The reason of having so many drugs coming into the US is because the poverty of all the Latin American countries forces them to come here -or sell drugs- Not all illegal aliens are from Mexico. There are plenty of illegal aliens that come here with a tourist visa and never leave.

Tell Eric Holder to stop "operation fast and furious".

Dr.

I was going to post the exact same thing when I read the news post on msn. In fact I am surprised someone hasnt rented a billboard right at the border and posted it yet

Make you a trade, one illegal mexican, for one illegal gun......sounds fair....but I'm more under the impression that the illegal drug dealing and money laundering mexicans coming here are smuggling the guns back into mexico, so Mexico get some of what you call "MUY GRANDE COJONES" and start solving your own problems, before blaming someone else due to the lack of your own governments control over its people....or do you want us to police mexico with drone strikes too........

I am so ashamed that Obama and Holder are both GUILTY of sending weapons to mexico. Yes they are personally responsible and should be held accountable for the deaths!

Yes, you can put that sign up but the Politicians representing their owners will take it down.

They love looking the other way on cheap labor. It's a cornerstone of their platform to make profits at the expense of the working man on both sides of the borders!

Keep looking the other way bub! I like the tunnel vision and lack of personal responsibility. It renders us collectively on a path to cultural failure. Good Job!

Sign for our side:

No More Illegals! No More Drugs!

A slow death is still a death, and truth be known, character flaws are at the root of both. Mexicans want guns to kill each other, Americans want drugs so they can kill themselves and others by proxy. If Mexico puts its house in order, their people wouldn't need to come here to survive. Greed is at the root of all of it, and I wish us good luck with that one; it's destroyed every "civilization" on the planet. at one time or another. Talk is cheap - how about some action?

Mr. Punish....same concept should work for the weapons coming into Mexico, but Mr. Calderone would rather try and make it look like it's all the U.S.' fault instead of taking responsibility himself.

How about "No more drugs".

It is not automatic weapons that are coming from the US it is semi-automatic weapons that were sold during Holder's Operation Fast and Furious. No one in the US with a FFL would jepordize that to sell a fuly automatic weapon. Besides the paperwork that is needed for a fully automatic weapon sale is horrendous. Most of the fully automatic weapons are coming in from Central and South America.

That being said - Mr. Calderon, you stop the influx of Meth and your people into our country we might help you out.

Bring home our troops, have them police the border. Then we can 'protect' mexico from guns, while we keep out illegals and drugs.

Tell Holder ;"No More weapons"......and hey,maybe just for @!$%#s and giggles we could prosecute,and incarcerate ANYONE caught moving weapons out of THIS country illegally....starting with HOLDER,AND his handlers........years ago my old police dpt. had us put bumper stickers on all of the patrol cars that said;"Use a gun in a crime,go to jail,mandatory 5 years".....that was back in Jersey,and of course,the idiot judges never followed through..............It offends me that some politician will find a way to blame this on us gun owners that actually follow the rules.....after all it IS an election year......and BOTH parties still suck........U.S.Army Disabled Veteran...

BALANCE DA BUDGET

I am so ashamed that Obama and Holder are both GUILTY of sending weapons to mexico. Yes they are personally responsible and should be held accountable for the deaths!

Get off it. A sting attempt gone wrong and started by the Bush administration may have been ill conceived and mistakes made, but it will not be criminal.

This article just points to the ridiculous nature of our gun sales policies. When criminals use US as their source for weapons because we provide the deadliest weapons... that cannot be purchased in Mexico, then we've gone too far.

Our macho stick-up-our-a$$ love-affair with deadly weapons has GOT to change.

LMarcT your wrong we DO NOT supply the deadliest weapons they get those from Central America, China or Russia or the middle east. Unless you mean the full auto's we sent to the Mexican military who couldn't keep there own people and let them defect to the drug lords WITH there govt. issued weapons. No licensed dealer in the U.S. would risk years in prison and the loss of there very expensive and hard to get FFL by knowingly selling to straw purchasers. I live in Utah which according to the Brady center is the worst state in the U.S. for gun control and I don't have a full automatic. (wish I could afford one and had the time to do all the required paperwork) Here's a NEW IDEA " CLOSE THE BORDER" no more drugs and illegals crossing North bound, No more guns (authorized by Eric Holder) going South !!! I go through more security to enter a court building for jury duty than crossing at Juarez either direction. At least as of 8 years ago. (The last time I crossed at Juarez or Nogales).

And just how easy is it to legally buy a gun? Last time I checked there was a waiting period of several days and also a background check to make sure you did not have a criminal record. If you want to discuss how easy it is to illegally buy a gun, then you cannot pass enough laws to stop that, for the simple fact that it is being done illegally already.

IRESPOND:

Not all illegal aliens are from Mexico. There are plenty of illegal aliens that come here with a tourist visa and never leave.

While this is true, according to the Department of Homeland Security, over 50% of the illegal aliens in the United States are from Mexico. So while Mexico is not the only country to have illegal aliens in this country, they are the majority of the problem.

www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2010.pdf

Supply and demand. Americans demand drugs and cheap labor so Mexico provides both with their supply. Mexico demands guns to support and defend its drug business so America supplies them. This is a heart warming story of basic capitalism. Most of this trade is illegal but what do laws have to do with anything when big money is to be made. It never stopped a politician so why should it stop normal Americans?

I have nothing to say about the people who think this just started with Obama. They have their own illusions to deal with.

BALANCE DA BUDGET & Pat G-3324946

Please explain how OBAMA is responsible for the flow of weapons to Mexico? You mean, the day he was elected in the White House is the day weapons started flowing to Mexico? You whiners and complains crack me up. You point the finger of blame on ONE Person, and forget that our government has 3 branches of Government. You forget that Congress has the ability to pass laws that could STOP the flow of weapons to Mexico. If Obama did work with Congress to pass a law or he used executive authority, you would whine and complain about that as well.

Lastly, the funniest thing of all, is you love to whine and complain but offer no solution of your own. That's like a little child on the playground saying "she took my barbie".

Grow up.

I think the sign was directed at obumbo and holder, not the rest of us honest law abiding people.

Project Gun Runner was started in Texas then went National under President Bush. It changed to Fast & Furious under President Obama. It was a sting operation that had good results. But like any high-risk, dangerous operation, things can and did go wrong. The childish comments from those that want to hate President Obama are just that - childish and hateful with no sound judgement.

This is the same Calderon who criticized Arizona's new immigration law, while at the same time forgetting that Mexico has the toughest immigration laws in the Western Hemisphere?

Look up this article on your favorite search engine:

Mexico’s Immigration Law by J. Michael Waller

Mexico has a radical idea for a rational immigration policy that most Americans would love. However, Mexican officials haven’t been sharing that idea with us.

That’s too bad, because Mexico, which annually deports more illegal aliens than the United States does, has much to teach us about how it handles the immigration issue. Under Mexican law, it is a felony to be an illegal alien in Mexico.

At a time when the Supreme Court and many politicians seek to bring American law in line with foreign legal norms, it’s noteworthy that nobody has argued that the US look at how Mexico deals with immigration and what it might teach us about how best to solve our illegal immigration problem. Mexico has a single, streamlined law that ensures that foreign visitors and immigrants are:

• in the country legally;
• have the means to sustain themselves economically;
• not destined to be burdens on society;
• of economic and social benefit to society;
• of good character and have no criminal records; and
• contributors to the general well-being of the nation.

The law also ensures that:

• Immigration authorities have a record of each foreign visitor;
• foreign visitors do not violate their visa status;
• foreign visitors are banned from interfering in the country’s internal politics;
• foreign visitors who enter under false pretenses are imprisoned or deported;
• foreign visitors violating the terms of their entry are imprisoned or deported;
• those who aid in illegal immigration will be sent to prison.

Who could disagree with such a law? It makes perfect sense. The Mexican constitution strictly defines the rights of citizens – and the denial of many fundamental rights to non-citizens, legal and illegal. Under the constitution, the Ley General de Población, or General Law on Population, spells out specifically the country’s immigration policy.

It is an interesting law – and one that should cause us all to ask, Why is our great southern neighbor pushing us to water down our own immigration laws and policies, when its own immigration restrictions are the toughest on the continent? If a felony is a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, then Mexican law makes it a felony to be an illegal alien in Mexico.

If the United States adopted such statutes, Mexico no doubt would denounce it as a manifestation of American racism and bigotry.

We looked at the immigration provisions of the Mexican constitution. Now let’s look at Mexico’s main immigration law.

Mexico welcomes only foreigners who will be useful to Mexican society:

• Foreigners are admitted into Mexico “according to their possibilities of contributing to national progress.” (Article 32)
• Immigration officials must “ensure” that “immigrants will be useful elements for the country and that they have the necessary funds for their sustenance” and for their dependents. (Article 34)
• Foreigners may be barred from the country if their presence upsets “the equilibrium of the national demographics,” when foreigners are deemed detrimental to “economic or national interests,” when they do not behave like good citizens in their own country, when they have broken Mexican laws, and when “they are not found to be physically or mentally healthy.” (Article 37)
• The Secretary of Governance may “suspend or prohibit the admission of foreigners when he determines it to be in the national interest.” (Article 38)

Mexican authorities must keep track of every single person in the country:

• Federal, local and municipal police must cooperate with federal immigration authorities upon request, i.e., to assist in the arrests of illegal immigrants. (Article 73)
• A National Population Registry keeps track of “every single individual who comprises the population of the country,” and verifies each individual’s identity.
• (Articles 85 and 86)
• A national Catalog of Foreigners tracks foreign tourists and immigrants (Article 87), and assigns each individual with a unique tracking number (Article 91).

Foreigners with fake papers, or who enter the country under false pretenses, may be imprisoned:

• Foreigners with fake immigration papers may be fined or imprisoned. (Article 116)
• Foreigners who sign government documents “with a signature that is false or different from that which he normally uses” are subject to fine and imprisonment. (Article 116)

Foreigners who fail to obey the rules will be fined, deported, and/or imprisoned as felons:

• Foreigners who fail to obey a deportation order are to be punished. (Article 117)
• Foreigners who are deported from Mexico and attempt to re-enter the country without authorization can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. (Article 118)
• Foreigners who violate the terms of their visa may be sentenced to up to six years in prison (Articles 119, 120 and 121). Foreigners who misrepresent the terms of their visa while in Mexico – such as working with out a permit – can also be imprisoned.

Under Mexican law, illegal immigration is a felony. The General Law on Population says:

• “A penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine of three hundred to five thousand pesos will be imposed on the foreigner who enters the country illegally.” (Article 123)
• Foreigners with legal immigration problems may be deported from Mexico instead of being imprisoned. (Article 125)
• Foreigners who “attempt against national sovereignty or security” will be deported. (Article 126)

Mexicans who help illegal aliens enter the country are themselves considered criminals under the law:

• A Mexican who marries a foreigner with the sole objective of helping the foreigner live in the country is subject to up to five years in prison. (Article 127)
• Shipping and airline companies that bring undocumented foreigners into Mexico will be fined. (Article 132)

All of the above runs contrary to what Mexican leaders are demanding of the United States. The stark contrast between Mexico’s immigration practices versus its American immigration preaching is telling. It gives a clear picture of the Mexican government’s agenda: to have a one-way immigration relationship with the United States. Let’s call Mexico’s bluff on its unwarranted interference in U.S. immigration policy. Let’s propose, just to make a point, that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) member nations standardize their immigration laws by using Mexico’s own law as a model.

Oh, and all you right-wingers who keep trying to blame the President and the Attorney General need to check your facts. Operation Fast and Furious started in the Bush II Administration.

How about pointing the finger at Dubya Shrub and Halliburton Honey?

Seal the borders, crack down hard on drugs coming into the US, and let them deal with the problem on their own. It's time to stop being the police for the rest of the world. I understand that the US demand for drugs doesn't help their situation so by all means we should help them by dealing with that problem in our own country. As far as going to war with these cartels, no thanks. Our tax dollars have much more to do right now.

The cartels will get their guns from anywhere they please..With more cashflow than their own Government Felipe can put up as many signs as he wants, they also hold Ak-47..Mexico a very Violent race will cut your head off, your tongue out, cut into pieces and not think twice..

Calderon really has some nerve. It is his on people that are smuggling the guns into Mexico. In addition, the worst of the weapons, i.e. the fully automatic assault weapons, are not coming from the US. They are coming in from Central and South America. It is near impossible for a civilian to buy a fully automatic weapon in the US.

In addition, we should put up a sign that says no more illegals and no more drugs. Calderon should clean up his own house before he goes around trying to criticize the US.

Obama and Holders Fast N Foolish was a modified concoction of Bush's "Wide Receiver" sting program except it went a lot further and was poorly planned and executed.

Bush's "Wider Receiver" program gave direct notice to the Mexican authorities so that they could try to track the guns as they crossed the border. Bush officials learned that this program may in fact be dangerous as some weapons could get across the border past Mexican authorities so they wisely stopped it.

Obama and Holder were clueless as usual being too focused on the political gain aspects of it and screwed it up royally. Bush at least had the sense to realize the dangers weren't worth the risk.

One big difference between the Bush administration's gun walking scheme and obama's- Bush's program put trackers on all the weapons, obama's did not.

This exemplifies a big flaw in the obama administration- they come up or copy ideas except they fail to go from step one to step two. I mean seriously, how did Holder plan to track the guns? The way it's been happening -they're found at murder scenes?

Put your money where your mouth is, flock of cowards. Sure, go put up a sign, a billboard, hell rent some skywriting. Just do something other than complaining and blaming.

ernest gonzales 1.18,

Tell you what I'll be Cheech and you be Chong for a minute ? See long ago there were drugs without violence..So you will now blame the US for how the Cartels operate is crazy..They are at War amongst themselves.

Balance Da Budget wrote...

I am so ashamed that Obama and Holder are both GUILTY of sending weapons to mexico. Yes they are personally responsible and should be held accountable for the deaths!

I find it ironic that the guy with a Ronald Reagan avatar pic is saying something like this.

*cough Iran-Contra cough*

If all these automatic weapons are coming in from the US. They have to be coming from the US government. With few exceptions, have you heard of Automatic weapons being used in crimes in the US? If they were all that easy to get, wouldn't all the criminals in the US be using them?

Yes it is legal to own an automatic weapon in the US, but the cost, paperwork and scrutiny are very great.

Hmmmmm, let's see...

A great movie ending.

Violent criminals are being pursued by the authorities. To avoid capture, they escape from Mexico into the United States...

Nah, let's stick with reality. Violent criminals USUALLY escape from the U.S. into MEXICO to avoid capture.

C'mon. You gentle folks on the RIGHT know better. You've watched enough Westerns. Or does the region of your brain that controls xenophobia automatically override all sense of history?

Give it a rest.

I mean, "JS in SD should pick up a book, occasionally.

1. Mexico's Cartels are feeding the insatiable appetite for drugs that THIS country has.

2. It is WAY too easy to buy fully automatic weapons in the U.S. and Teapublicans are trying to make it even easier.

A simple google search, dude. You have a computer. And don't just search your usual "reliable" sources. Do a real search.

..."Calderon should clean up his own house before he goes around trying to criticize the US."....

Every time the Left tries to enact meaningful legislation, the Right's answer is, Mexicans are dirty.

Have a nice day.

..."

Bush may have started the gun sting but odumbo and holder are the ones responsible for the EPIC FAIL of the sting.

Mexico should POLICE its own borders instead of expecting us to police it for them.

They will not allow our LEO's military in to their country to do what they cant or wont do.

And we should adopt their immigration laws, nice post btw.

Posted again for emphasis...

Get off it. A sting attempt gone wrong and started by the Bush administration may have been ill conceived and mistakes made, but it will not be criminal.

This article just points to the ridiculous nature of our gun sales (and enforcement) policies. When criminals use US as their source for weapons because we provide the (some of the) deadliest (and easiest to obtain) weapons... that cannot be purchased in Mexico, then we've gone too far.

Our macho stick-up-our-a$$ love-affair with deadly weapons has GOT to change.

() indicates change to post.

Collapse again if you wish, but we need to grow up and rid ourselves of our gun fetish.

Fake media propaganda rebuttal

Bush may have started the gun sting but odumbo and holder are the ones responsible for the EPIC FAIL of the sting. Mexico should POLICE its own borders instead of expecting us to police it for them.

You blame Obama and then say Mexico should police it's own borders. Which means the federal government (sorry, its not just Obama that makes up our government), should do nothing?

Sorry, but your brilliance is astounding.

NOT!

And we should adopt their immigration laws, nice post btw.

Yea, since they work so well... the gun runners love em.

Just a reminder... for those that can't read or don't pay attention..

Border enforcement and deportation is the highest in history under the current administration.

I agree this IS a huge problem. But it's as much yours as mine as Bush's as Obama's... it's been like this for decades!

So I repeat... get off it.

Bravo Charles!

It was a very nice thing to find reason and facts in response to the first article I read this morning. Thank you. Today is going to be a good day.

Keep up the good work, it is greatly appreciated.

LMarc..."A sting attempt gone wrong and started by the Bush administration may have been ill conceived and mistakes made,..."

Under Bush the feds always knew where the guns were. Under Obama, the feds lost track of them and they fell into the drug lords hands.

Fair enough to say it got out of hand under Obama, but you know for a fact if the roles were reversed, it had started under a Democrat and got out of hand under a republican, that the liberals would be foaming at the mouth and wanting heads to roll.

Even the fact that the government 'thought' they could succeed in tracking the drug cartels by selling automatic weapons to them (The Fast and Furious Scandal) says how stupid the government really is. And for Attorney General Eric Holder to lie about it only makes the situation worse.

There is an amusing side to this and that is, despite tons of proof to the contrary, millions of people in the U.S. still think a bigger government is better.

Just a reminder... for those that can't read or don't pay attention..

Border enforcement and deportation is the highest in history under the current administration

Given this, and the fact that O'bama's administration ran guns into Mexico, leads me to believe that O'bama hates Mexicans! Racist!!!

Kornfed! Stop that! Good morning.

It would be nice to put up a sign pointing towards Mexico saying 'No more illeagals'. But the US representative from W. Texas (Reyes-D) would say that isn't legal or that it isn't right. In New Mexico the democrat majority run state senate says it's ok for illegals to get drivers license. There lies the BIG problem.

Can we put up a sign?

How about a sign that says "No more bigots?"

I would gladly accept every hard working immigrant from Mexico that wants to come here in exchange for all the bigots spouting lies about them in the US.

At least the immigrants work hard and don't complain. The bigots are too busy looking for a free ride, special privileges, and destruction of the Constitution and our American way of life to be worth keeping.

¡Amigos míos! O'bama desea ejecutar a todos fuera de la ciudad! No crea su retórica. No creo que las suites de la ley Obtuvo en contra de dos estados del sur! Corrió las armas en sus comunidades para promover el caos en su país.

America's appetite for illegal drugs is responsible for the deaths of 35,000 Mexicans.

Unauthorized immigrants (who come from all over the world, not just Mexico) are responsible for imprving the American economy, creating jobs, and generating tax revenues. They should be granted citizenship, and our rules should be changed so that they no longer discriminate unfairly. If you can find a job here, you should be welcome.

How many of you would actually work that construction job for the cash they make lol. That's all I wanna know before you consider stripping the labor workforce XD

America's appetite for illegal drugs is responsible for the deaths of 35,000 Mexicans.

Your hippie parents would not appreciate a comment that blames them directly for our current illegal immigration problem. Getting high does not make them murderers!

commonsense....

"If you can find a job here, without requiring taxpayer funded health care, food assistance, and housing, you should be welcome."

FTFY.

But otherwise yeah.

How many of you would actually work that construction job for the cash they make lol. That's all I wanna know before you consider stripping the labor workforce XD

Well now that gets to the gist of the problem now doesnt it. Its not jobs that Americans wont do, as that dumb ass Bush used to suggest...they are jobs Americans wont do for the going wage those jobs pay. Not only is it not an affordable wage, but those Americans must also pay taxes on that artificially smaller wage. Did housing prices go down with this influx of illegal labor? No,,,they did not. You Dems should be furious at what is happening to the construction industry, and to that American that wants to work with his hands for a decent living.....that is now destroyed. White collar, you are next. Jobs are getting outsourced to a "cheaper" alternative. I would start contemplating what that really means if I were you.

The US does NOT want to end the drug war and does NOT want to stop illegal entry to the US. The illegals create cheap labor for our corrupt corporations and the drug war creates big profit for our military complex and plenty of high paying law enforcement jobs(cops, judges, prison guards, lawyers, etc.)

Tent - the answer right now is NONE. No American Consumers are willing to work the construction or agricultural jobs that immigrants - legal or otherwise - are willing to do.

If they were, the jobs would be filled, and we wouldn't have the 'illegals' problem, now, would we?

Of course there's the issue of the employers paying them in cash under the table at rates below minimum wage or other requirements.. but hey, that's just good old capitalism at work, right?

Fact is, these people come here and work. And American Consumers have it too easy and refuse to work, it's easier NOT to.

We fix that, that's a good step.

American addicts buy the drugs, creating a billion dollar industry that would not otherwise exist. American drug policy drives the industry underground and ensures that it will be run by criminals.

As much as you may seek to evade responsibility for your own, actions do have consequences.

Insulting my parents doesn't change matters; it merely reveals something about your character.

¡Amigos míos! O'bama desea ejecutar a todos fuera de la ciudad! No crea su retórica. No creo que las suites de la ley Obtuvo en contra de dos estados del sur! Corrió las armas en sus comunidades para promover el caos en su país.

Translation

My friends! O'bama want to run them all out of town! Do not believe his rhetoric.I do not think the lawsuits obtained against two southern states! He ran guns in their communities to promote chaos in his country.

Credibility = Zero. More moronic nonsense from Korny...

Credibility = Zero. More moronic nonsense from Korny...

Lighten up

Mr. Calderon sure is one Mexican with cojones. He has blamed the drug problem on the U.S. before, now he's blaming the weapons problem on us also. He fails to see, or doesn't want to see, that the problem is his corrupt government , military and police.

I don't see what Mr. Hussein O'mama has to do with all this.

So all we need to do now is crush up a bunch of cocaine, meth, and pot. Then we make a giant billboard out of it that says "NO MORE DRUGS". Then we post armed guards around it to stop people from trying to snort it.

Pete, in spite of a massive disinformation campaign, immigrants do not receive

taxpayer funded health care, food assistance, and housing

By law, immigrants are not eligible for subsidized housing or food assistance.

It's a myth, promoted by organizations like the Center for Immigration Studies, FAIR, and NumbersUSA, all of which were founded by Nazi-admirer John Tanton, who has stated publicly that wants to the "genetics" policies of the Third Reich to be adopted in the United States, and he thinks immigration policy is the best place to start.

You can find information about taxpayer funded health care from the Rand Corporation; information about food assistance from the Government Accountability Office.

most of these guns come from drug deals addicts steal guns trade then for drugs and dealers pass them up the chain because they are just like cash on the black market

LMarkT

Typical progressive/liberal, continue to repeat yourself until even you believe the BS.

Fast and Furious was not even related to the Bush program.

Maybe deportations are up under this administration but so are lawsuits against honest Americans for trying to stop illegal immigration.

Commonsense - They may not be eligible, but with false identification, they can easily acquire food assistance and housing.

It's pretty simple, you don' just kick the Illegals out you ask yourself why do they wanna come here at all? Then you tackle the route of the issue, soak up the free labor I swear you won't get it cheaper from some other guy who feels entitled to that and higher pay for even less a quality in the job.

lol! that's a first for me! someone got banned for wanting to drop matches...priceless! totally justified though, sally...no offense intended...

Common sense: "Pete, in spite of a massive disinformation campaign, immigrants do not receive taxpayer funded health care, food assistance, and housing By law, immigrants are not eligible for subsidized housing or food assistance."

Common, how about their anchor babies? Do they get anything? Do false green cards get services? Do hospitals kick them out? Schools?

I'm seriously considering starting up a donation fund for a sign that says "No more illegals" made out of old trucks/cases/bags used to transport drugs over the border. Mexico has a lot of nerve. Acting like it's 100 percent our fault that drug cartels operate inside their country. If they didn't have guns, they use something else.

I've said this on many other posts concerning this type of issue. But it's both countries fault for failing to secure the border and stop the drug/gun trade.

mexico has some nerve, huh?

United States

World's largest consumer of cocaine (shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean), Colombian heroin, and Mexican heroin and marijuana; major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamine; minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2086.html

And that's from the CIA website...

commonsense:

America's appetite for illegal drugs is responsible for the deaths of 35,000 Mexicans.

WRONG! It is the American war on drugs and drug prohibition that is the root cause of all the violence and deaths associated with illegal drug trafficking. Just like alcohol prohibition was responsible for the crime sprees in 20s/30s.

You blame the drug users incorrectly when the blame should be put on failed U.S. drug policies.

It's not the drug users...it's the drug laws.

If you support the continuation of the drug war then the blood of over 40,000 Mexicans is on your hands.

We'll be sure to stop weapons traffic just as soon as he stops human traffic !!

I can't take a thing this clown has to say seriously after the GARBAGE of him coming to OUR country and shaming us on our immigration policies when his own nation in fact has much stricter immigration policies than the U.S. El Presidente Felipe Calderon is a bad joke that will hopefully soon the hook from the Mexican people at the ballot box !!

The Fast and Furious Gun sales to the government of Mexico was started by the Bush administration....Obama and Holder have tried to pass a law restricting gun stores on the Mexican border to sell "no more than 2 semiautomatic rifles or "long guns" to individuals in a six week period of time", in an effort to stop massive gun sales to Mexican cartels......naturally, the NRA objects and has filed suit against Obama to stop the law so that precious gun store owners can continue the sales of unlimited quantities of semi-automatic weapons to whomever seeks one in such states with weak gun laws......red-blooded Americans who have small genitalia are objecting to the Obama regulation.

Commonsense.... You're hurting the brand name.

Under US Law illegals don't get benefits? Complete and utter BS.

Been to the projects layely? How about Obama's Aunt? She fled 2 federal deportation orders in Chicago and was found living for years here in Boston, getting welfare, public housing, medical etc.

How hard are they checking?

No mention of Fast and Furious in an article about Guns in Mexico? Completely slanted and biased.

And the attempt to blame Bush again is just pathetic.

I think we should conquer Mexico and kick them all out to their south and make it a giant natural park off limits to all humans.

IRESPOND-2315268Restored

The reason of having so many drugs coming into the US is because the poverty of all the Latin American countries forces them to come here -or sell drugs- Not all illegal aliens are from Mexico. There are plenty of illegal aliens that come here with a tourist visa and never leave.

True, but around 65% of all illegal aliens are Mexican nationals, and another 18% of them come from countries south of Mexico! Look it up!

If you traded 5 guns for every illegal in the US, you'd still have 11 Million Ilegals in the U.S.

Mr. Calderon........Put all that effort and money, you put into making that sign into stopping people from illegally leaving your country!

WE CANNOT DO IT ALL!!!

More wasted tax dollars on a country we don't own or goveren.

If they want to keep US guns out of Mexico they should build a big fence and patrol the border. This is a two way street. The corruption of the Mexican government can't control the populus and they want to point the finger at someone else. They should be more concerned about the guns coming in from South America and other countries in the illegal arms trade than US guns coming over the border.

No US guns in Mexico, no illegal Mexican citizens in the US. If they can guaruntee the later, I would urge our polititians to ensure the former.

Remember- The Democrats gave Calderon a standing ovation when he spoke to Congress about the rights of the illegal aliens in our country. They need those potential Democrat voters. (notice how the left is fighting Voter ID-see the connection?).

This from the leader of a country that does not give birthright citizenship and has far stricter illegal immigration laws than our own.

Mr. Johhny - who's looking the other way on cheap labor? I don't hire illegals. Do you? How do you know baybb does? How dare you call people you know nothing about "hypocrites" on this issue.

No more bigoted putdowns, baybb29!

You have no valid point to make other than to encourage other people to hate and discriminate against all people from Mexico in particular, and all Latinos and all immigrants in general.

Once here, unauthorized immigrants obey our laws to a far greater extent than the 'native-born' crowd, are far more likely to hold a paying job, far less likely to be on welfare, far less likely to receive medical care, but far more likely to pay for it when they do, pay more than their fair share in taxes, and CREATE jobs for US citizens. Unauthorized immigrants come from all over the world, entering all over the US. Many merely overstay valid visas.

Bigots, on the other hand, pit one group of Americans against another, blame all their problems on people who had nothing to do with creating those problems, make things worse by distracting attention away from REAL problems, and advocate for weakening the Constitution.

Once here, unauthorized immigrants obey our laws to a far greater extent than the 'native-born' crowd, are far more likely to hold a paying job, far less likely to be on welfare, far less likely to receive medical care, but far more likely to pay for it when they do, pay more than their fair share in taxes, and CREATE jobs for US citizens. Unauthorized immigrants come from all over the world, entering all over the US. Many merely overstay valid visas.

And this gives them some right to ignore the law and stay? This kind of thinking is a huge part of the problem and "commonsense" must be some sort of oxymoron with you as you display none in your comment. We cannot claim to be a nation of laws and allow this to continue. I don't care how you want to coat it to make it palatable. Wanting to see the laws enforced and these criminals (that's what we call lawbreakers) be punished by at the very least being returned to their point of origination does NOT make one a bigot. This is a REAL problem. What part of "illegal alien" got past you? It doesn't matter that in order to conceal their status as a criminal that they obey other laws. Give us a break.

Fastz - illegal aliens can not vote!!! Get your facts straight!

People who do the same things you do everyday should not be considered 'criminals' with no right to exist. Working, paying taxes, going to school, driving a car; these things are not crimes if YOU do them. They should not be considered crimes when an immigrant does them.

I see hundreds of people break the law everyday on my way to work, and hundreds more on my way home. They routinely drive over the speed limit. How can we claim to be a "nation of laws" when we allow this to continue. And these people are repeat offenders.

Crossing a border one time without inspection is a misdemeanor civil violation. So is overstaying a visa.

People do those things for one reason and one reason only: under current rules, they would not be allowed in otherwise, because the social engineers (i.e., bigoted, incompetent political hacks) who wrote our current rules don't want too many brown people coming in. But if you're not brown or black or yellow, you automatically qualify for a 'diversity visa' lottery.

Current rules allow for entry of up to 5,000 unskilled laborers per year. Yet for the past 25 years, American businesses have hired an average of 400,000 to 500,000 foreign born unskilled laborers per year. The current rule is just plain STUPID.

Some of these people have been here for decades. Many have been here nearly their entire lives. They HAVE no other homes.

We haven't treated people this poorly since passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1965. It's unAmerican and unConstitutional.

STUPID laws, like those allowing slavery in the US or making it illegal for Jews to work in Nazi Germany, need to be changed, not enforced.

"illegal" is the new n-word.

Josef Goebbels would proud of your accomplishment. If you worked for the old KGB, you would be idolized.

hey mexico, no more drugs, no more illegals. No more guidebooks for illegals.

Pat

This Illegal Alien woman voted 9 times!

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. - An illegal alien from the Philippines was arrested Thursday morning on a felony complaint charging her with 17 counts related to voter fraud in Lake County. The state charges resulted from a joint investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Lake County State's Attorneys Office. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) also provided assistance.

Maria Azada, 53, of Grayslake, Ill., was arrested March 17 by ICE HSI agents and a Lake County State's Attorneys special investigator. Azada faces 17 felony counts in Lake County Circuit Court of perjury, mutilation of election materials, and tampering with voting machines in connection with illegal voting by a non-U.S. citizen.

The investigation began in February 2009 when Azada admitted to a USCIS officer during an interview for an immigration benefit that she had voted in an election. It is illegal for foreign nationals to vote in national or state elections in the United States.

A subsequent investigation revealed that Azada allegedly voted nine times in primary, general and consolidated elections between 2003 and 2009. According to the arrest warrant, Azada allegedly falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen on two Illinois Voter Registration applications.

Notice if you will that this is from ICE.gov

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1103/110317lakecounty.htm

does NOT make one a bigot

Labeling all Mexicans as "illegal" is bigotry, pure and simple.

Saying that all unauthorized immigrants are Mexican is also bigotry (not to mention incorrect).

The 'punishment' for speeding is payment of a fine. Not loss of livelihood, not splitting apart of family, not exile to a foreign country.

Driving without a license? The response is GET A LICENSE, show it to us, and then go about your business. If you ALLOW people a legal pathway, they will follow it. To DISALLOW a legal pathway merely because you think you dislike a certain ethnic group is bigotry.

I didn't see where Amused or Baybb labeled all Mexicans as illegals. That is pure conjecture on your part. Illegal is a descriptive word. Comparing speeding to ILLEGAL entry into the US is ludicrous at best. Speeding is an offense with a punishment for all residents who break traffic laws. Entering the US ILLEGALLY and deportation TO THEIR HOME nation is doled out to those that break our immigration laws. What do you tell the people who have waited years to get their chance to LEGALLY enter the US and start their pursuit of the American Dream. Here's another item to burst your bubble, they take jobs that US citizens will do as well as lowering wages in those trades. I live it, do you?

Resenting an invading population is not bigotry, it is standard human response. It is global, predictable, unavoidable, and justified.

Even were it not, comparing the fault of bigotry to invasion is misguided. One is illegal, the other is a matter of character.

I agree that intrinsically tying Mexicans to illegal immigration is wrong however, we can't simply continue to ignore the issues that are quite literally shouting in our face as a nation.

The fact of the matter is, we have a critical problem with illegal immigration in the United States that mostly pertains to Mexican nationals. This country has done far more to open it's borders to Mexican immigration requests than any other nation has done in contemporary history.

Part of immigration control is the realization that:

• Those who would cross illegally are more likely to be criminal and violent offenders
• Limitations on the volume of immigrants is not meant to isolate our nation, but to assist in the stabilization of matters in their home country
• Illegal immigration poses enormous problems for the host nation given that, we cannot expect to create new jobs for them, provide adequate housing, provide expectations that they abide by our laws, and provide proper civic education.

Crossing a border is a criminal offense...it's not that breaking the speed limit is what gets the gears going, it's that they illegally crossed our borders (or did not leave at the expiration of their granted stay) and have been identified. If you or I broke the law and evaded civil or criminal action, you had better bet that you'd land in jail/prison on a warrant that's been out for your arrest (I forgot to pay a parking ticket and got a night in jail after getting pulled over).

Mexico's Calderon spends a lot of time blaming Americans for the problems in his nation, but neglects to state the obvious...that his own citizens have been making a mass exodus across our borders for more almost 100 years, leaving only a fraction of their citizenry to battle the drug cartels and violent gangs.

Keep in mind, it often takes a majority to win a battle against a powerful enemy. The drug cartels weren't always drug cartels, they have long been violent gangs and outlaws who oppressed the Mexican people. Mexico isn't unique for having this problem, our nation experienced these woes for hundreds of years, as settlement to the West and South occurred. Our pioneers didn't give up and migrate to Canada en masse, but instead built communities to protect themselves. It's a fact of life...pack animals (including humans) need larger and stronger communities to fight the fringe.

Mexico has done absolutely NOTHING to stop the tidal wave of expatriation that is making their country suffer. Mexico lacks the man power and will to stop the crime and violence that they clearly suffer, and will not be able to until they begin protecting their own borders.

Anyway, I am getting sick of this whole blame the drug user argument. Americans may be creating the need, but the dealer is the one perpetuating it. In this country, we prosecute both drug use and drug distribution, and guess which one gets more penalties?

I am a liberal blue-to-the-teeth gay man, but even I can see when our platform is getting a bit ridiculous!

LAND OF THE GUN - the United States

they create a profit larger than what will last forever..

so much profit that moving arms to nations and countries as Mexico, is not going to stop.

People, realize that there isnt just one side who is guilty. you can blame Mexico, you can blame America, you can point fingers at your friendly neighborhood drug dealer..but in the end, its just the way the world is.. cold..

nothings going to change, at least not for the good.

theres only one who can judge, the one seated on the throne.

Commonsense, the only one who said this is all about Mexicans is you. You won't find that in my post. I think my term was a more generic "illegal alien." Let me address your rather irrational retort.

People who do the same things you do everyday should not be considered 'criminals' with no right to exist. Working, paying taxes, going to school, driving a car; these things are not crimes if YOU do them. They should not be considered crimes when an immigrant does them.

If that immigrant is here against the law, then yes, they are criminals. You may not like it, but there is a law there and it has been violated, they are criminal. Not any gray area there for you to exploit with your extremism.

I see hundreds of people break the law everyday on my way to work, and hundreds more on my way home. They routinely drive over the speed limit. How can we claim to be a "nation of laws" when we allow this to continue. And these people are repeat offenders.

We do not, we have active police officers who enforce traffic laws. If you get caught, you pay the consequences. We do not have enough police to catch everyone. The same applies to the border, we do not have enough enforcement present. Because someone broke the law and got away with it does not lend excuse to another to do the same thing. What kind of logic is that?

People do those things for one reason and one reason only: under current rules, they would not be allowed in otherwise

Their reason does not matter. It is against the law. It is against the law becausee for a variety of reasons the country can only accept so many newcomers in a year without damaging the infrastructure. Look around you to see the results of ignoring the law. Our social safety net would be more than adaquate and sustainable if it were not paying for people who viloated laws to get here. Common sense, think about it with your emotional blinders off.

Current rules allow for entry of up to 5,000 unskilled laborers per year. Yet for the past 25 years, American businesses have hired an average of 400,000 to 500,000 foreign born unskilled laborers per year. The current rule is just plain STUPID.

Wrong again. What is just plain stupid is being so greedy that you are unwilling to pay someone a family livable wage to do a job. What is just plain stupid is not being willing to pay a reasonable price for an item so that a business can pay the family livable wage. What is just plain stupid is cutting your own throat and realizing you are doing it.

Some of these people have been here for decades. Many have been here nearly their entire lives. They HAVE no other homes.

They should have spent some time over the "decades" trying to get right instead of trying to hide. They know they broke the law, they know they could get caught, they know they could be sent back, they rolled the dice.

This sounds harsh to you because for some reason you think our borders can be open and anyone can just waltz right in, that it will have no effect on the people already here who are trying to create and manage a society. You have no respect for the property or the work of others. Dude I am as liberal as it gets on a lot of issues, but you post sounds like one giant excuse for people who really do think life is free and that co-opting the work of others is just fine. No sale.

In 1847, the USA invaded Mexico in an unjust,illegal war, which noted Republican Abraham Lincoln protested, and was called a "traitor" by his opponents. The real purpose of this war was to obtain more land for the USA which could be declared as "Slave-owning States". The US President concocted ( lied) about a non-existent border crossing of a Mexican Army unit into the USA....the President then ordered the US Army to "pursue" the Mexican Army, which really meant to Attack Mexico, which was a peaceful nation.

Thousands of innocent Mexicans were killed by the US Army and 40% of Mexico was stolen from that nation....Arizona,parts of New Mexico,California and Nevada.....

You reap what you sow..........

In 1847, the USA invaded Mexico in an unjust,illegal war, which noted Republican Abraham Lincoln protested, and was called a "traitor" by his opponents. The real purpose of this war was to obtain more land for the USA which could be declared as "Slave-owning States". The US President concocted ( lied) about a non-existent border crossing of a Mexican Army unit into the USA....the President then ordered the US Army to "pursue" the Mexican Army, which really meant to Attack Mexico, which was a peaceful nation.

Oh my God, here we go:

1. Slave Owning States was a term applied to the states in the union at or south of the border who had laws in support of slavery. The western states that were created through the Mexican cession weren't even states until after the Emancipation Proclamation with the exception of California, which played an extremely important but little known role in the victory of union forces over cessation states. Point being, the western states had nothing to do with slavery except for under Mexican rule. FAIL.
2. The Mexican-American war really had it's roots in the Texas Revolution, where Mexico refused to abide by the terms of the cessation of Texas following the revolt, and attacked that sovereign nation. The United States had granted protection to the newly-formed Texas Republic and was as a result pulled into a war against Mexico.
3. Mexico has never been a peaceful nation, not under Spanish rule, and not under Mexican rule. Mexico has bred outlaws since the day it was established. You want someone to blame for the problems in Mexico? Blame the Spanish!

Thousands of innocent Mexicans were killed by the US Army and 40% of Mexico was stolen from that nation....Arizona,parts of New Mexico,California and Nevada

FYI -- California wasn't stolen from Mexico...it was a sovereign nation that won it's independence from Mexico before the Mexican-American War ever began. Read a history book, why don't you!!

Millions of innocent people have been raped and murdered within the borders of Mexico due to it's apparent disinterest in quashing lawlessness long before and after the United States forced the purchase of the territory. Mexican soldiers brutalized people living within those territories and American citizens passing through to California.

You reap what you sow..........

So true, oh so very much true. Mexico has nobody to blame for it's problems but itself.

No more people who want cheap labor! No more people who are too lazy to work in harvesting! No more people who want to pay as little as possible for landscaping, housework, etc.!

CLOSE THE BORDER --- PROBLEMS SOLVED FOR ALL !!!!!

Let's ban everything guns, cars, air, dogs, cats, bicycles, kids, play ground equipment, heck even Doctors have killed people through negligence, lets ban Doctors too. LETS REALLY Ban IDIOTS, Lawyers, and Politicians !!!! Then maybe we might start to get OUR America back.

No more excuses for illegals. And Cap'n? Most of us out here do our OWN landscaping, do our OWN housework, etc. Get rid of all of them.

Most of you actually don't do that, hence the abundance of their cheap labor hahahaha. Good try though.

Harvest your own crops, too, grilledcheese? Want to pay more to have them picked by card carrying Americanos? Do you just eat cheese, or do you eat the meat processed by illegals? My point is that we have brought these problems on ourselves. And drugs would not be coming from Mexico if there were no market. And if there were no drug market, people would not be killing each other for control. Last, apparently, not enough of you do your own chores or there would not be a problem. "Most" is not all.

lol @ Trent. I promise most people in Mississippi do their own landscaping. Poorest state in the Union=No money to pay illegals to do it for us!

So no, the average middle class citizen doesn't hire illegals to do their landscaping for them. At the very least, not any more.

Well, stop hiring them.......America complains but most small contractors in the USA use cheap,illegal workers so they can compete with their competition.....and people who hire house cleaning companies, also find that the ladies who clean their homes are illegals...but the price is right so they turn their heads and shut up....Mitt Romney was caught twice at his home in Massachusetts, when it was revealed that his landscaping crew consisted of illegal immigrants,...twice ! But the price was right, and it's all about money for Mr. Romney.....and for most Americans,as well,,,actually,it's human nature.......

It's cheap labor buddy, if the middle class is that broke then It isn't the middle class XD

I have seen that same picture floated around the Internet for YEARS. It's an old photo I believe taken back sometime in like, '06. They bring it back out whenever there is an article that involves guns and drugs in Mexico.

Psh. Thats what my monthly rent payment looks like...or at least feels like...

You seem to forget the law of supply and demand. If the US is the best costumer, full of drug addicts, the drugs will continue coming.

You seem to forget the law of supply and demand. If the US is the best costumer, full of drug addicts, the drugs will continue coming.

Same thing can be said for the guns. If the drug cartels continue to have high demand for guns then they will keep flowing into Mexico.

JavaSkull needs a lobotomy!

Ignorance of the historical supply of drugs to U.S. consumers renders the argument null and void

Asia has long supplied U.S consumer with drugs and Columbia was a major supplier. Every time the USA goes in with military weapons and support to stop a drug producer, the drug supply chain shifts elsewhere and profits are made by the military industrial complex without any ease on the culture of drug use in the USA.

Logical and smart business people know this reality. U.S. leaders know this reality. JavaSkull? My guess is that he's stoned and does not take to value of personal responsibility.

IRE,,,and the left wants to legalize them!

IRESPOND

You seem to forget the law of supply and demand. If the US is the best costumer, full of drug addicts, the drugs will continue coming.

So as demand has declined the violence should as well. That has not been the case.

From the Justice department

An estimated 12.8 million Americans, about 6 percent of the household population aged twelve and older, use illegal drugs on a current basis (within the past thirty days). This number of "past-month" drug users has declined by almost 50 percent from the 1979 high of twenty-five million

Violence has escalated each year in Mexico, not declined.

trust verify---president nixon commissioned a study regarding drug addiction. the findings indicated that drug therapy was thee only effective approach to ending addiction. his administration sought to provide funds for incarcerated / out patient treatment. as we know it wasn't funded and lawmakers instead concentrated on criminalizing drug addiction. the ''war on drugs'' has been a complete failure. had we done as nixon had attempted to do we may have made some headway -instead of providing help for addicts we have chosen to build more prisons. providing treatment for addiction is indeed the only answer and the most humane approach to the drug problem threatening to destroy our country. i was not a nixon supporter but he was right in this instance.

Granny you missed my point. The RATE and NUMBER of those using drugs has DECLINED over the past many years yet the VIOLENCE ha INCREASED. Blaming Mexican violence on US consumption has no statistical connection.

LOL....riiiiiiight....

United States

World's largest consumer of cocaine (shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean), Colombian heroin, and Mexican heroin and marijuana; major consumer of ecstasy and Mexican methamphetamine; minor consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2086.html

Joe your point would BE????? Simply being the largest consumer reflects a different statistic than the trend of use.

Mexico has been a corrupt nation long before they became the primary external source of drugs into the USA. Go smoke your joint and relax.

well...when you consider that it's not really about drugs, it's about the profit they bring...how can you blame them? they may have been corrupt, but so has nearly every nation on earth in history...

they may have been corrupt, but so has nearly every nation on earth in history...

no MAY HAVE ... they still ARE. If it weren't for drugs they would find some other form of corruption to corner the market on. Blaming someone else for ones own problems is playing the blame game and resolves nothing except perhaps making the people feel good about the politicians.

HEAR, HEAR! At least marijuana, not sure what others? Tax the heck out of it, like alcohol and cigarettes, control it in the same manor, as to age, no driving while "high" and so on.

The answer to the drug problem is to end the spectacularly failed costly Drug War.

They say the Drug War is over. Don't be fooled. As long as drugs remain criminalized the Drug War will never be over.

When is the U.S. government going to finally realize that it can't legislate morality? Many people believe the answer to solving our drug problem is to simply tell people to say "no" to drugs but after being in practice for decades now the evidence shows this has failed miserably. People have been doing drugs for thousands of years and it's never going to stop. There will always be people who do drugs and those who become addicted.

Didn't we learn from the mistakes of Alcohol Prohibition in the 1920s/30s? It didn't work then, and drug prohibition certainly isn't working now. The failed Drug War has cost the U.S. taxpayers over a trillion dollars and has been in force for over seven decades. And the real tragedy here is all of the violence that has been associated with the Drug War and illegal drug trafficking. Drugs are more readily available and the Drug War has created a black market, gangs in every U.S. state, and powerful violent cartels south of the border and in other countries.

The laws have done more damage to this country than the drugs themselves. We have created more criminals out of drug users/addicts who should really be treated as medical patients. Wouldn't we be better off spending the Drug War funding on education, drug treatment and rehabilitation instead of failed law enforcement and incarceration? And not having to build more prisons?

We need to reevaluate our position on drug use in this country. I firmly believe we should decriminalize all drugs. Legalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol in regards to the law, and create an atmosphere that doesn't stigmatize the drug user. I would never advocate anyone use dangerous hard drugs like meth, cocaine, heroin, etc. But the fact of life remains people will choose to use such drugs and become addicted. Countries in Europe have tried different strategies that have reduced the problems associated with drug use. Why can't the U.S. take these same approaches? We should adopt programs for hard drugs (meth, coke, heroin,etc.) like the Swiss heroin program (where addicts can get their drugs from medically supervised clinics) which has shown positive results in reducing violent crime and HIV infections and helps drug addicts to become stable and productive members of society.

Locking people up and throwing away the key is not the answer. When someone has a real drug problem and is addicted their main focus will always be to obtain and use drugs, regardless of any law. And putting a mark on someone's permanent record that will follow them for the rest of their lives will only hinder them to become productive members in society in getting jobs, student financial aid, etc.

There are many people against legalizing and/or decriminalizing drugs and have expressed many fears and dooms day scenarios but evidence has revealed this would simply NOT be the result. Portugal decriminalized drugs in 2001 and none of the nightmare scenarios touted by preenactment decriminalization opponents have become a reality.

And what are the ramifications of manufacturing, importing, and selling the drugs right here in the U.S? Wouldn't that create a new industry? Jobs? Tax revenue? And stop funding the violent cartels and eventually take away their power?

These are questions that I think once answered, will solve our drug problems and the days of the Drug War will be history.

"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich" -- John F. Kennedy .

OneDirtyRat,

I agree with you completely!

The gov. knows that leagilizeing pot could aleviate a major portion of the debt,boost the economy, and relive some of the strain on the judicial and prision systems. I remain convinced that too many people are making too much money off it remaining illegal. jails recive the bail money,courts get the fines, the police get the confiscated cash, the lawyers get their outrages fees and I know from personal experience that a few hundred dollars gets a pot charge turned into malicous mischeif, a few more and it goes away entirely. So while the ammount of money that could be generated by legalization would be greater the people who reap the profits now would not recive it. Which in turn means the corupt politicians would have to suplement their income in other ways in order to keep little buffy happy

I dont think you understand politicians at all. They don't need to end drug abuse, they just need to appear to be fixing it. Thats what wins votes. If they get on stage and make it look like they are being proactive on the drug war then they will win votes. It would be political suicide to "go soft" on the drug war because the media will tear them apart. Its all politics.

right.. tax the hell out of it. That way the "new drug war" will be the ATF/IRS getting you for tax evasion instead of the DEA getting you for possession. Cuz you dedicated potsmokers cant hold down a job good enough to pay those "hell" taxes.

I think it would be more effective if you hung some of the illegal aliens on the board, but....

You probably are a christian that goes to church every Sunday.....

Hang Illegal Aliens? You need to be arrested!

Somebody call the authorities. Terrorism and hate speech is still a crime in the USA.

Hang Illegal Aliens? You need to be arrested!

Somebody call the authorities. Terrorism and hate speech is still a crime in the USA.

Oh puleese! When I first read that the first thing I thought of was hanging them up on a hook by the collar not a noose, until you said something. Still alive of course with the same amount of food and water to survive, that they normally take with them on their illegal trek into the USofA. You probably are an illegal and it was not hate speech. If it was written in a book that you were reading would it be considered HATE SPEECH?

f**ck president calderon this is the same piece of @!$%# that came to our country & before the house & senate said we need to change our views on illegal aliens & the democrats gave him a standing ovation, when they themselves do not allow illegals , he has no right to tell us how to run our country he can't even run his own !! besides if you don't think that eric holder & obama are making money on the sale of guns going to mexico your dumber than i thought , and as far as the dems. that gave him a standing ovation they should sot for treason the pieces of @!$%# !!!

A sign about "no more subsidized food" would do better at reduce illegals. Those farmers are coming here cuz they cant compete with the subsidized food we send there. So they have to cross and what's their "skill", farming. This is a big chunk of the unacccompanied males who send money back to their families.

Guns are a constitutional right. Illegals are, well. illegal.

" You can pry my gun from my cold dead fingers" !!!

" You can pry my gun from my cold dead fingers" !!!

Why, do you plan to be buried with your guns?

Better...what planet have you been living on?

There are a lot of liberal Democrats who own guns for hunting and sport shooting and even more of them who are sick and tired of the situation with illegals.

We here in the US have one of the easiest countries to legaly enter. If you cant get in legaly you are probaly not the kind of people we want or need here. Hell americans cant even go to Cannada if they've been convicted of a dui.

When in the friggin world did breaking the law and defending the bill of rights become a bi-partisan issue "Better Careful." Are you liberals so blinded by hatred of conservatives that you would mock ANY of the bill of rights, or defend ANY breaking of laws? If your party stance is "Screw laws and screw the constitution" then you deserve a one way ticket out of this Country.

capncaveman I agree. Also my family came over here legally from Scandinavia. They didn't need liberals to hold their hands across the border, they paid the fees, took the test, and got a job. Novel concept.

Capncaveman said:

We here in the US have one of the easiest countries to legaly enter. If you cant get in legaly you are probaly not the kind of people we want or need here. Hell americans cant even go to Cannada if they've been convicted of a dui.

Tell this guy we have one of the easiest countries to legally enter:

Vancouver psychotherapist Andrew Feldmar has been barred from entering the United States. The reason? During a random stop-and-search at a US/Canadian border crossing, a Google search of his name led to his article from the Spring 2001 'Janus Head: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature, Continental Philosophy, Phenomenological Psychology, and the Arts.' In it Feldmar describes two acid trips he took under the supervision of his graduate advisor in psychology -- in 1967. This turns out to have been enough to earn him a life-time ban under the grounds of 'admitted drug use.'

You stop the drugs your worthless people are bringing into the U.S., and we will stop the guns coming over.

What an ignorant comment. Ask all the farmers in the red states that are prosecuting the poor Mexicans that pick crops.

I do not see a lot of white, unemployed americans getting in line to pick crops,and the farmers are losing their crops because nobody wants to pick them. The people in "occupy Wall Street"are not running there to get a job....

How about solve the problem of immigration without calling people "worthless"

Worthless people? What a silly one sided unbalanced statement.

The USA has a consumption problem; # 1 in the world.

Before Mexico supplied her, Columbia did, China and many other countries. Stopping Mexico from selling drugs to U.S. consumers will only push another to take her place.

Your Mr. Simpleton statement topped with a sprinkle of contempt and racism exposes your ignorance and lack of taking personal responsibility for a failed culture within your beloved USA.

NMEast..."You stop the drugs your worthless people are bringing into the U.S..

Not sure how you interpret that, given the current situation, any other way than the drug lords and drug runners are worthless people. They are the ones bringing drugs into the country.

Am I missing something? Since when were drug lords not "worthless". I think the average human being sees these life-destroying, murderous thugs in terms much worse than "worthless".

IRESPOND

the farmers are losing their crops because nobody wants to pick them

Care to back those words with a statistic and cite a site? Not a news story grabbing headlines but an actual web site where crop loss is broken down by cause and effect. I have yet to hear of a shortage in the stores for ANY food product never mind one caused by lack of pickers. There IS a drought in some regions that has caused crop loss and some mild price increases.

While farming is LESS seasonal these days, the HARVEST is generally late September through December. Plenty of time to report a labor shortage causing those "losses"

how about less government about what we can do. Is this a new idea? why do we get in the way of the drugs and put people in prison that we pay for, for using drugs. Stop spending my money on prisons, and enforcement of something people should decide on themselves if they want to throw themselves in a grave. We have enough people for examples! aka Jackson, Houston, Elvis, Cobain, KEITH RICHARDS ENOUGH SAID

Care to back those words with a statistic and cite a site?

With pleeasure for all of you:

http://weareamericastories.org/2011/10/alabama-immigration-law-hurting-farmers/

There are many others. Just goolge them, and you will find out. I am not writing trash and bigotry, as many people in this vine are.

The bigots are the people who hire illegals and condone them coming to the U.S.

Mexico (government) and the Mexican people will never make intense efforts to better their country so long as the U.S. is an escape from that responsibility.

Nothing will ever change in any of the illegals country of origin as long as they have a means of escape from taking responsibility for themselves. Everyone who hires an illegal to help them out is committing a human rights violation because they are condemning the next generation in that country to the same fate.

Congress just had a series of hearing about the H2A visa program. Those farmers testified about lost crops or not planting in the first place cuz they cant rely on getting pickers. And despite what people think, picking crops in not an unskilled job. You have to know when to each piece (depending on crop) and pickers know this cuz they're mexican farmers who couldnt compete against the subsidized food we export to mexico.

Am I missing something? Since when were drug lords not "worthless". I think the average human being sees these life-destroying, murderous thugs in terms much worse than "worthless".

Although I agree with you that the drug lords are garbage, most of the corruption is not at the lowest level. The people making nasty comments here are talking about the poor fellow that is making a low wage to feed his family.

I am against illegal alliens as much as everybody else, but not every illegal is Mexican, and not every Mexican is a drug dealer.

We need to be like any other super power and close and secure our boarder. A large wall with sufficient well armed border agents and National guard troops should just about take care of the problem.

marcm-1194035 wrote:

A large wall with sufficient well armed border agents and National guard troops should just about take care of the problem.

As long as huge profits are being made by someone in the U.S., it's really not a "problem." But those making the profits will pretend it is, anyway, while bribing those guarding the wall you propose.

Prohibition never stopped the sale of alcohol, either. It just made certain people really, really rich.

Man, I'm surprised that you've had your account for so long! How many times have you been temporarily banned for vulgar personal attacks?

BTW, flagged for "inflammatory"!!!

Most of the weapons that are used by the cartels are military grade, fully automatic weapons. These are not the type of weapons that you can pickup at your local gun store. To purchase and possess them in the US requires a special permit from the BATFE which includes an extensive background check and a huge fee. The majority of weapons used by the cartel are from Central and South American nations and from the Mexican military. Have you ever seen a live grenade in a gun store in the U.S.? Didn't think so.

Have you ever seen how easy it is to convert an AR15 to full auto?

Just a day? Whatever! You're in charge...

hey peanut, the conversion kits are so expensive not just anyone can afford them! While they are out there on the blackmarket so to speak, law abiding citizens will not buy them.

To get caught with an unregistered automatic weapon would not be a good thing, tens yrs in fed prison and 10 thousand dollar fine and loss of gun ownership and voting rights. How about them laws and this they do this to citizens of this country. WOW go figure, I guess if you want to break the laws and get by with it just be an illegal.

And all those guns the U.S. is selling them are NOT going to that "ONE LEGAL GUN STORE IN MEXICO" either! (or Calderon's government). They're going to the ones with the money--the cartels--the one's that are doing all this heinous killing.

So, what you said is that BOTH Obama and Bush have created these alleged sales of guns to Mexico ?

Who has created the awesome consumption of drugs FROM Mexico, which fuels the violence ? Oh, American citizens......

Who hires illegal immigrants ? Oh,guys like Romney who got caught twice....

Who is it that kills jobs in the USA ? A.) Everyone who buys foreign made vehicles,including construction and farm equipment, and all those goods at Walmart which are made in China and India, and everyone who uses gasoline and diesel fuel which comes in from other countries !

Another interesting FACT : Bush began the program........

liam, that is incorrect. The operation under bush was conducted with cooperation from the Mexican government and law enforcement, and involved a couple of hundred weapons. When it was realized that direct contact could not be kept with the weapons which all had gps trackers on/in them, the program was ended. In obama's case there was no information passed to anyone on the Mexican side of the border, our federal law enforcement officers included. And thousands of weapons were sent to Mexico with the express intent of being discovered at Mexican crime scenes. Plus when ATF officers were asking, no, begging for permission to interdict the weapons, they were told to stand down, and not interfere with their delivery to the drug cartels.

I suggest you take the matter up with the President and the Attorney General.

Mexico has some of the most strict ownership laws on the planet, hence the average citizen not being able to defend themselves. If you are lucky, and know, or support someone in the government they will grant you the privilege to trek to the ONE gun shop in the country and buy a .22, otherwise forget ever owning more than a slingshot.

happy2008

As opposed to a country that sell drugs into another country with lots of laws in place? The gun selling was wrong. Very wrong. and heads should roll for it. But it is very hypocritical for mexico to put up a sign like that when for decades they have allowed the flow of illegals and drugs into this country.

You think gun laws would really matter in Mexico??? LOL!

I'm pretty sure it is unlawful to kill someone yet there is plenty of murder there!

No gun laws in place??????? And who would that be? It's illegal to own any gun in Mexico that will shoot any military cartridge. That would be 9mm, .45, 7.62x39, 30-06, 308/7.62x51, 8mm, 7x51, 50BMG and a host of others. Of course that covers all the "automatic" weapons they're crying about. Horse crap. Clean up your own mess, Mexico. Clean up your police and military. How about a little help on the border with your standing army?

bagdadjoe said:

Clean up your police and military. How about a little help on the border with your standing army?

See this article:

When a young corporal in the Mexican marines was ambushed by drug cartel gunmen in the state of Tamaulipas, his first thoughts were for his pregnant wife and unborn child.

But within a split second, he was focused on combat, as his unit took defensive positions around their convoy to return fire.

They managed to shoot dead four attackers while only suffering two injuries.

The victory — one of many by Mexico's marines — was helped largely by U.S.-supplied equipment and training with the U.S. Northern Command in Colorado.

"We have learned from American officers who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan," said the corporal, who asked that his name not be used as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

"The Americans suffer from similar types of ambushes in their wars, and have learned how to respond to them in a tight, disciplined way. We apply those techniques to our fight here."

Extensive training of the Mexican marines is one of several ways in which the U.S. military machine has quietly escalated its role in Mexico's ultraviolent drug war in the past two years.

The U.S. has also supplied Mexico with state-of-the-art military hardware, including Black Hawk helicopters and surveillance drones.

Furthermore, CIA operatives and American military contractors were recently posted at a Mexican military base to advise directly on operations, according to The New York Times.

The question of U.S. military involvement in Mexico came into the national spotlight this week after Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry contemplated American troops shooting it out with cartel hit squads.

"It may require our military in Mexico working in concert with them to kill these drug cartels and keep them off our border," Perry said.

The U.S.-trained marines have become the most efficient force in the Mexican military. Directed by Mexico's Navy Department, the marines have been increasingly favored by U.S. officials over the past two years.

In one diplomatic cable uncovered by WikiLeaks, former Ambassador Carlos Pascual praised the marines for their "emerging role as a key player in the counternarcotics fight."

Following training with the U.S. Northern Command, the marines have shot dead several major cartel bosses, including Arturo Beltran Leyva, alias "The Beard," and Ezequiel "Tony Tormenta" Cardenas.

On Wednesday, the marines took charge of a security operation in the port of Veracruz, where thugs dumped 35 corpses on a road during rush hour in September.

The Mexican marines are helped by the fact that most have a higher level of education than those in the Mexican army or federal police, the marine corporal said.

"We are considered to be the yuppies in the Mexican military," he said. "Me and most of my colleagues have university degrees. A lot of regular soldiers come from poor villages and left school when they were 16."

The Mexican marines are also considered much less corrupt than their counterparts, because they traditionally have been uninvolved in the drug war — and have had less contact with the tempting offers of billionaire traffickers.

It is illegal to use or sell illegal drugs. The US doesn't seem to be able to control its own "illegals" with much greater resources than Mexico.

4th world country

Ya mean our Marxist in chief Obammy? LOL.

@Oliver,

LOL! Educate yourself on socialism.

Your right Wanker, he is not a Marxist, he is a socialist.

The word which you meant is "You're", and Obama is NOT a Socialist....but Romney ? ...he created Romney care in Massachusetts.

When women wanted the right to vote in 1920,...Republicans called them Socialists, when Americans sought a minimum wage law in 1916,Republicans called the opponents Socialists,When Americans sought Workers Comp.Insurance laws,Republicans called them Socialists, When workers sought Worker safety laws, Republicans called them Communists.....There are a lot of Nazis hidden behind the curtains of the Republican Party.

You got that right, tools of death and destruction are the only major things the United States has left to export that people want to buy.

As usual a number of highly uninformed people are making numerous comments about illegals and drugs. The problem with Mexico is this countries unsatiable desire for illegal drugs. If Americans weren't spending billions of dollars buying them, no one would be transporting them. The drug war has failed, it is time to think the unthinkable and legalize drugs, it is the only solution to all of the violence. Any well informed thinking man in the world knows this. endprohibitionnow.net.

What we need to do is to end the easy accessiblity of guns to Americans, who obviously misuse the privilege,.....something like 38 Americans a day are killed with legal guns in the USA...

liam... please cite your site. at best/worst it is 27 people a day in the USA die from gun use, legal or illegal, and about half die by their own hand, suicide.

Or how about Americans stop buying drugs from Mexico?

BTW3110:

Or how about Americans stop buying drugs from Mexico?

That will NEVER happen. Try again.

To think magically one day drug use in the U.S. is going to disappear is naive to say the least.

A better idea would be to end the spectacularly failed and costly drug war.

because then you can post stupid off-topic comments?

The drug war is definitely tied to this article and is certainly not off topic and donataso's post makes perfect sense...and is NOT stupid.

I'm with you, free all marijuana users in jails...the USA has 5% of the World population,but 25% of ALL the people in jails all over the World, are Americans, serving time in American jails........, one out of every 31 adults in the USA is either A.) In jail,B.) On parole, or C.) on Probation....What's with that ?

Is America truly a nation of criminals ?

If they need to outsource a project I would suggest outsource the wall construction and border protection to either the Germans or Chinese. Those guys know how to build a wall and secure a border. Of course they treat Illegals and invaders differently than we treat "Un documented Workers"

How about we arrest one criminal alien and trade him for one weapon, you guarantee us the criminal alien will stay in Mexico, we guarantee you that weapon will never leave the USA.
We will send Mr Holder to Mexico, to take charge of rounding up weapons.

Racist

ah yes, the cry of the democrat with out facts or anything to say..
Don't forget, "Bush did it".

There was nothing racist about that comment.

Ah you forget liberaleeeter, anytime you criticize GWB you're a patriot and anytime you criticize B.H.O. you're a racist.....damn I didn't know there were so many racists in this country....I can't wait until this country has a different president so people can STFU about the non-existent race card b.s.....

Bipartisan Congressional investigation showed that 2,070 weapons were involved in operation Fast and Furious, yet the article states that 7,500 weapons were destroyed by the Mexican government. Were did the rest come from? Easy to just blame Dems I guess.

Sure the mexicaN gov't destroyed the guns...yeal right.,.,and he thinks we are going to believe him?????