - and he has openly been critical of much of it - it is his duty to preserve and protect it. The Arizona law is nothing different than the federal law that is already on the books. It simply enforces that law - a law that the federal government has been derelict in enforcing. If he doesn't like it, he can propose a counter law and allow it to be voted on. But until such time that this law - a law that is overwhelmingly supported by the citizens of Arizona - it is his duty to keep the peace and preserve that law.

Whether he likes it or not.