Homeland Security Department Clashes with Locals Living Along U.S./Mexico Border Over Placement of Fence: Troubling

A wave of litigation seems to be in progress against landowners living along our southern border facing Mexico.

The problem stems from the fact that the federal government is moving forward with plans to build a fence to stem the tide of illegal immigration taking place along many points of the border.

Unfortunately, the government doesn't own all the land that runs along the 1,969-mile long border. It's in private hands, and the government has ordered private landowners in targeted areas of southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to allow federal surveyors onto their land to make plans for extending the fence.

Many are refusing the surveyors access as they don't want the fence running across their lands. Some are ranchers who own livestock and rely on the Rio Grande for their water; a fence would cut off their primary--and sometimes only--source of water. Others don't want a fence ruining the scenery.

In any case, many are being sued for their non-compliance with the Homeland Security order.

I support sealing the border, but I also think that the local landowners need to have some input into how to achieve this. I definitely do not support the use of eminent domain to force the issue either. Are the homeowners lords and masters of their own homes, or aren't they?

Building a piece of a fence here and then one there with no connectivity doesn't make sense either. This is very strange.

More Incompetence on the Hill: House Flies Apart at the Seams

The Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives are raising their childish antics to new lows.

I'm not completely sure what happened, but the Republicans claimed an immigration vote went their way late last night by a count of 215-213. The Democratic speaker and his aides claimed that the vote was tied 214-214 and failed. Following the close of the voting time, votes started to change, which according to this article, was "strange." The Democrats then announced that the "actual vote" was 216-212.

The hollering started almost immediately; the Democrats offered to do a re-vote, and all hell broke loose. Both parties starting screaming "shame" at one another, it degenerated into a full-scale farce. Republicans stormed off the House floor in protest, and the original vote disappeared off the record as if it had never happened. What the??!

While both parties have played tricks on one another to pass legislation in the past, last night's attempted theft of a straight up-and-down vote was disgraceful, and so was the purging of the record of the vote.

Both parties share the blame in this disgrace; and I hope it doesn't happen again.

What would happen if national elections were to be held like this? We vote on November 7th from when the polls open at 7am to when the polls officially close.

If elections were held the way that last night's vote in the House was done, we'd be going back in and changing our votes after they had been cast, hours after the polls had closed. And then, after the storm of protest from people over laws being violated, those in authority erased all records of the election, leaving total chaos.

This is just more proof that this Congress is broken.

And one note to Congressional leaders: just because the other party did it to you doesn't mean YOU have to do it to them. Shame on all of you!

Immigration Bill Dies Again: Now They Can Write a Better Bill

The debate to end the debate on the incredibly bad immigration bill failed in the Senate yesterday by a comfortable margin. So now they're saying that immigration won't be taken up until there is a new President and new members of Congress get seated. GOOD!!

The majority of Republicans refused to vote for it as President Bush had wished, but he's on the wrong side in this debate. So were the GOP'ers who voted with Ted Kennedy.

Now they can quit treating this thing like a hot potato and write a better bill that isn't as big a joke as this last one was.

Immigration Bill's Failure Proves We Have a Lame-Duck President AND Congress: This is a Caretaker Government Until the Next Election

It's become clear that we have a caretaker government filled with placeholders who are awaiting the next election.

Both parties are badly splintered; both are split on the Iraq War and immigration. An up-or-down vote of no-confidence on Alberto Gonzales' leadership of the Justice Department died on the Senate floor. Congress members have been reduced to threatening to kill one another's pork projects in appropriations bills.

I think I would prefer it if this Congress and President stuck to naming federal buildings, handing out medals, and the like. They are clearly out to do their own business and not the business of the American people.

Immigration reform? Not with this crowd. No way. They all but gave away our southern border with their last attempt at immigration reform.

Resolving the Iraq War? Forget it. Hopefully the generals or Iraq's government tell President Bush that it's time for American forces to leave, and he listens to them, regardless of what this Congress is doing.

Gonzales? Nope.

Dealing with Iran? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

President Bush is fighting both Democrats and Republicans and achieved a stalemate with the Democrats...and with his own party.

And the Democrats are blowing it BIG time. Their control of Congress is a joke; and news came this week that their approval rating has dropped to 29%, which is lower than President Bush's 33% approval rating. One commenter has observed that Congressional approval ratings have returned to 2006 pre-election levels.

This is really the party that swept back into power last November?