Many years ago “Who Do You Trust?” was a program on television that was hosted by Johnny Carson even before he and his “side-kick” Ed McMahon entertained us on the Tonight Show. The title of that show could also serve as the title for the news report that this commentary focuses on.
I have attached a link to an article that appeared in the Washington Times on November 24th. The news article shows how creative the narcotics smugglers are and how naive our government is. Of course, by calling our government “naive” I am giving the folks behind the program that enables trucks to barely come to a full stop as they cross the border that is supposed to separate our country from Mexico and, in fact, the rest of the world.
Consider this paragraph from the news report: More than half of all U.S. imports now come from companies in the program, called the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, or C- TPAT. Mexican trucking companies make up only 6 percent of global membership in the system, but they account for half of its 71 security violations during the past two years.
I urge you to click on the link below and check out the news report in its entirety.
A number of years ago, I was provided the opportunity to chat with Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, the then chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He had announced his support of a guest worker program for millions of illegal aliens whose identities could not be readily determined. I began our impromptu meeting by telling him that if I couldn’t sleep at night, I sure as hell didn’t want him to be able to sleep at night! He asked me to explain what was keeping me awake at night staring at my ceiling when I should have been fast asleep. I laid out my concerns about the inherent national security risks that such a program would create and he ultimately withdrew his support from that absurd program.
Today I will tell you what I told Congressman Sensenbrenner- “If I cannot sleep at night, I certainly don’t want you to be able to sleep at night either!”
Every day and every night, federal agents and police officers go in harm’s way to conduct investigations into narcotics trafficking. They spend long hours engaged in some of the most dangerous investigations a law enforcement officer can undertake. I have lost friends in the law enforcement community who paid the “ultimate price” for conducting those investigations.
Much of the crime committed in our country is directly or indirectly related to the drug trade and many of those crimes involve extreme violence and murder.
For decades our nation has declared that it was waging a “War against drugs.”
Yet, even while the citizens of our nation have come to face a reduction in their expectations of freedom and privacy and additionally undergo increasing levels of scrutiny when we seek to board airliners in the name of national security, drugs flow easily across our nation’s borders even as such leaders as Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Security and Senator Charles Schumer, the chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee declare our nation’s borders secure and hence, the time is right for the implementation of “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”
If truckloads of drugs are being found to be easily crossing our nation’s borders as smugglers capitalize on a program that was obviously created at the behest of corporations whose goals of increasing profit depend on removing our nation’s borders, the question needs to be asked, could not weapons of mass destruction also be easily smuggled across the border with the wink and nod that apparently passes for border security? Could not terrorists and criminals also gain easy access to our nation under the auspices of a program that all be eliminates our border for “trusted” trucking companies?
As I have noted on so many previous occasions, the Visa Waiver Program also represents a major threat to national security and yet, more than 8 years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the Visa Waiver Program now includes 35 countries.
This past week I made several trips by airliner and saw so many young men and women in military uniforms heading home for a brief respite before getting their orders to ship out to either Afghanistan or Pakistan. I was joined by so many other travelers who expressed our appreciation to them for their willingness to go in harm’s way to secure our nation.
Meanwhile, even as that these valiant young Americans prepare to head off to battle to protect our nation, our nation’s “leaders” will stop at virtually nothing to eradicate our nation’s borders and provide millions of illegal aliens whose identities, backgrounds, affiliations and intentions are unknown and unknowable.
What I want to know, (and you should too) is how much longer will this charade continue?
Any politician who refuses to work to secure our borders and create an immigration system that has integrity is either corrupt or too dumb to keep his (her) job. Any politician, irrespective of party affiliation who favors Comprehensive Immigration Reform should be shown the door at the next election!
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same.
Next year each and every member of the House of Representatives is up for reelection. Next year more than one third of the members of the United States Senate will have to face their constituents. They need to be reminded that they work for us, We the People!
However, the practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there. The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines! The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians. I implore you to get involved!
Any American who has lost his job certainly has enough time on his (her) hands to get involved!
Any American who fears the loss of his job must make effective use of his spare time to make certain he keeps his job! (Remember, the job save may be your own!) If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation! You need to politely but pointedly, demand to know what they are doing to protect our nation. You need to ask them how they are protecting you and your families. You can also forward this commentary to them. All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are! We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue! You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem! Democracy is not a spectator sport! Lead, follow or get out of the way!
