Operational Control Should Be Metric for Success

Washington, D.C. – Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, who represents Arizona’s Sixth District, today criticized the border security proposal outlined by the Department of Homeland Security’s Chief of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The five-year plan moves away from operational control as the metric for measuring effective and sustainable border security and shifts the focus of border security from being resource-based to risk-based.

“Unless the federal government has operational control, the border is not secured,” said Flake. “When the Tucson Sector looks like the Yuma Sector, the Obama Administration can start patting itself on the back. But to abandon operational control as the metric of success now makes me question the seriousness of the Administration’s proposal.”

“We have a plan in Congress that would put the federal government on the path to operational control – The Border Security Enforcement Act.”

In 2011, Congressman Flake introduced in the House H.R. 1507, the Border Security Enforcement Act of 2011, which is focused on increasing resources along the Southern U.S. border. Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl introduced the legislation in the Senate. Among the 10 key provisions of the bill is the deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard troops and 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents to the United States-Mexico border by 2016. It would create additional Border Patrol stations along the southwest border and six additional permanent Border Patrol Forward Operating Bases and would upgrade existing bases.

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Distributed by C O M M O N  S E N S E , in Arizona
Saturday, March 24, 2012

It seems like every Republican candidate boasts about their perfect record when it comes to cutting wasteful spending and being a fiscal conservative. But some candidates have voting records that support their claims and some do not.   Kirk Adams is one of those candidates whose rhetoric does not match his record.   In March 2011, the Arizona House of Representatives, led by then-Speaker of the House Kirk Adams, passed HB 2718, a $5 million “earmark” to Sheriff Paul Babeu and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department. HB 2718 was intended to send “emergency” funds to Pinal County for “border security operations” and “public safety equipment,” despite the fact that Pinal County does not border Mexico.   Using an enormous amount of his political clout, Sheriff Babeu leaned hard on Kirk Adams to co-sponsor and lead the passing of this wasteful earmark through the legislature. Adams, only a couple months away from announcing his campaign for Congress, was happy to oblige Sheriff Babeu in hopes that it would earn him Babeu’s once-highly influential endorsement for his congressional campaign.   In a press release sent from his Speaker’s office on February 23, 2011, Kirk Adams defended HB 2718, stating:   “Sheriff Babeu has stepped up to the plate and is fighting to protect Arizonans – in Pinal County and beyond,” said House Speaker Kirk Adams, sponsor of the legislation. “Years of neglect and denial have allowed Pinal County to become the top corridor into our state and country for illegal activity. Sheriff Babeu’s important and courageous work will help keep America and Arizona safe.”   Babeu, eager to receive the additional funding from the state, went on to spend nearly $1 million to purchase a patrol helicopter for his Sheriff’s office. Since then, Pinal county officials have determined they do not have the necessary funds to consistently purchase the gas needed to operate the helicopter. Now, the Pinal County Sheriff’s office is in possession of a taxpayer-paid helicopter that can’t be used for “border security” or “public safety.”   At a time when Arizona faced a budget crisis like never seen before and Arizona families struggled to make ends meet, Kirk Adams chose to flush millions of taxpayer dollars down the drain.   Arizona voters need to look past the rhetoric of Republican candidates who claim to be fiscally conservative. Our country can’t afford more politicians in Congress who talk tough about cutting wasteful spending but continue to vote for more of it. Now more than ever, we must entrust our country’s future with candidates who possess a proven fiscal record to back up their campaign rhetoric.   In the end, the tough talk from Kirk Adams about cutting wasteful spending and being fiscally responsible reminds me of that earmarked helicopter: it just doesn’t fly.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 6, 2012
CONTACT: Zach Howell

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Ben Quayle released the following statement after legislation he cosponsored, the Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2012 (H.R. 4119), was reported out of committee by a unanimous vote. The bill increases criminal penalties for constructing, financing or using cross-border smuggling tunnels. Congressman Quayle has been working with the sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), to advance the bill through the Judiciary Committee.

“For more than twenty years, dangerous drug cartels have been using illegal cross-border tunnels to smuggle drugs into the United States—74 of these tunnels have been found in Arizona alone. The penalties for those caught constructing, financing and using these tunnels have been absurdly low, and I’m glad to join Congressman Reyes in addressing this problem.

“I have been working to get this bill through the Judiciary Committee, and I’m grateful to Chairman Smith and my colleagues for their support in reporting this bill out of the committee to the House floor. It is time to stop the rampant construction and use of border tunnels and I believe that this legislation will accomplish exactly that when it is enacted”

Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith congratulated Rep. Quayle following the committee’s passage of the bill:

“I congratulate Representative Quayle on the Committee’s passage of the Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2012. I appreciate his leadership on this important legislation to help combat the construction of cross-border tunnels. Drug cartels will stop at nothing to get their destructive products into the U.S. In the last five years, 40 tunnels have been discovered in California and 74 in Arizona. This bill gives law enforcement officials the tools they need to investigate and prosecute those who construct, finance and use cross-border tunnels.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

First, coverage of Arizona Democrats making their best but feeble effort to repeal Arizona’s SB 1070:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Second, coverage of Arizona Republicans standing firm and united for Arizona’s southern border security and SB 1070.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Phoenix, Arizona – President Obama will hold a rally Wednesday in Chandler and conservatives want to know; will Congressman Flake be there to support his pro-amnesty, Washington insider friend Barack Obama?

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Congressman Flake was in the front row of President Obama’s rally,” said Katie Martin. “The Congressman is in lock step with the president’s policies and has voted repeatedly to help push through President Obama’s liberal agenda. It is time that Congressman Flake owns up to his Pro-Obama record and apologizes for voting against Arizonans.”

Political Pals – Congressman Jeff Flake and President Barack Obama

Congressman Flake agrees with President Obama and thinks we should provide amnesty to illegal immigrants! (Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Op-Ed, “The Numbers Are On Our Side,” Progress Illinois, 4/18/08; www.progressillinois.com/)

Congressman Flake agrees with President Obama and wants to give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants! (H.R. 1645, Introduced 3/22/07)

Congressman Flake agrees with President Obama and thinks the military should be a social experiment and voted for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell! (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll638.xml)

Congressman Flake agrees with President Obama that Cap and Trade type legislation is a good idea! (H.R. 2380, Introduced 5/13/09)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 25, 2012
CONTACT: Genevieve Fry Rozansky

Legislation Allows Harsher Punishments for Ultralight Smugglers and Those who Conspire with Them

Washington, D.C. – Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, who represents Arizona’s Sixth District, today praised the House passage of H.R. 3801, the Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act of 2012, which was introduced by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

The legislation targets the use of ultralight aircraft in smuggling operations specifically along the southern U.S. border by assigning harsher criminal penalties to those who are smuggling and those who conspire to engage in smuggling operations using ultralight aircraft.

“Ultralights have become a vehicle for smuggling drugs across our southern border, but local authorities haven’t had the tools to discourage and punish their operators and those working with their operators,” said Flake.

“In speaking with ranch owners near the border in Arizona and state officials, this has become a serious problem. I’m grateful to Congresswoman Giffords for introducing this legislation, which will allow law enforcement to hopefully significantly curtail smuggling via ultralights and strengthen the integrity of our southern border.”

H.R. 3801 adds “ultralights” to the definition of aircraft under aviation smuggling provisions of Tariff Act of 1930 and would add “conspiracy to commit” smuggling to the charges one can be charged with (in addition to actually committing smuggling crimes) when using ultralight aircraft. Finally, it would encourage interagency cooperation between DoD and DHS on technology to detect ultralights.

H.R. 3801 includes provisions approved by the House in H.R. 5307, introduced by Congresswoman Giffords in the 11th Congress (H.R. 5307) and details included in H.R. 1507, the Border Security Enhancement Plan which Congressman Flake introduced this Congress and Senators McCain and Kyl introduced in the Senate). H.R. 3801 is identical to S. 1974, which was introduced by Senators Udall and Heller and approved last December.

“This bill is a fitting tribute on Congresswoman Giffords’ last day in the House. She’s worked to pass it for years. While today may be her last day in the House, her public service will certainly continue. She’s passionate about improving Arizona and the country, and she’s going to continue to be an effective advocate for the issues that are important to her.”

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Those who are promoting the repeal of SB1070 are upholding and empowering cartels and gangs who are committing cross border criminal activity.

We are in a State of Emergency here in Arizona. Our border is not secure. The crippling drug war in Mexico is seeping like a very bad wound into our state. Violent beheadings and body dismemberment, the signature of the drug cartel’s, have now come into the Valley of the Sun, and are even finding their ugly way into the heart of America: A young girl brutally killed in Oklahoma only a week ago!

Increased gun battles along the Arizona border and 75-miles into Arizona; dangerous vehicle pursuits with drug cartel members and those who are delivery agents of drugs occur most frequently; kidnappings too. Continued reports by U.S. Border Patrol Agents of military-grade weapons being used against them; reports of sophisticated communication systems, including professional-grade radio towers, satellite radios and encrypted phone systems; look-outs controlling mountain ranges in southern Arizona; and a cancer-like growth of pure vile and hatred toward any law enforcement, and the laws of the United States.

Drugs and human trafficking create billions of dollars for these evil violent Mexican drug gangs/cartels. Just the competition for bounty from human and sex trafficking generated an estimated $2 billion last year to Mexican gangs and cartels.

At a time when the Obama Administration is not only refusing to secure our borders but implementing policies that will embolden this criminal element we must stand firm in enforcing internal immigration laws for the protection of our state and citizens. SB1070 is all this state has to stop illegal immigration since our border is not secure.

The Tucson Sector is the busiest drug and alien smuggling corridor on the border.

Agents working the Tucson Sector estimate they are apprehending less than five percent of what they know is crossing the border on a monthly basis. That means over 95% of what they know is coming across the border is not being apprehended and therefore not counted. (April 2011)

Agents in the Tucson Sector estimate that they only work about 70% of their border area during any month. That means for 30% of the border they have no idea what is coming across. (April 2011)

More law enforcement is needed to help address this emergency created by our open borders. I will be introducing SB1083 – Organizing the AZ State Guard – to help state law enforcement with cross-border criminal activity.

Approximately 62% of the Arizona border with Mexico is federal public land. Significant drug and alien smuggling occurs on this land, especially where the Border Patrol does not have unfettered access to patrol the border. Federal agencies on the Arizona Border, citing environmental concerns, restrict and in some cases prevent effective border patrol access to the border area for the purposes of patrolling the border.

This is an insane policy that only protects and empowers the criminals but leaves Arizona citizens at risk. Our state has a right and a responsibility for the welfare, health and safety of the people to use our police powers to protect our state. I will be introducing SCR1008 – titled, “Declaration of emergency: state authority” – to address this issue.

In summary, nobody knows how many illegal drugs and alien smugglers are crossing the borders of the United States, and the numbers they are reporting are not accurate enough to even predict trends in illegal crossings. And friends, that is just the Tucson Sector. What about the rest of the land and sea borders of the United States? Our ranchers and farmers who live within 100 miles of the border are speaking out, and no one hears. Governor Brewer has written strong letters to President Obama asking for help with our border, and it all goes on deaf ears.

Those who are suggesting we weaken internal enforcement of our immigration laws by repealing SB1070 will only empower the drug cartels/human smugglers, and cross-border criminal activity. The Open Borders crowd does not care about the harm that is being caused to citizens. The open-borders crowd does not care about the rule of law or our Constitutional form of government. Arizona must stand firm in protecting our citizens, property and lives.

Until we can rid ourselves of the Obama Administration, the corrupt (Fast and Furious) Justice Department, and the do-nothing Homeland Security and their failure to protect our country, then the State of Arizona must do what we can to protect our citizens. No responsible elected official would suggest that we weaken SB1070 until our borders are secure.

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Distributed by C O M M O N  S E N S E , in Arizona

Need a show of support for SB 1070        Sen. Gallardo will be holding a press conference to announce his bill to repeal SB 1070

RALLY AT STATE CAPITOL MONDAY AT NOON (ARRIVE AT 11:30AM)   ALERT!!! – SUPPORTERS OF SB1070 NEED TO SHOW THEIR SUPPORT THIS MONDAY AT OUR CAPITOL!!!                                                                                                                                           Sen. Sylvia Allen and Arizona Border Security Arizona State Senator Sylvia Allen, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Border Security State Sovereignty will be responding to a public Press Conference being held this Monday, at the Arizona State Capitol approximately 12noon. Sen. Allen will be responding to Sen. Gallardo (Friend of Randy Parazz)who is a publicly proclaimed advocate for Open Borders and severely opposesthe development of the Arizona State Guard to secure Arizona’s Border, and provide protection to the citizens of Arizona who continue to fight off the assault of illegal’s and drugs coming into Arizona. Sen. Allen is requesting citizen support from fellow Arizonans who are willing to stand for a secure border. Arizonans willing to stand with Sen. Allen, Sen. Stevens, Sen. Griffin, Sen. Antenori, and Sen. Melvin.   Please show your public support for these elected officials who are willing to stand and fight the good fight to preserve the welfare of Arizona.   Come to the Arizona State Capitol this Monday by 11:30am. Come and bring your voices and your determination to preserve our Great Grand Canyon State

Distributed by C O M M O N  S E N S E , in Arizona

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Anthony Martin Conservative Examiner

In a stunning development that could potentially send the nation into a Constitutional crisis, an astute attorney who is well-versed in Constitutional law states that the ruling against the state of Arizona by Judge Susan Bolton concerning its new immigration law is illegal. The attorney in question submitted her assertion in a special article in the Canada Free Press. Her argument states in part, “Does anyone read the U.S. Constitution these days? American lawyers don’t read it. Federal Judge Susan R. Bolton apparently has never read it. Same goes for our illustrious Attorney General Eric Holder. But this lawyer has read it and she is going to show you something in Our Constitution which is as plain as the nose on your face. “Article III, Sec. 2, clause 2 says: “In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction.” In other words, the Judge in the Arizona case has absolutely no Constitutional jurisdiction over the matter upon which she ruled. As the Constitution makes abundantly clear, only the U.S. Supreme Court can issue rulings that involve a state. This means that neither Judge Bolton nor the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, to which the case is being appealed, have any legal standing whatsoever to rule on the issue. Thus, U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder filed the federal government’s lawsuit against the state of Arizona in a court that has no authority to hear the case. The attorney whose heads-up thinking concerning the Constitution provides the legal remedy for dealing with this blatant disregard for Constitutional law in the article at Canada Free Press, which can be accessed at the link above. In a related development, another explosive discovery was made by those who actually take the Constitution seriously. The Constitution specifically allows an individual state to wage war against a neighboring country in the event of an invasion, should there be a dangerous delay or inaction on the part of the federal government. This information was cited by United Patriots of America. From Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, we find these words: “No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.” No one who is actually familiar with the crisis at the southern border can deny that Arizona is endangered by the relentless assault of lawless Mexican invaders who ignore our laws, inundate our schools and medical facilities with unpaid bills, and even endanger the very lives of citizens with criminal drug cartels that engage in kidnapping, murder, human trafficking, and other mayhem, including aiming missile and grenade launchers directly at U.S. border cities from just across the Mexican border. This is every bit as much of an invasion as the nation of Iran sending in a fleet of warships to the Port of Charleston. The Constitution that forms the basis of the rule of law in this country says that Arizona has legal right to protect itself in the case of inaction or delay on the part of the federal government, including waging war in its self-defense. This, when coupled with the clear Constitutional mandate that only the Supreme Court hear cases involving the states, should be ample legal basis for attorneys representing Arizona to go after the federal government with a vengeance. Governor Jan Brewer and the stalwart members of the Arizona legislature have ample legal reason to stand firm against the illegal bullying of an arrogant, lawless federal government.

Mr. George W. Romney, was elected Governor of Michigan. Because there was talk George W. might run for the presidency, his citizenship eligibility came into question and because it extends to the child at the time of birth, there is now question regarding Willard (Mitt) Romney:

Mitt Romney’s, father George W. Romney, Not A Natural Born Citizen of the United States of America, and was NOT, eligible for the Office of President, by Pinckney G. McElwee of D.C. Bar.)

Congressional Record (House) June 14, 1967

“I find no proper legal or historical basis on which to conclude that a person born outside of the United States could ever be eligible to occupy the Office of the President of the United States. In other words, In my opinion, Mr. George Romney of Michigan Is Ineligible to become President of the United States because he was born In Mexico and is, therefore, not a natural-born citizen as required by the United States Constitution.”

Thus, we have the same situation as with Obama/Soetoro: A father born in a foreign country who never became a U.S. citizen. Several people have been doing some serious research on this:

“The big question is this…how did George and Gaskell Romney get their US Citizenship back if they still had it at all? If Gaskell (son) and Miles Park Romney (father) who were both Mexican citizens how could they transfer US Citizenship to George Romney? Mitt Romney, however, may be a birthright baby because he fell under the 14th Amendment (I doubt they were under the jurisdiction of the US) but it is absolutely clear that Mitt Romney is NOT a Natural Born Citizen unless he can prove that George Romney gained citizenship from naturalization prior to Mitt’s birth in 1947. I have found no records showing this to be the case.”

more.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2011
CONTACT: Katie Martin

Phoenix, Arizona – Wil Cardon, candidate for U.S. Senate, issued the following statement after the Obama Administration announced they will reduce the number of National Guard Troops on the border from 1200 to 300 this coming January:

“The decision to reduce troops on our border by the Obama Administration is unconscionable. The federal government’s abandonment of its responsibility to secure the border is alarming and frustrating. This new announcement shows how out of touch with reality the Obama Administration truly is. Our communities cannot afford less support from the federal government to protect our border. A porous border threatens our safety, curtails our quality of life, and diminishes the economic opportunity of hardworking Americans. I am running for the U.S. Senate because we need a leader in Washington who has the wisdom and the courage to act decisively and secure our borders once and for all.” 

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Senator Sylvia Allen

The Arizona border remains under assault. This assault is not diminishing but increasing! Just south of Arizona, Mexico is in a state of civil war. The death toll in Mexico is more than 40,000 lives lost since 2006. Only the Mexican military is able to maintain any semblance of order, and many within Mexico are now even openly questioning “for how long?” In a recent exclusive interview with Newsmax, former Mexican President Vicente Fox said bluntly his nation was at “war” with drug cartels. “Everybody’s trying to deny that we’re going through a war but that’s what it is.”

Graphic photos of beheadings, kidnapping scenes, and mass graves are sent to me weekly in Border Briefing reports. The cartels/gangs have corrupted Mexican law enforcement at all levels, thereby protecting their illicit $12-billion-a-year criminal enterprise. You would think the United States government would be greatly concerned; you would think those in positions of public trust in Washington would spend at least as much time working on stabilizing Mexico as they do on Egypt and Libya. Yet hardly a word is said about the increasing problems and threats stemming from our immediate neighbor to the south other than the spin from Washington that “the border is safer now than ever.” But to those of us tasked with providing security to the citizens of Arizona and beyond, nothing of substance is said or enacted and, all the while, a war is headed this way. This war is real, and it is dangerous, and soon this war will be fought with increasing measures in America.

NewsMax devoted two months last Spring conducting more than 20 interviews during visits to border areas in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. They found overwhelming evidence that Mexico’s drug cartels have already penetrated deep into our nation’s heartland, and Americans are increasingly fearful.

As Chairman of the Arizona Senate Committee on Border Security, my committee heard testimony last year from many citizens who live in the border area. They reported home invasions, vandalism, stolen property, and a host of other criminal activities. An Intelligence Briefing to a Joint Session of Selected Legislators on November 10th, 2011, by Zack Taylor, retired Border Patrol Supervisory Agent, and Dr. Lyle Rapacki, a Threat Assessment and Intelligence Specialist, went even further than the NewsMax articles. These experts reported how “lookout posts” are positioned in key points throughout the desert, and as far north (65-miles from the border) as the City of Casa Grande, Arizona, the I-8 corridor and Apache Junction, and along the I-10 corridor approaching the bedroom community of Ahwatukee. This briefing further revealed that the cartels (and lookouts) are heavily armed with military-grade weapons, camouflage, sophisticated and expensive night-vision goggles, satellite communications, food and water, and organized logistical support. If you go to the Pinal County Sheriff’s website, you can read many reports of drug busts, fire fights, auto chases, and other serious encounters with the cartels/gangs/human smugglers occurring frequently in Pinal County, which is far inside the border of the United States of America.

Additionally, and with as much concern, Arizona has to deal with health issues and trash, mounds of trash left by illegals marching into America. Fifth-generation rancher Jim Chilton has seen his once-beautiful ranch, just a few miles from the border with Mexico, be destroyed with crushed trees and cactus, whole hillsides turned into charred eyesores, years worth of his award-winning conservation projects obliterated – and his ranch is littered with trash, tons of trash, and some of this trash is dead bodies. Mr. Chilton stated: “I’ve got 30,000 to 40,000 illegal aliens coming right through my ranch every year, and the Forest Service says each one leaves about eight pounds of trash. This means 100 tons of trash. Some of my cows eat the plastic bags that are thrown down, and about 10 head of cattle die per year, and their deaths are slow and painful. At $1,200 per cow lost, this means I lose $12,000 a year in cows to trash!”

Adding insult is the Bureau of Land Management with their insane proposal to shut down target shooting on 490,000 acres in the Sonoran Desert National Monument, and another 1.4 million acres of additional public lands in Pinal County. The Bureau claims shooters are leaving trash behind. It is NOT the shooters who are decimating the desert but drug and human smugglers! The BLM knows this but have developed this ploy to restrict Arizonans from entering this land. Arizona Game and Fish, on their maps, warn hunters that 35 miles north of the Border the land is impacted by illegal activity from illegals. Arizona is losing control of her sovereign land!

Tragedy upon tragedy, as we add the fires set by illegals that have destroyed our lands! Senator McCain was correct this past summer laying blame on the illegals for some of the horrific and terribly destructive fires that were purposefully set. It cost more than $70 million to fight these insidious fires, and the official U.S. Government response was to attempt to silence McCain. Why is the apparent official policy of the United States to ridicule and silence those who are trying to protect our state of Arizona? Why are the cartels protected? Why do official U.S. government departments, sworn to protect American citizens, extend protection to gangs working with the drug cartels, and even to terrorists entering our nation from various border entry points?

In 2007, speaking on the Larry King show, former Mexican President Vicente Fox confirmed the coming merger with Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Not only did Fox admit that he and George W. Bush had agreed to create a common currency, the Amero, he also contended that a North American Union is “inevitable.” There is, on the other hand, no will to secure our borders or to enforce our laws. There is a concerted, deliberate, and sophisticated program under way to erase our national boundaries and create a North American Union. Merging our country with Mexico and Canada would be a losing proposition for Americans. The governments of these three countries are not alike. The gift of sovereignty handed to us by our Forefathers would be extinguished, and we would become subjects, no longer free. I do not want this for myself or my grandchildren!

Progressive groups, radicals of many persuasions, and even anti-American groups are using the cry for “Open Borders” for their own purposes, and not for the concern of migrants. Those purposes include, but are not limited to, undermining our form of government and eroding our national sovereignty. Many of those entangled are innocent bystanders who become subject to blackmail and abuse by “coyotes,” cartels, human and slave traffickers, and radical political groups who have agendas that reach far beyond the safety and legal status of a vulnerable illegal family. With the recent recall of Senator Russell Pearce, the open borders crowd feels empowered, and they have no intention of stopping until they rid the political and governing scene of each and every individual who stands in the way of full and completely open borders, no national boundaries, and the complete remaking of America into the North American Union.

As an Arizona state legislator, I took an oath to uphold the Federal and State Constitutions and the laws of our land. If those laws need to be changed, we have a process by which people, through their elected representatives, can change them. In the meantime, elected representatives and residents are encouraged to live by the laws intended to provide order and safety for all. There is no higher calling for an elected official, state or federal, than to protect the freedom and public safety of the citizens they represent. Border Security ranks supreme. Without first securing the border, we will never be able to solve the myriad issues involving illegal immigration.

Arizona is in a State of Emergency. If we want to protect our national and state sovereignty, we must secure our border and enforce our laws. This is NOT a political move or call to action; this is a call to declare a State of Emergency in Arizona to preserve our land, our citizens and their property, and our state sovereignty, with all the means afforded to us by the Constitution of the United States of America.

We are still seeking donations to build the border fence. Please take a look at the “Build the Border Fence” website, and consider making a generous donation.

Best wishes to all of you during this holiday season. Despite the gloomy news on the border, we have much to be grateful for! God willing, we will make some progress on securing the border in the months ahead. The next Update will discuss some solutions to the border emergency.

The Pearce recall is not a primary election.   It is a bought & paid for operation designed to strike a blow against the Republican platform by removing the man who is now viewed as the face of the movement to secure our borders.   It is an attempt by those who know they cannot win a Republican primary to circumvent the normal party nomination process and focus national leftist power and funds on one small local election – not in an attempt to elect someone who sympathizes with their viewpoint, but rather an ambitious plan to score a propaganda coup.

Consequently, an overwhelming majority of precinct committeemen in one of Arizona’s largest, most diverse legislative districts came together and spoke with one voice:   WE STAND WITH RUSSELL PEARCE AGAINST LEFTIST POLITICAL MANIPULATION.

The debate was spirited.   There were those who were concerned about setting precedents about the district interfering with other districts, or getting involved in elections where two Republicans are running against each other.   And yet, the discussion maintained a high level of civility and respect.   In many cases, people who raised concerns about a precedent being set also stated that the disgrace of a recall election bought and paid for by out-of-state special interest groups was itself a unique situation in Arizona, more akin to the events in Wisconsin where union leaders attempted to recall Republicans who voted for their beliefs.  More than one person expressed the view that although they often do not support some of Pearce’s legislation, in this particular case it was more important to present a unified front against those who would attempt to splinter our party by making one of its leading figures appear weak.   For too many years, Divide and Conquer has been an effective leftist strategy.   No longer.

The members of Legislative District 22 are pleased to present this resolution, passed on September 8^th, 2011,  to the public:

RESOLUTION SUPPORTING SENATOR PEARCE IN UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 18 RECALL ELECTION

RESOLVED,

WHEREAS it is our belief that the recall election against Senator Russell Pearce in Arizona Legislative District 18 is an orchestrated Democratic assault against Republican principles, and

WHEREAS, the defeat of Senator Pearce is a core objective of the Democratic National Committee and Moveon.org,

WE, the members of Arizona Legislative District 22, do hereby express our support of Senator Russell Pearce.

Adopted September 8, 2011

Reuters Reports:

“Kenneth Melson, who has been acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, has been under fire and admitted mistakes in the sting operation meant to try to crack down on the flow of weapons to violent drug gangs.

He will be reassigned to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy as an adviser on forensic science, the Justice Department said. The U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Todd Jones, will serve as acting ATF director.

In further fallout from the operation, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, Dennis Burke, has resigned and the lead prosecutor on that case in the office has been reassigned, according to an administration official.

Another administration official said this is a chance for a “fresh start given everything they’ve gone through lately” at ATF.

The operation, dubbed “Fast and Furious,” has spawned congressional and internal Justice Department probes and put the Obama administration on the defensive about whether dangerous weapons were knowingly allowed to cross the border.”

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE. More to come

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 21, 2011
CONTACT: Mike Philipsen

People from all 50 states offer financial support 

(State Capitol, Phoenix) – The totals are in from the first day of donations to help build a fence along the Arizona-Mexico border. More than $58,000 poured in to www.buildtheborderfence.com from 1,265 donors in just the first 24 hours.

“The Federal Government has made it abundantly clear that it has no interest in addressing the invasion of drug cartels, violent gangs, illegal aliens and terrorists along the border. The U.S. wants this problem addressed, and this is one way we’re doing it,” says Sen. Steve Smith, a Republican from Maricopa. Smith sponsored SB 1406, legislation that established a website for the purpose of raising private money to help build a border fence.

The border remains porous, and Arizona is taking one step toward true border security. From California to Texas, the southern border is approximately 2,000 miles, and only roughly 685 miles is fenced. The remaining 1300+ miles of the border have no fencing at all.

All the funds raised at www.buildtheborderfence.com are held in a trust fund account in the Arizona State Treasurer’s Office. The Joint Border Security Advisory Committee, established in the bill, will oversee the project.

Every state in the union was represented on the first day of donations, and that does not surprise Sen. Smith.

“We have always said with illegal immigration, ‘what happens in Arizona doesn’t stay in Arizona’. This is a crisis for the nation, and it is gratifying to know that all 50 states agree,” says Sen. Smith.

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