Here’s just another in a long list of reasons why I hate Hollywood. According to Contact Music today, Jake “Bareback Mountain” Gyllenhall is giving his opinion on what our men did in the first Gulf War. And just where does he get his “expertise?” Why, he should know because he portrayed that generally-disliked asshole, Anthony Swofford, in “Jarhead.”

From the short, but desperate prose:

GYLLENHAAL OFFENDS GULF WAR VETERANS

Movie star JAKE GYLLENHAAL has shocked American Gulf War veterans by joking they did nothing but “masturbate” during their time in the desert in 1991. The cheeky 25-year-old stars in JARHEAD, a movie exposing the US soldiers’ lack of combat in the Middle Eastern conflict. He said, “The US soldiers were sent to the desert for 122 days and they sat in the same tent and did nothing, except a little too much masturbating.”

Oh, really Jake? Did you do a little special research on your own? Or was the research for “Brokeback?” Either way, you’re a loser who portrays a loser in both movies mentioned here!

Ask any Marine vet you know about Swofford - they will tell you why they didn’t see Jarhead either. And why he doesn’t have the honor a Marine usually does.

My take is Jake is feeling slighted because his movie about gay cowboys didn’t get much mainstream critical acclaim, although it was widely and loudly touted by all of his Hollyweird buddies and liberal politicians. Just like most other mainstream movies these days, it was a flop.

Oh, here’s a weird image from the main page for the movie, “Jarhead.” I have no clue what it’s about because I didn’t see the movie. Whatever the reasoning behind it, it still creeps me out yet doesn’t surprise me. (If I hadn’t seen it at the original “Jarhead” the movie website, I would have sworn it was from the cover of a cheap gay porno VHS tape.)

Jake, you’re not fit to lick a Marine’s boots after he’s stepped in dog shit. And as Laura Ingraham would say, “Shut Up and…” Well, just SHUT UP! Jarhead you say? I’d call you a D**KHEAD!

Also seen at Cao’s Blog and Amy Proctor’s place,

I’ve been sitting here for the past hour and a half wondering what to write, if I could write, or if I should write. I know that the topic du jour is illegal immigration, and in some ways, what I feel right now makes that issue even more important and relevant.

I went tonight to the 7PM showing of “United 93″ at a local theater. I wanted my friend and I to beat the evening after-dinner crowd, because I knew I would need a while to decompress afterwards, even before I saw the film.

On the way up the steps to our seats in the back of the theater, my stupid sandals caught on one of the steps, and I fell. My left elbow broke my fall, popcorn & Diet Coke everywhere, but luckily there were only 3 other couples in the theater that early. All asked if I was okay, and I said “yes, except my pride.” Little did I know how stupid that would later sound to me.

I got to my seat and realized that the left sleeve of my white blouse was soaked with blood. I didn’t even know I had injured myself that bad. I went to the restroom to clean up, and a very nice lady came in behind me to check on me. She took some Band-Aids the manager brought me, and without a thought, helped me clean my wound and bandage it. She was very concerned, and I told her that I was very thankful for her help, but that I was okay - I’d been through worse. We went back out of the restroom, separated, and back into the darkness of the theater.

Seven o’clock came, the lights went down, and the trailers of upcoming movies started to play. The theater was about half full by this time, and there was a bit of nervous restlessness in the air. It was almost uncomfortable laughter at stupid previews of stupid comedies that soon will be at a theater near you. But we all knew what we were there for - to remember the horror that happened to us, and to pay homage to the brave heroes of that flight.

Then - the feature film. Lights went even lower, and a dead silence fell upon the audience. The anticipation was almost palpable because we all knew what was going to happen, but it’s like going on that roller coaster ride you’ve been on before that absolutely terrified you, yet you knew you had to ride it again to face your fears. So you hang on tight, hold your breath, and wait for the inevitable.

During the entire nearly 100 or so minutes that the movie played, nobody said a word. Rapt attention was the feeling I got from everyone in attendance. The film starts out in a hotel room where four Islamofascist thugs are praying, one shaving, but all preparing to go to Allah and their 72 virgins once their “mission” is complete.

The movie is shot sort of cinema verite-style; sometimes jerky, jumping from scene to scene, and not always in the best lighting. But that’s the way it really happened. So that’s the way it should have been filmed. And so it was.

As the story weaves its way through the inner workings of NORAD, the FAA, ATCs, and Airline officials, it also begins to tell the personal stories of the soon-to-be heroes of Flight 93 through their personal conversations with family members, co-workers, etc., via cell phone or just to each other before they boarded United 93. Once in the air after their delay on the tarmac, all hell breaks loose as the first plane to be hijacked, American Airlines flight 11, disappears from radar and radio contact, and it becomes apparent the plane was not “lost” at all. The plane, carrying 81 passengers, nine flight attendants and two pilots, crashed into a tower of New York’s World Trade Center about 8:45 a.m. As this horror is unfolding, the innocent passengers and crew of Flight 93 have no idea yet what’s going on around them.

Once the terrorists begin to take action on the plane, a gutteral hatred for all they believe began to take hold of me. I won’t give away what happens in the details, but suffice it to say there are moments that I admittedly felt utter joy and glee when the heroes of the flight took decisive action. I’m very thankful to the producers and the writers of this film that they showed these people fighting back as fiercely as they did. Embellished or not, I don’t give a damn - it felt good to see them striking back and beating one of the hijackers to his bloody death.

Yes, the movie is graphic, but so were the events of that day. There are still more stories yet to tell, but this was a good start for the consciousness of America. This is the kind of reminder we all need to understand why we’re where we are today in this global war on terror.

The exact ending has been much discussed on the web and TV, so I’m not giving anything away here. The movie ends much like the lives of all those on board United 93. They are ferociously trying to wrestle the plane’s control from the terrorist, and the green fields of Pennsylvania are approaching in view as the plane barrels down faster and faster. Then blackness. No crash, no bang; just darkness and silence.

The entire theatre sat there motionless staring at the black screen. Nobody moved, no sounds of motion, only the sound of several people trying to stifle and choke back tears. Then the dedications roll…. and the credits begin. And the audience still sits there. Numb. Silent.

Filing out of the theater, it was like single-file zombies on parade. I could see many faces and cheeks outside the doors who bore the streak-marks of tears as did mine. Couples were clutching each other tighter it seemed, nobody spoke to patrons who were entering, it was just a silent long walk back to current life as it is today, yet remembering the past. I only hope that the rest of the theater came away with the resolve that I did. In fact, I’m certain they did.

The very sweet woman who came to help doctor my wound in the restroom found me in the hallway, and she said “I hope you’ll be okay.” I hugged her, teared up as I cocked my head back to the theater, and said “all things considered, there’s not a damn thing wrong with me.”

When I got home, I immediately put in a DVD called “What We Saw: The events of September 11, 2001, in Words, Pictures and Video.” I have to see this - I need to see this - again.

America, it’s time we heed the call once again in our determination to be strong as an UNDIVIDED country, and fight back the Islamofascists who want to destroy our very way of life, and who despise us for the freedoms that we have and hold dear.

There is a visceral yet necessary component or reaction to this movie. Please, I urge each and every one of you - go see this movie. If for no other reason than to honor those brave men & women of EVERY flight that was hijacked on that day, as well as the thousands that were killed in the WTC towers, the Pentagon, and yes, in that field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

I just pray that no other American has to watch as that green, grassy field approaches before everything goes dark. This is not just a reminder, folks….it’s a warning. It’s not a matter of “if” anymore…. but of “when.”

It may be over-used, but tonight I appreciate and am motivated once again by Todd Beamer’s words from that day and portrayed in the movie: “Let’s Roll.”

Seen at Jo’s Cafe, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Stop the ACLU, Cao’s Blog, Gribbit’s Word, Ace of Spade HQ, PoliPundit, Sister Toldjah, Gay Patriot, Right Wing Nation, and BlackFive.

Annika’s Journal has a teriffic review on this movie as well! Rhiel World View doesn’t review the movie, but has a very compelling video posted at his site, and Expose the Left has a brief review on Sunday. Austin Bay has a great write up on it, too.

I have seen very few sites that have stated the case for ANWR more than the ANWR homepage itself. But, they have a new slick, very informative and compelling flashmovie, Narrated by a Native Inupiat Eskimo from that area. His name is Fenton Rexford, from Kaktovik, Alaska. I truly can’t improve on the website’s content, so I’m just going to share some of it with you here. I do urge you, however, to visit the site and look around.

Here’s a bit about the local support:

Organizations representing the residents of the Coastal Plain and surrounding area such as the City of Kaktovic, Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation, North Slope Borough, Arctic Slope Regional Corp., Doyon Regional Corporation and Alaskan Federation of Natives have all endorsed development based on their experience with Prudhoe Bay.

There are also facts to predict strong jobs growth; not just for Alaska, but for the entire United States.

ANWR.org has their OWN “Top 10,” and I think they’re worth considering:

TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT IN ANWR

1. Only 8% of ANWR Would Be Considered for Exploration: Only the 1.5 million acre or 8% on the northern coast of ANWR is being considered for development. The remaining 17.5 million acres or 92% of ANWR will remain permanently closed to any kind of development. If oil is discovered, less than 2000 acres of the over 1.5 million acres of the Coastal Plain would be affected. That¹s less than half of one percent of ANWR that would be affected by production activity.

2. Revenues to the State and Federal Treasury: Federal revenues would be enhanced by billions of dollars from bonus bids, lease rentals, royalties and taxes. Estimates on bonus bids for ANWR by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Interior for the first 5 years after Congressional approval are 4.2 billion dollars.

3. Jobs To Be Created: Between 250,000 and 735,000 ANWR jobs are estimated to be created by development of the Coastal Plain.

4. Economic Impact: Between 1977 and 2004, North Slope oil field development and production activity contributed over $50 billion to the nations economy, directly impacting each state in the union.

5. America’s Best Chance for a Major Discovery: The Coastal Plain of ANWR is America’s best possibility for the discovery of another giant “Prudhoe Bay-sized” oil and gas discovery in North America. U.S. Department of Interior estimates range from 9 to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

6. North Slope Production in Decline: The North Slope oil fields currently provide the U.S. with nearly 16% of it’s domestic production and since 1988 this production has been on the decline. Peak production was reached in 1980 of two million barrels a day, but has been declining to a current level of 943,000 barrels a day.

7. Imported Oil Too Costly: In 2004 the US imported an average of 58% of its oil and during certain months up to 64%. That equates to over $150 billion in oil imports and over $170 billion including refined petroleum products. That¹s $19.9 million dollars an hour! Including defence costs the number would be nearly a trillion dollars.

8. No Negative Impact on Animals: Oil and gas development and wildlife are successfully coexisting in Alaska ’s arctic. For example, the Central Arctic Caribou Herd (CACH) which migrates through Prudhoe Bay has grown from 3000 animals to its current level of 32,000 animals. The arctic oil fields have very healthy brown bear, fox and bird populations equal to their surrounding areas.

9. Arctic Technology: Advanced technology has greatly reduced the ‘footprint” of arctic oil development. If Prudhoe Bay were built today, the footprint would be 1,526 acres, 64% smaller.

10. Alaskans Support: More than 75% of Alaskans favor exploration and production in ANWR. The Inupiat Eskimos who live in and near ANWR support onshore oil development on the Coastal Plain.

If anybody can present a cogent argument to me to refute this veritable gold-mine, I invite you to do so - but please bring facts and ammunition. I will not debate with an intellectually unarmed idiot.

P.S. ANWR is not the total answer… but it is a necessary start.

I came home today from listening to news audio snippets of all the politicians, including the President, railing on the “big oil companies” about profit this, gouging that, windfall taxes, etc., etc., ad infinitum. Hell, Sen. Chuck-E-Cheese Schumer wants to break up the big “monopolies” so they can have more control over the companies like Exxon-Mobil, Shell, etc. Why? It’s simply a power-play by both sides, and a smack in the face to intelligent voters who understand the truth about basic economics, supply and demand, and a free-market economy.

Both the Democrats and the Republicans have this one wrong, as well as the general public. I just heard the stupidest quote on TV I think I’ve ever heard. Some female being spot-intereviewed about gas prices actually said “We’ve got places to go and need gas, and they’re making a profit from it!!!!” What? How DARE they make a profit on a commercial product!

Does anybody but me see anything wrong with this statement? If so, then you know where I’m going with this. Anybody agree with her ridiculous statement wholeheartedly? Well, in the famous words of Bill Engvall, “Here’s your sign.”

There’s also the matter of a little thing called “capitalism” and the term “supply and demand.” What if we do slam the oil companies with “windfall profit taxes?” Who do you think is going to pay those taxes? The oil companies? You’re crazy if you believe that. Corporations do not “pay” taxes - they “collect” taxes from their employees, share-holders, and the consumers. So if we impose these insane taxes on the oil companies, it’s coming out of our pockets, folks! Wake up!

Do you know that the average oil company make about 9 cents profit per gallon of gas? Do you also know that in most states, an average of 50 cents per gallon consists of taxes! So “who’s doin’ who here?” If the government wants to bring down prices, they can eliminate some of their ludicrious taxes. After all, for the 9 cents the oil company gets in profit from us, we at least get a product or service. What do we get from the 50+ cents the government collects? We get the shaft…that’s what we get!

Okay, now let’s go for some facts and statistics from the EIA. I’d encourage all of you to spend some time on this site. It’s the most comprehensive, concise, and easy-to-understand website I’ve found on energy demand, costs, production, etc. Here is a list of world crude oil prices for your perusal. Do you see THAT much disparity in oil prices to the rest of the world? If oil costs $73 a barrel here, then it pretty much costs $73 everywhere else. Looking at these figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), you can see in projected oil consumption up to 2025, China and other “Emerging Asian” countries are estimated to have higher consumption at 33.6M barrels per day by 2025. For that same projected year, North America’s projected consumption is 32.9M barrels per day.

I’d highly suggest for all the data, good and bad, to go this website’s “Ask an Expert” page for any energy question you might have.

I also found some very interesting energy & environmental facts about China:

ENVIRONMENT

China suffers from major energy-related environmental problems. According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), seven of the world’s ten most polluted cities are in China. The country’s heavy use of unwashed coal leads to large emissions of sulfur dioxide and particulate matter. China also is important to any effort to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, as it is projected to experience the largest absolute growth in carbon dioxide emissions between now and the year 2025.

China is a non-Annex I country under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, meaning that it has not agreed to binding targets for reduction of carbon dioxide emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. While the Chinese government is concerned with its environmental problems, it tends to be more concerned with local problems, such as particulate matter and sulfur dioxide emissions. Thus, it is undertaking efforts to lessen emissions of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, through improved pollution controls on power plants as well as policies designed to increase the share of natural gas in the country’s fuel mix, particularly around major metropolitan areas.

So, does anybody still doubt why the U.S. wisely never signed on to the Kyoto Protocol? Why should we pay for China’s environmental issues?

And for those of you who think the Exxon-Mobil executive, Lee Raymond, got too much money when he retired, I ask you this: What did you do to earn the company for which you work $40M last year? Their share-holders are happy about that, and happy share-holders invest more into the economy. Plus, since when do we want the federal government telling private companies how much they can or cannot pay their employees? Oh, that’s right… they already do just that - the minimum wage. Yuck.

Oh, I have one more thought to leave you with:

Figures are according to the Energy Information Administration, on Weekly Retail Premium Motor Gasoline Prices Including Taxes as of 04/01/06. Note: This figure does not include the country of China or India.

So, looking at the legend, who wants to be paying $5 to $7.50 a gallon? Folks, we have it better than any other industrialized country in the world. We are getting off CHEAP contrary to what you believe or are told by the media!

Also seen at Expose the Left, Michelle Malkin, Right on the Right, Right Wing News, Jo’s Cafe, and Stop the ACLU.

For those of you who were offended by the post before this about Katrina evacuees, see here for a reality check. No more words need be spoken about this 1994 Pulitzer prize-winning photograph by Kevin Carter. There are rumors about the veracity of this photo and it’s accompanying “journal entry” text, but the photo and message are clear (and has been proven real).

“PULITZER PRIZE” winning photo taken in 1994 during the Sudan famine.

The picture depicts a famine-stricken child crawling towards a United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away. The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat it. This picture shocked the whole world. No one knows what happened to the child, including the photographer Kevin Carter who left the place as soon as the photograph was taken.

Three months later he committed suicide due to depression.

Here’s a piece about the “Life and Death of Kevin Carter.” (No word yet on the “life and death” of the poor child in this picture…)

This is beyond human tragedy. My God in heaven - what has become of us?

Now, what’s your complaint again?

Okay, I’m ready for the hate comments. Bring it on. I don’t give a damn, and after seeing a picture and story on the Internet today (see next post), you don’t have a friggin right in this world to demand your “rights” to free government money, housing, plasma TVs, etc.

As late as this past Valentine’s day, Neal Boortz was reporting Katrina evacuees and other parasites who continue to suckle off the teat of Uncle Sam, were complaining about being “evicted” from their paid-for-by-US-tax-dollar hotels.

I like Neal’s take on this story. From “Neal’s Nuze” of February 14, 2006:

A judge has ruled that the federal government can boot the Katrina parasites from your local Holiday Inn, Motel 6 and whatever other hotel they’re staying at on the taxpayer’s dime. The star of this show is U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval. Duval rejected the arguments from the ambulance-chasers representing the parasites, saying the government could give them a boot.

Once the poverty pimps and the mainstream media start reporting on this, the universal question will be “what are they supposed to do now?” Well, here today are a few suggestions. How about…oh…I don’t know….GETTING A JOB. How about TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF … for a change. Surely with all of the rebuilding going on in New Orleans, a fairly decent paying job could be had. But you see, the Katrina parasites don’t want to work.

To most of the ones left occupying these hotel rooms, they’ve been living high on the hog since the hurricane hit. In fact, it may have been the best thing that ever happened to them. Talk about a lifestyle upgrade! Going from a dump in the 9th ward to a nice hotel room with cable TV! That’s some government housing.

It’s nice to know there’s at least one solid judge on the U.S. District Court bench that seems to have grown a pair.

Luckily the judge in this case said that FEMA was no longer responsible for paying these tabs (but this came after several cave-ins because of the clammering of ACLU lawyers on behalf of these parasites). Well, the judge said they couldn’t stop the evictions, but reminded everyone that they would still get some free money (don’t want to sound heartless, you know).

From an AP story in the IndyStar on February 14, 2006:

Attorneys for the evacuees tried to get U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval to issue a temporary restraining order, saying the forthcoming money from FEMA won’t be enough for reasonable living accommodations or for hotel stays. Duval denied the request a day after the attorneys delivered the motion to his home.

“These folks are out on the streets today because the federal government, President Bush and everyone else made the decision that it’s time for these families to go,” said attorney Bill Quigley, an assistant dean of the law school at Loyola University New Orleans, who filed the motion with civil rights attorney Tracie Washington.

Washington said the decision will result in 8,000 to 10,000 families being put out of hotels across the United States.
Mary Smith, 43, headed out before noon Monday to find a bus, which she hoped would take her to one of the lower-income neighborhoods across the Mississippi River, where she was told she might find a rental.

“I only got my rent check last week,” she said. “It’s not enough time to find a place.”

About 10,500 families, or 88 percent of the 12,000 homeless families, have received rent-assistance checks from FEMA, said Libby Turner, the agency’s transitional housing director.

The cash can be used to pay for an apartment, to continue their hotel stays or to help pay for fixing their ruined homes.

Excuse me? These people are out on the streets because of President Bush and his decision it was “time for them to go”? HELL NO! These people were still in the same situation they lived in for their entire lives in New Orleans, one of the greatest welfare cities in the U.S. (enabled by none other than the Democrats who run not only the city, but the state, as well)!

Oh, and the comment “It’s not enough time to find a place” comment…. ?? How friggin long do you need to find a place, lady? It’s been how long? Even according to a Newsweek article just last month, Houston is sick and tired of footing the bill for all the evacuees still there, as well as the bill for housing the miscreant criminals that flooded into Houston afterwards!

Now, I know there are legitimate people who lost EVERYTHING they had, had nowhere to go etc. But, my God, people! How long will it take you to get your SH*# together and make it on your own? Oh, that’s right… once you learn to live off the government, it’s hard to accept any form of personal responsibility. The government was an enabler in all this, and does not escape blame.

Heartless, you call me? Maybe in your eyes, but to me, if you’ve had since last August to get your crap together, you should be somewhere by now if you WANTED to be, supporting yourself and your family; not continuing to bleed the government like the parasites some of you have become yet always have been! Your “host” has run dry, you morons, and the rest of America is paying the price.

It is called the “painful truth” for a reason.

Still think I’m vile? Check the next post before you criticize.

If you’re ever on national TV and you’re on with stellar politicos like Bill Kristol and Brit Hume, NEVER show how much of a dumbass you really are. Juan Williams of National Public Radio has obviously not learned that lesson as I’ve previously pointed out.

Today on Fox News Sunday, one of the panel’s subjects was the recent firing of CIA employee, Mary McCarthy (see Expose the Left’s post) for sharing classified information with the Washington Post and others regarding stories of the U.S.’s secret prisons abroad. Like Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame, McCarthy’s political leanings clearly come into play here.

I was going to edit this video to be much shorter, but it’s just too priceless. This “smackdown” begins with the discussion of the situation with Mary McCarthy of the CIA. Here are just a few quotes from the exchange:

Juan began by arguing about citizens’ rights to speak out, whistle-blowing, blah, blah and more blah…

Bill: When I went to work in the U.S. government, I signed forms saying I would not release classified information. If I had released information like this, I could have been fired – I SHOULD have been fired! And let me tell you something…the Clinton administration would have fired her if this would have happened in the mid 90s. This was an outrageous leak of national security information.

Juan: She can take a risk, but you’re telling me that you don’t leak… that you’ve never leaked infor …???

Bill: Oh, COME ON! Come on!

Juan: People leak every day in this town!

Brit: Juan, there’s an important distinction between disclosing information which the government has not chosen to put out yet, or may never; and the unauthorized disclosure of classified information. That’s not to say that all information that is classified should be. However, there are people who are authorized to declassify information and then authorize its release, and there are people who are not.

This woman palpably was not such a person! In addition, she signed, as Bill pointed out, a statement when she joined the Agency in which she swore that she would not do that. So she was honor-bound not to do it, the law restricts the ability to which someone can do that, and she went ahead and did it! That’s not…Juan, that is manifestly not speaking out; that is not an exercise simply of 1st Amendment rights. This is…this was a violation of her oath and her responsibility!

Juan: Let me quickly respond, Brit, she took a risk. She was very aware of what she had signed. She is now bearing the cost of having broken that pledge…

Chris: …so this is an act of consciousness????

Juan: …and so in that sense, I do believe it!

Chris: Why did she do it surreptitiously?

Juan: She did it because she wanted to get the word out!

(cross-talk)

Brit: Why didn’t she walk out on to the street corner and just pass it out?

Juan: She could have! But she had a…

Brit: I know why she didn’t… because that way she would have become known. She wanted to do it and not get caught, THAT’S why!!!!!

Now, I know that Fox is trying to uphold their “Fair and Balanced” thing, but there comes a time when they have to realize that Brit needs to start charging Juan for tuition fees for his continuing on-air education. Today, however, Brit wasn’t the only headmaster in charge… Bill Kristol took his seat in the teacher’s seat. Juan made a mistake when he accused Bill of “leaking” as part of his every day life and work!

Heck, even Chris Wallace couldn’t help but chip in to the lesson at hand.

Juan ends his argument saying that “she” (McCarthy) is the one who will be paying the price for what she did. Excuse me? It’s called “National” Security… not “Personal” Security. Her revelation about our secret prisons probably cost lives. Now, can Juan explain that away? Doubtful. Stay tuned, as it appears Juan’s education is just beginning. He definitely flunked today’s lesson.

Watch Juan get schooled here.

(P.S. One of the funniest moments of the clip at 5:19 (5 mins, 19 secs) is when Juan opines that she was just doing this about something she might have thought was unconscionable in the organization in which she worked…. both Bill & Brit say IN UNISON … “Well she should QUIT then!” - PRICELESS!)

Linked at Michelle Malkin, Expose the Left, Right on the Right, Right Wing News, Jo’s Cafe, and Cao’s Blog, and Sister Toldjah.

Well, I’ve been waiting and waiting for this to happen, and NBC reports today that there is a nation-wide crackdown by I.C.E. for not only illegal immigrants, but the corporate executives who are breaking the law by knowingly hiring them!

In fact, one of these crackdowns happened locally today at a pallet plant owned by IFCO Systems which is highlighted in the article below, and in our local sting, they netted 44 illegals at once! Now, that’s a start!

From the AP story:

WASHINGTON - Immigration agents arrested seven executives and hundreds of employees of a manufacturer of crates and pallets Wednesday as part of a crackdown on employers of illegal workers.

Authorities raided offices and plants of IFCO Systems in at least eight states, the culmination of a yearlong criminal investigation, law enforcement officials said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested seven current and former IFCO Systems managers on charges they conspired to transport, harbor and encourage illegal workers to reside in the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain, said Glenn T. Suddaby, the chief federal prosecutor in Albany, N.Y., where some arrests were made.

And it goes on further…

Raids across the U.S.

Raids took place at several locations in upstate New York and in Biglerville, Pa.; Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati, Houston, Phoenix, Richmond, Va., and Westborough, Mass.

“ICE has no tolerance for corporate officers who harbor illegal aliens for their work force. Today’s nationwide enforcement actions show how we will use all our investigative tools to bring these individuals to justice, no matter how large or small their company,” said ICE chief Julie Myers.

She and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff are expected on Thursday to lay out an immigration enforcement strategy that targets employers’ disregard for immigration law.

Last week, operators of three restaurants in Baltimore pleaded guilty to similar immigration charges, while nine people affiliated with two temporary employment agencies that do business in New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania were charged in a $5.3 million scheme involving the employment and harboring of illegal aliens.

Several immigration proposals pending in Congress would stiffen penalties against employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Company based in Germany

German-based IFCO Systems describes itself as the leading pallet services company in the United States, focusing on recycling millions of the wooden platforms used to stack and move all manner of goods. It operates about five dozen facilities nationwide and has been expanding steadily, according to the company’s Web site.

IFCO Systems did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday.

The current and former IFCO Systems managers arrested were identified by Suddaby as: Michael Ames, 44, Shrewsbury, Mass.; Robert Belvin, 43, Clifton Park, N.Y.; Abelino Chicas, 40, Houston; Scott Dodge, 43, Albany; William Hoskins, 29, Cincinnati; James Rice, 36, Houston, and Dario Salzano, 36, Amsterdam, N.Y.

Okay, this is what I don’t get. All police officers, when they take the oath of office, they take the oath swearing to uphold all laws including local, state and FEDERAL during the commission of their duty! But I keep hearing that local law enforcement officers aren’t allowed to enforce immigrations laws because it’s federal jurisdiction? What the FFFF???? Bank robbery is a federal offense, internet child exploitation, and kidnapping (usually) are federal offenses. Do you think for one second that a cop doesn’t cuff-n-stuff that ass when they’re arrested? Hell yeah, they do! The feds may come in and do the final investigation and prosecution, but the beat cop hooks-n-books those jackasses! So how is enforcing illegal immigration laws any different?

I’m just hoping that what we’re seeing today is just a hint of things to come. If our politicians won’t listen to us, maybe our fed-up law enforcement officers will finally step up to the plate and enforce the laws they KNOW THEY ARE ALLOWED TO BY LAW!

Oh, on the lighter side… this cartoon I saw today illustrates what I’ve been thinking all along.

Impossible? No…. “Fish in a barrel” enforcement at mass protests? HELL YEAH!