The Fed got new Powers...

OK, Jeff, I just read in the Stars and Stripes (best paper in the world) that the Fed is getting sweeping new powers.

I know that you have something to say about that...

Greetings from Sunny (or is that Sunni?) Kuwait

OK, I am gona be quick and painless here. I'm good, we're going North from here sooner or later.

For right now, we are busy convincing ourselves that this is just the World's largest beach.

Later....Bulldog23A

Immigration Reform

This was sent to me via e-mail, and I thought it warranted a little more exposure:


Just a couple of days ago, eight U.S. Senators rolled out eleven bills designed to solve our immigration problems, once and for all. Unlike the huge omnibus bill crafted by Senators McCain and Kennedy that hid amnesty provisions and other rewards for illegal aliens deep within its hundreds of pages, each of the bills introduced by these Senators tackles a specific objective and leaves little room for bad amendments to be tacked on.

This is the kind of legislation our organization has wanted for years. And now it is here for all of us to support. (see details below)

Unfortunately, a number of immigration reform groups have decided to back legislation by Congressman Heath Shuler, a Democrat from North Carolina. I can understand their enthusiasm. When I first learned of HR 4088, the SAVE Act, I was excited. It was about time Democrats found the courage to step up and address these immigration problems that affect American workers who are the core of their political base.

But a closer look quickly revealed that the Shuler bill, while it does contain some real immigration reforms, cannot compare to the House bill offered by former Judiciary Chair Jim Sensenbrenner (HR 4065) which really does it all.

Perhaps, the thinking of those supporting the Shuler bill is that half a loaf is better than none. I disagree. This is no time for compromise. Here's why: First, the Democrats control the House and the Senate. That means whatever bill is selected for debate will be torn to shreds when it goes to conference. The good language will be stripped out and replaced with amnesty language, 5-year "temporary" visas for illegal aliens and "pathways" to citizenship. And all those Republicans who are now being pressured into supporting the Shuler bill, will likely vote for it, even though it has been transformed beyond recognition.

Another reason for not accepting "half a loaf" is that we will get one shot at immigration reform. Once an immigration bill is passed, neither party will ever revisit this issue again for 20 years! So what is passed had better be able to solve ALL of our immigration problems or we will have to live with serious problems for decades.

I hope the Shuler bill is a sincere effort by Democrats to get on the right side of this issue. But it is also possible that this bill is merely a political stunt designed to give cover to Democrats in tight races this November.

Democrats aren't fools and they can read polling data as good as Republicans can. By signing on to this bill, they can now tell their constituents they have cosponsored a tough, no amnesty, immigration reform bill.

So ... instead of spending our time, money and energy on a bill that is, at best, a half a loaf and, at worst, a stunt to elect Democrats that may vote for amnesty, I believe that each of us needs to get out and support those Senators who have stuck their necks way out to give America the kind of immigration reforms necessary to protect the people and preserve our language, culture and heritage for the next generations.

Here are excerpts of what these new Senate bills will do, if we can get them passed:

* Manadatory minimum sentences for illegal entry
* Mandatory electronic employment verification system
* The entire fence must be completed by 2010
* Major funding cuts for sanctuary cities
* Stop banks from accepting Matricula Consular cards
* Establish English as our national language
* Stop the phaseout of the National Guard on our borders.
* Utilize state and local police forces to assist with immigration enforcement
* States that give licenses to illegal aliens will lose highay funds
* Makes drunk driving among illegal aliens a deportable offense
* Nations must repatriate their illegal aliens or lose aid and visas.
* Repeals presidential order that requires federal agencies to be multilingual

What would you rather support? A weak bill that is silent on some critical enforcement issues or a host of excellent bills, in both the House and Senate, that cut right to the heart of our immmigration crisis.

Here are the Senators who deserve our appreciation for their efforts. If you are one of their constituents, let them hear from you: Jeff Sessions - AL, Jim DeMint - SC, David Vitter-LA, James inhofe-OK, Pete Domenici-NM, Saxby Chambilss-GA, John Barrasso-WY, Elizabeth Dole-NC.

Please make a note to visit our website in 2-3 days when these bills have been numbered so you can have to opportunity to ask your Senators to become cosponsors to these powerful and effective Senate bills

Sincerely,
Edward I. Nelson, Chairman
U.S. Border Control (http://www.usbc.org/)
U.S. Border Control Foundation (http://www.usbcf.org/)
USBC Blog (must reading!) http://bordercontrol.blogspot.com/
Ramos-Compean Blog http://ramos-compean.blogspot.com/

Some of my favorite things...

Here are some of my favorite things:

I love the Arkansas countryside in the fall. There are colors there that cannot be reproduced by man. I have the most beautiful drive home from work that a man could ask for.

I love the desert down Highway 10 in Arizona, right before you get into Texas Canyon (Stop and see The Thing!). There is so much life out there in the late spring and early summer.

I love the King's Highway, down the coast from Maine to the Carolinas. The people are so full of life, and you can actually smell the history...

I love Gorman Falls down in Texas, just down the road from San Saba. There may not be a more beautiful place on Earth.

I love Los Angeles. Its so dirty that it has to be interesting...

I love Memphis. No city on Earth has had more influence on modern music than Memphis, TN.

I love that place behind the front door where my youngest daughter hides and tries to scare me.

I love that spot on the couch that makes my wife instantly put her head on my shoulder while we watch a movie.

I love standing in the door of my oldest daughter's bedroom while she plays her trumpet.

I love picking my middle daughter up from school. She always seems excited about what she has learned today.

I love that sand bar down on the White River where we hang out in the summer.

I love to stand in front of my aquarium and watch the turtles eat minnows.

I love to wake up in the night and rush to a Humvee, knowing that I am surrounded by the toughest bastards a guy could ever have on his side.

I love to stand in a public place when the National Anthem plays. It amazes me that we can forget all about race and religion and political party right before a ball game.

I love these United States, truly and deeply. I will go where I must to defend her interests, and learn and grow from the experience. I only hope that we can hang on to what we love about this country long enough to fix all that has been broken.

Here it Gets Ugly

Got My Chemical Romance cranked up, name of the song is The Sharpest Lives, and its got a nice angry beat.

I'm eating Pringles and looking for my Mountain Dew...Found it!
Here we go...

I am going to take the blame. That's right America, good ol' Bulldog two-three alpha is gonna take the blame for everything that has gone wrong in the past thirty-five years. Now that we have that out of the way, let's fix something. Hell, let's fix anything. I'm tired of listening to people spend all of their time and energy trying to figure out who is to blame. From now on you can tell 'em all that it's my fault. Moving on...

I am about to officially endorse a freaking candidate, and I'm afraid that there will be no end to the madness once I do so, so I'm going to do some 'splaining first. Maybe I'll throw out a few disclaimers and such, too. Anyway, if you will follow my logic, and actually listen to the damn plan, just maybe I can convince you that this is the right choice.

First of all, I want you all to remember that one person is never going to have enough power in this country to take away your guns (unless you give them that power).

Second, I want you to remember that, as far as conservatism goes, we have really screwed the pooch lately on so many levels that we may never be a conservative nation again.

Next I want you to consider what the two largest threats are to you and me and folks like us...

OK, I'll tell you- NAFTA and border security. Why yes, I will explain.

NAFTA (and other free trade agreements) has been the cause of the majority of lost jobs in the United States in the past few years. NAFTA has also been the cause of a lot of illegal immigration. NAFTA has prevented any real economic growth in Mexico, thus causing people who were already sick of poverty to move North. I could explain it more fully, but I already have, and there's a link to the damn thing around here somewhere...

Nobody has a viable plan to secure the border (except me). Nobody has anything to say about NAFTA at all...

Well there is that one candidate.

One candidate has publicly pledged to withdraw from NAFTA if Mexico and Canada will not renegotiate the treaty. Now, this candidate is not exactly who you would expect me to endorse, and, well, I expect to catch a rash for doing so.

The problem is this- I'm a tired little man with stuff to do. I can theorize and pontificate all I want about changing things, but until I do something to initiate said change, I'm just another asshole on the internet. There is one candidate that has actually even mentioned one freaking thing that we, the People, see as the actual issue. One stinking thing...

One politician in the entire time that I have been writing this little blog has admitted that NAFTA may need to be repealed. They posture and gesture about gay marriage, they talk about exit plans for Iraq, knowing that there is no viable plan. They talk and talk and talk about stabilizing the economy, all the while you pay more for milk and gas and smokes and sodas (seriously, $1.49 for a freaking Mt. Dew?). One guy has said one thing that I agree with. I gotta hang on to hope, don't I?

So here we go folks. Figure out who that candidate is, and tell your friends that its all Bulldog23A's fault.

I'm never gonna hear the end of it...

Life, the Universe, and All That Jazz...

In the grand scheme of things, this blog is just a drop in the bucket. There are men and women far more knowledgable than myself out there trying to get a message across, and most of them disagree with me, or seem to. I read the Capitol Hill Pundits Blog daily, and the things I see as issues are hardly ever touched on. The Congressional Blog is much the same. This leads me to believe that either I am delusional (and that IS an option), or that noone in DC is in touch with my world. So I'm going to give you guys a picture of my little bubble.

I grew up in a small town and went to a tiny public school. I graduated salutatorian in a class of six people. My father was a truck driver, and was often a guest speaker at churches across Texas. I was raised in a VERY strict environment-what we would call an ultra-conservative household these days. We were as far to the right politically as we could be.

My father died when I was 16 years old, and I went buck wild. I eventually joined a band, and even made a little money playing music. I did odd jobs, drank a lot, and expirimented with all the drugs I could get my hands on. All I knew about dope was that it was bad. I blew through relationships and friends and jobs like most people change socks. I lived in a moral vacuum for several years.

When I started having children, I had to grow up. There was no other option. I worked construction, and eventually joined the Army National Guard. I did my weekend drills, busted my back at work, and made a fair living. I was terrible with my money and my credit, so I worked all the overtime that I could to make ends meet. There was no health insurance, no vacation (just the yearly lay-off), and no retirement. I traveled to where the work was and came home when I could.

Then one day I got a factory job. It was like I had joined a whole new society. I still worked overtime (as much as the union would allow). We had health insurance. I earned vacation days. I felt like a successful man.

The deployments started for us in 1999. I did not go on the first one, so I kept working at the factory. Immediately after 911, we were sent overseas for several months. After that little adventure, I was not about to go back to factory work or construction, so I went to school. We got sent to Iraq a year later. After Iraq there was some college and then Operation Katrina Relief. After katrina, there was some college and then Recruiting. Last year I hired on full timefor the National Guard. I make about twice the median income for the county I live in, my health insurance is fairly affordable and really good, and my education benfits are still available.

My career is not exactly on the fastest track, but I have opportunities from time to time to advance myself, and I plan to. I will retire a little early and be comfortable in my old age.

None of my friends outside of the military have a plan right now. All of my former co-workers at the factory are out of a job. All of my former co-workers with the construction company are out of a job. NAFTA and CAFTA have cost the Batesville, Arkansas area somewhere around 1800 jobs in 10 years. The only people who seem to give a damn are people like me who could never run for office, never mind the affordability of it, we couldn't bear the scrutiny. I bet you could find a hundred people that would claim to have done drugs with me.

You see, I'm no worse than say, Teddy Kennedy, but I want to buck the system, so I would be crucified in that environment. So would many of my readers. So who can represent us? Who can make the changes that we need here in real America?

I do not regret too many of my choices. I am the man I am today because of my history. I cannot imagine that I would have given a rat's ass about any of you if I had gone to law school and then into politics when I was younger.

But I bet I would have been electable...