“Border Czar”… Brand New Name, Same Old Face

Recently the violent war being waged between Mexico’s federal government and drug cartels along the US-Mexican border has been spilling over onto US soil.

To help combat this latest crisis, the Obama Administration has fallen back on an old idea with a new name, that idea is the creation of a “Border Czar” position within the Administration. Actually, the official name of the position will be the "DHS Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs," but “Border Czar” is much shorter and a lot catchier. Call it what you may, this is still old idea going by a new name, so much so, that the person picked to fill it has held the position before.

Enter Alan Bersin. Bersin, the man tapped to be the new Border Czar, once served as “the Attorney General’s Southwest Border Representative” during the Clinton Administration (1995-1998). At the time it was an appointment which may have had as much to do with his decades long friendship with the Clintons, than with real experience, since Bersin had spent most of his life practicing law in the private sector.

During the Clinton years, Bersin answered to Attorney General Janet Reno. Going forward, he will be answering to, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
Though a novice his last go around, Bersin, will at least now have experience working with local and state officials, as well as international partners, in this latest chapter of the war on drugs.

Sure, Bersin will have other functions to include promoting commerce and trade, but who is kidding who, his focus will be on making our borders safe. Bersin will have an eager friend in Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Calderon has been waging a wide open battle on the drug cartels that currently infect his country, and which makes Mexico the launching pad for drug trafficked into the United States. During Calderon’s war of the cartels it has been estimated that over 10,600 people have been killed in the drug-related violence. The most recent out break of violence being a gun battle between the Mexican military and drug traffickers in the mountainous region of the Guerrero, that took the life of 15 perpetrators and a soldier this week. A week in which Obama will be visiting Mexico to discuss the ongoing border issues.

Yet it remains to be seen what impact, Bersin will have on this growing problem. His last tenure as Border Czar yielded a mix bag of results. Included in the results was his implementation of “Operation Gatekeeper,” a program that fortified the borders near San Diego in an effort to stop the flow of illegal crossings into the US. While some hailed the program, critics of Bersin point out that it only serve to move the problem further east. It is also interesting to note that during his first run as Border Czar, that the budget for the Immigration and Naturalization Services was more than doubled, leading to an increase in Border Patrol agents and border fencing to help combat the problem.

While only time will tell if the re-instatement of Bersin will have the desired effects on the war on drugs this time around, it may be safe to say that the position of “Border Czar” will be sticking around this time.

Boston Tea Party...2009 Style

Protest, rebellion, and grass roots movements are words you would most likely associate with the liberal left. More likely than not, the typical American protester is a long haired, kindred spirit of the 60's who may be found wearing a Che' Guevara t-shirt, while holding an anti-establishment sign.

But not today. Not this April 15th, otherwise known as Tax Day. Today, in hundreds of rallies across America, there was a different type of protester, one most American's would hardly recognize. Today, for the first time since I can remember, it was the American middle class, along with those who do not like the direction that the current Obama Administration is taking with taxes and spending, that finally decided to stand up and say they have had enough.

Though this latest entry into the protest arena didn't seem centrally organized, they certainly turned out in masses in "Tax Tea Parties" across America. Tea Parties meant to protest the alarming way in which today's US government is spending money.

Though many a member of the press would have you believe that this recent grass roots movement is nothing but the brain child of the Republican party or of at least a few conservative radio talk show hosts, most of today's protesters would strongly disagree. Their unison cry seem to cut across political party lines as if to say, "this is not a Republican or Democrat issue, this is an American issue, and we as American's are tired of being ripped off by politicians. Politicians who mimicking days of old, are happy to taxes us without a single thought of really representing us!"

The movement will mostly likely be brushed aside by the White House and the Obama administration, who are too busy touting tax cuts for the American working class and the poor, to really pay attention, It may not even get the attention of the Republican Party, whose members are enveloped in their own search for direction and true leadership, to capitalize on this growing sentiment of "taxation without representation." But rest assure the event will not be lost on the American middle class, who has now tipped-toed clumsily but determined into this sphere of politics. So move over animal lovers, tree huggers, and retro child of the 60's, there is a new kid in town, and he is ready to stand tall and protest a different kind of injustice...run away government spending.

Pirates of Somalia (the Movie)

When I was five years old, I dreamed of being a Pirate, or an Engineer.

Sadly, becoming an Engineer won out, after all times had changed and technology had done away with the romantic notion that piracy on the high seas was a cool gig.
But sometimes old things are made new, and despite living in a world with GPS tracking, piracy has made a triumphant comeback. First, there was Keira Knightly, Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp making piracy on the silver screen look cool again in the Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy, and now the world faces a major out break of piracy along the Somalia coast line.

The latest in a long list of piracy was the recent attack on the US ship (Danish owned) Maersk Alabama. The Maersk Alabama was boarded by pirates on Wednesday (April 8) in a failed highjack attempt. Unfortunately the pirates ended up kidnapping the ship’s Captain Richard Phillips (of Underhill, VT). This incident has brought both the US Navy and the FBI into play, and currently a US Navy Destroyer has the pirates and the kidnapped captain in sight. Meanwhile, FBI negotiators have been brought in to try and resolve the issue, heightening the drama.

All of this however does not have the makings of a future Hollywood Blockbuster. After all, how do you glamorize this band of 21st century pirates? These pirates do not wear the colorful costumes of their predecessors, sail majestic wooden ships, or have the looks of a Keria Knightly or Johnny Depp. Instead, these are poor modern day imitations, made up of Somali clansman fisherman who dabble a bit in weapons trafficking one minute and a highjack or two the next. Nothing romantic there really, or at least, not romantic enough for a Hollywood hit.

No, sadly what we have here is strictly a made for TV movie at best, or maybe a badly funded Steven Seagal movie. In other words, this is a story not really worth telling, except for the fact that it’s becoming a thorn in the side of some pretty big nations with Russia, France, Spain, Japan and the US all having had ships attacked (list of ships attacked : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_attacked_by_Somali_pirates).
And aside from the nuisance its creating and costs involved in these attacks, Somali pirates are also affecting the delivery of humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of Somalis. Aid to Somali (up to 80%) after all comes mostly by sea, and fewer are the ships willing to take the risk these days. The Maersk Alabama was one of those ships.

And there in lies the rub as to why this story can never truly be turned into a Hollywood blockbuster, for what kind of pirate code (of the movie variety at least) would make an allowance for that type of real pain and suffering? That, and of course the story line does not befit colorful costumes, Hollywood starlets, or majestic wooden ships.

We <3 Castro!?!

I almost vomited my lunch today.

I almost vomited and it had little to do with anything I ate, and everything to do with the ridicules sound bytes I heard of US politicians gushing over a visit with Cuba's Fidel Castro.

To hear Representative Barbara Lee (Calif. Democrat) and her colleagues talk about Cuba and her visit with the 82 year old dictator, you would think that Cuba was an island paradise and Castro a wise paternal old man with nothing but love in his heart for America.

My problem with the whole thing? Well, for starters, I was born in Communist Cuba and lived there long enough to tell you Lee and her law maker friends are either Marxists (thinly veiled as Democrats) or people too naive to hold a seat in Congress. How else can you explain the feel good moment that came out of the meeting?

You want to know the real Castro, ask my uncle "Chino," who spent 18 years in a Cuban prison as a political dissident before former President Jimmy Carter helped get him released. Never mind the beatings he took in prison, ask him about the year he served in the nude, or the multiple years he spent in his underwear, and you will quickly come to realize that Guantanamo was not really the prison that needed to be shut down in Cuba. While you are at it, ask my father about Castro and his regime. My dad, who had the dubious honor of once playing baseball with the man, wound up in prison as well for trying to get a passport to come to America (through the Swiss embassy), back in the day where you still could. My dad's Defense Attorney told the judge to simply "throw the book at his client." Then there are the scores of people who died by firing squad in the early days of the post revolutionary period. Need I go on? The stories are endless...

Yet, here were three US law makers, praising Castro, his "humbled" home, his wife, and his desire of wanting to know more about Dr. Martin Luther King. Still, that wasn't the moment when my lunch wanted to make a hastily exit by way of mouth. No, that moment came a bit later when our politicians actually spoke of Castro's sincere offer to, "help President Obama in any way he can."

It's a sad day when we mistake a monster for a man.

Can the Nuclear Weapons Genie really be crammed back in the bottle?

I love irony in all shapes and form.

For example, I love the fact that President Obama chose a week in which North Korea tested a ballistic missile to stage a call to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

So while the Pyongyang government was busy violating (or allegedly violating) a 2006 Security Council resolution that barred North Korea from ballistic missile activity, Obama was stating (Sunday April 5) that all nations must strive together to rid the world of nuclear arms. What’s more, the US president went as far as saying that the U.S. had a "moral responsibility" to lead because no other country has used one. Never mind the context in which they (the bombs) were used or the lives saved as a result, that is an argument for another day.

Though a nice thought for sure, such Idealistic rhetoric has little place in today’s world. After all, does Obama really think that mankind can cram the nuclear genie back in the bottle? Does he really believe that the likes of North Korea, Iran, or any third rate dictator on the horizon, would be willing to go along with such a notion? Better yet, does he think that a relatively powerless United Nation, who is not currently capable of handling even the simplest of warlords in Africa or even pirates off the coast of Somalia, can suddenly and effectively patrol the globe for dissenting nations?

Please! Give me the deterrent that was the Cold War any day over idealistic rhetoric turned meaningless by simple acts of defiance from two-bit dictators. At least you always knew where you stood during the Cold War. The world was basically black and white, with very little left for shades of gray. Back then, you either played puppet to the evil empire known as the Soviet Union, or you aligned yourself with the nation wearing the white hate, the United States of America. And having been born in Communist Cuba just a few years past the October Missile Crisis, I am at least qualified to offer an opinion on the subject. So yes, while you lived on the edge of your seat in those days, awaiting the likes of a nuclear holocaust, at least you always knew the good guys from the bad…and there was a balance of power, a balance that served as a deterrent to anyone wanting to play with weapons of mass destruction.

Now? Who knows where we stand now. Our current US president felt a need to apologize to the world for “American arrogance,” and in the same breath he naively stated that he would like for the nuclear genie to crawl safely back in the bottle and for the world to forget that such weapons exist.

At least we still have Kim Yong-il, North Korea’s mad little dictator, to remind us that the genie will never go quietly back into the bottle, and that ridding the world of a technology it already has (however malevolent )is nothing short of a naïve dream. So Kim, buddy, if you are listening, thanks for the dose of reality, and the touch of irony.

Lawmakers Trying to Take Action Against AIG Bonuses

Since word of the $165 million in AIG bonuses (paid out with federal bailout funds) first broke last week, Congress & the Obama Administration have been exploring what can be done to remedy the situation. On Monday, President Obama pledged to, “pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole.” The first step in the process is to summon those responsible to a battery of congressional hearings.

80 percent of AIG is now owned by the federal government thanks to the government bailout. At a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Chairman Barney Frank (D) [picture on the left] said, “We should be exercising our rights as owners of this company, we ought to bring lawsuits to say: These people performed so badly, the magnitude of the losses are so great, that we are justified in rescinding the bonuses."

Despite the president's pledge to "pursue every legal avenue", democrats in Washington want a more immediate solution. Most are in favor of passing some kind of legislation quickly to let the voters know that they are aware of the situation and action is being taken. The Senate Finance Committee is proposing new legislation to “discourage excessive compensation by companies that have taken taxpayer funds.” In the House, Reps. Steve Israel (D) and Tim Ryan (D) are proposing the creation of a 100 percent “bailout bonus tax bracket” to recover all taxpayer dollars paid out in bonuses.

Republicans in Congress are citing the AIG scandal as further evidence that the bailout strategy was not the proper response to the economic crisis.

Stem Cell argument: Take 1

I'm beginning to understand how this all works. Not stem cell research, rather, HOLLYWOOD. I understand the basic premises behind stem cell research and what some of the ultimate goals are with the new Obama initiative, but I'm really beginning to understand the entertainment industry, politics and their involvement in all things legislative. The Stem Cell research debate simply gave more saliva for angry dogs to spit but the issue, when presented by political pundits, sounds like all the rest.

It goes like this:

• There is an election where candidates appeal to certain masses with distinct differences concerning science, abortion, war and ways to spend money.
• Pundits take sides, stumping for certain candidates, with most acting objective but always clouded by bias
• One guy wins
• The winner then changes laws and enacts bills
• The stars of the entertainment industry, in all walks, come out with opinions and jokes to bump ratings.

And then they do it all again.

Morality surrounds the backbone of our society and nothing can be manipulated as easily as a good debate on grey areas of life. For every self-righteous soul, there are people opening their mouths looking for and easy buck, spotlight or another fifteen before they fade to oblivion.

From the esteemed halls of congress to a NBC/Fox/CNN studio set, the cast of characters all are in it for one thing: Popularity.

Bill Mauer vs. Ann Coulter: Let the debate for student president begin.

At the Citi Performing Arts Center’s Wang Theatre last night, two people with sharpened politically incorrect exploiting and opposite views within each dueled in a way that made the AP press quote them. Their publicists should get bonuses.

Coulter talked gracefully about Republican Queen Nancy Reagan’s support for stem cell research, "Nancy Reagan was so madly in love with Ronald Reagan, if you told her that we could bring Ronald Reagan back to life, cure Alzheimer's by disemboweling everyone in this audience, she would say 'do it.'"

Maher shot back with some witty lefty zingers. He decided to sling at current Homecoming King Rush Limbaugh by saying, “We all say crazy s--t when we're high. I think it's interesting that he is now the undisputed leader of the Republican Party. It shows how clueless they are. They went looking for the future and they found radio.”

I wish I could be as witty and filled with hard lined opinions as those folks.

Rush Limbaugh is the real genius, though. Nothing like a Democrat as President to revive his career but in fairness, he did pull out the ultimate weapon in the political entertainment industry; anti-American sentiments. Of course the “Anti-American” claims can be argued until your face turns red and blue so bear with me. When Rush said he wanted Barack Obama to fail he became the focus of the Obama administration for a couple of days, thus making him the greatest news maker this week has ever seen.

Oh the excitement…