Hi Gang:
Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona is taking the heat from a number of pandering politicians. Politicians who are openly displaying their disdain for the United States of America and the citizens of this nation.
There is a Yiddish expression that states, “When a fish goes bad, it smells from the head!”
The head of the fish, where the government of the United States is the person who occupies the office of President of the United States.
Harry S. Truman, the President of the United States who presided over our nation at the end of the Second World War understood, fully, the responsibility his office carried when he placed a plaque on his desk in the Oval Office which simply read, “The Buck Stops Here!”
I have provided you with a link to a commercial that appears on YouTube and was prepared by Governor Brewer. I also saw this ad on The O’Reilly Factor this evening. Here is that link:
In that brief video click, the President of the United States makes it clear that he believes that the efforts of the leaders of the state of Arizona to attempt to do the job the federal government adamantly refuses to do is a punch line in a sick joke. His contempt for efforts at problem solving demonstrated by Governor Brewer and the state legislature are contemptible and disturbing on many levels. Besides providing a peek into his mindset about immigration- he has, it must be presumed, in that brief “joke” destroyed any remaining shreds of morale at the various component agencies at the DHS that are involved with the enforcement and administration of the immigration laws.
I recall that many years ago, shortly after President Clinton was inaugurated, that he had some difficulties in attempting to fill the critically important position of the Attorney General. Back then the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) was under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice. the Attorney General is the top official of that agency. Needless to say my colleagues and I at the INS were all concerned as to who would ultimately fill that important position, especially after U.S. district court Judge Kimba Wood of the Southern District of New York was forced to remove her name from consideration when it was discovered that she had hired an illegal alien as a household employee to assist with various chores around her home including the caring for her child. The news media branded this case “Nanny-Gate.”
Finally Janet Reno was selected. I don’t recall if the newspapers quoted Ms Reno after she was nominated or after she was sworn in, but I do recall that one morning, at O’Dark-thirty as we came to refer early morning field operations, we had gone out and arrested a number of illegal aliens who had extensive convictions records. These criminal aliens came from a number of different countries located on several continents and a few of them were found to have been in possession of firearms that we seized and brought into the office to seek to have these aliens prosecuted for the unlawful possession of firearms by illegal aliens.
When we arrived in the office we locked up those we arrested and found a copy of the New York Times containing Janet Reno’s statement. One of the agents read what Ms Reno had to say. The article reported that she said that she was looking forward to working closely with the component law enforcement agencies of the Justice Department and then went on to enumerate the FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Prisons and the Border Patrol but somehow left out the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Of course the Border Patrol was a component of the INS but the special agents of the INS were not a part of the Border Patrol and this oversight absolutely infuriated everyone in my squad that morning!
One of my buddies grabbed the newspaper and ripped it to shreds and dumped into a trash can and poured his coffee over the remnants of the newspaper. He then exclaimed, “Who the hell are we, chopped liver?”
His sentiment was echoed by everyone in the room.
Law enforcement officers, regardless of the agency that employs them have to grow leathery tough skin. This concern and anger on our part was not about ego but rather about a serious concern. The business of law enforcement is hazardous on many levels. Civilians are always advised to not make eye contact when a motorist cuts them off on the highway. The idea is to not have a confrontation if you can avoid it. Law enforcement officers are in the business of intentionally having confrontations! (It has been said that law enforcement officers run towards that which any sane person would run away from!)
Therefore it is of critical importance that those who engage in law enforcement know that the agency that employs them will stand behind them if a confrontation with a criminal leads to physical confrontation and allegations are made by the bad guys as a form of retribution or as a way of destroying the credibility of the agents who arrest the criminal. (Think of what happened to Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean!)
When the Attorney General enumerates every agency under her command but for some reason leaves off your agency, you have to be concerned! As an old-timer told me when I first hired on- “Just because you are paranoid, it does not mean you are not being followed!”
When law enforcement officers fear that their agency will not stand behind them morale and a willingness to do the job suffers. I recall when I began providing testimony before Congressional hearings that a member of Congress approached me after the hearing and asked me about morale at the INS. I told him that morale was not a problem. He appeared incredulous. He told me that he had heard horror stories about morale-related issues at the INS and I simply told him, “Congressman, where morale is concerned, there is no problem because that which does not exist cannot possibly be a problem!”
Now I want you to go back and check out the obvious attitude exhibited by the President of the United States where the enforcement of the immigration laws are concerned. Janet Reno was guilty of omitting our agency from her list of agencies under her command and the consternation was palpable. How must the personnel of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) feel?
If morale was a problem back then- the glib remarks by the President has to have sent the morale at DHS in to the territory of negative numbers!
I spent the majority of my adult years employed by the former INS and made a life’s work out of enforcing our nation’s immigration laws as did my colleagues. I will honestly tell you I was angered and nauseated by the President’s obvious disdain for my former professional efforts. There is absolutely no other way to feel!
At least I know now, with crystal clarity why the President is eager to provide unknown millions of illegal aliens with a pathway to United States citizenship- obviously he believes our borders are as he believes they should be- little more than speed bumps to those who seek to enter our country illegally.
For those who share Mr. Obama’s cavalier attitude- and in this group I would include all the “usual suspects” Pelosi, Schumer, Reid, etc.- I have a simple question, “Do you believe since running our borders and being present in our country illegally is no big deal, why don’t we save our nation lots of money and stop inspecting passengers and cargo entering our country?”
Think of how much time, money and effort could be saved by laying off all of the inspectors at CBP and all of the consular officials at State Department who are responsible for issuing visas to foreign nationals who wish to enter the United States. Our nation is, after all, expanding the number of Visa Waiver countries on a continuing basis- Greece being the most recent one added just a couple of months ago.
The point is that you either believe that it is important to enforce the immigration laws that are supposed to keep out aliens whose presence in our country is harmful to our nation or you believe it does not matter. If you think arriving international passengers must be inspected, then you must agree that those who avoid or circumvent the process must be sought and removed from our country in large enough numbers that this law enforcement effort provides a real deterrent against those who would violate our nation’s borders and our nation’s laws.
As you watch the commercial- please notice that the point is made that the majority of the individuals who are kidnapped in Arizona are either illegal aliens or are involved in the drug trade. Yet when people advocate that our nation’s borders be secured and the immigration laws be enforced that the open borders advocates accuse those who want secure borders and an immigration system that has real integrity of being “anti-immigrant.” The commercial makes the point I have often made- the most likely victim of the extreme violence employed by the cartels and transnational gangs, whose numbers in our country grow daily, are the members of the immigrant communities. So who is really “anti-immigrant,” those who want the borders secured against the entry of criminal thugs and terrorists or the open borders advocates who have never met an illegal aliens they didn’t like?
The President of the United States wears many hats. He is the Commander-in-Chief to our men and women in the armed services. He is also the ultimate boss to every federal agent in the United States. As the ultimate leader of the men and women whose professional responsibilities deal with the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws and the securing of our nation’s borders, it is most certainly not appropriate that he wear the joker’s hat when he makes reference to the immigration crisis that confronts our nation today!
As I have noted on ever so many occasions, a nation without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!
President Obama needs to understand that Americans have an interesting concept that used to be referred to as “Can Do!” That indomitable spirit that made America- America has been dormant for far too long. Apparently Governor Brewer subscribes to the saying “If you want a job done right- do it yourself!”
In the vacuum created by the lack of leadership and integrity in Washington has provided Jan Brewer and the members of her state’s legislature with no alternatives. Unlike the folks in Washington- she and the members of the legislature in Arizona and, I suspect the leaders of a growing number of states, have come to the realization that since no help is forthcoming from Washington- to continue to ignore the immigration crisis would constitute dereliction of duty!
In watching the video I have found yet another reason to refer to DHS as the Department of Homeland Surrender!
We the People may have become too accustomed to dereliction of duty where the federal government is concerned- but it is refreshing to see real leadership in action as demonstrated by the leaders of Arizona!
This evening I will end this commentary with that same concept of “Safety first.” If our leaders are unable or unwilling to place the security of our nation and the safety of our citizens first, they need to be removed first chance we get- our safety depends on it! Election Day is coming- but not soon enough!
My dad used to say that in life there are no mistakes- only lessons- if we learn from what goes wrong and make certain to not repeat those mistakes. For him, and for me, it is inexcusable and unforgivable to repeat the same mistakes. To put it another way- insanity has been defined as doing the same things the same way and expecting a different outcome!
If reading this makes it difficult for you to sleep now- perhaps you could do something worthwhile- perhaps you might spend a couple of your sleepless hours writing letters to your elected representatives this evening and remind them that Election Day is just months away!
We the People can add to the consternation of these politicians who are failing to live up to their oaths of office by contacting them and making it abundantly clear that election day is coming and they should think of election day as their personal “Day of Reckoning!”
Our government must live up to its obligation of protecting its own citizens and, indeed, all who are present in our country from the criminals and terrorists who would threaten our lives and the survival of our nation and our way of life. In the end, the government is actually those who are elected to act as our “leaders.” Those who fail to truly lead and look out for those they are supposed to represent, need to be sent packing this coming Election Day!
If our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!
We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
Any politician who refuses to work to secure our borders and create an immigration system that has integrity is either corrupt or too dumb to keep his (her) job. Any politician, irrespective of party affiliation who favors Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the outrageous betrayal that this would represent given the national security implications that this program would have, should be shown the door at the next election!
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
Later this year, each and every member of the House of Representatives is up for reelection. Later this year more than one third of the members of the United States Senate will have to face their constituents. They need to be reminded that they work for us, We the People!
However, the practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.
The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!
The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.I implore you to get involved!
If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!
All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.
This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!
You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
-michael cutler-