Whether you like Sheriff Joe or not, you have to acknowledge his blatant disregard for being "politically correct" when it comes to enforcing our laws. Even our own President has become PC on the whole issue of illegal immigration, even supporting the recent bill that gave illegals an easy "road to citizenship". In our own state, both of our Senators, Kyl & McCain supported the bill and one of our most conservative representatives, Jeff Flake, supported it as well. Not Sheriff Joe.

It has become increasingly obvious that the federal government is way too worried about offending somebody to do anything substantive about the illegal immigration problem we have in the United States. Well, in our border state of Arizona, the famous Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County has taken matters into his own hand. A few weeks back, Sheriff Joe set up an "illegal immigration hotline" that allows citizens to call to report any suspicious illegal immigrant activity. The hotline has been blasted by groups on the left as well as many Hispanic groups who claim the hotline will lead to racial profiling and will "potentially intimidate and ostracize one particular group” and “incite neighbor against neighbor,” according to the New Sanctuary Movement, who met with the good Sheriff on August 2nd.

Other Hispanic groups have also asked Arpaio to remove the hotline, claiming they had already set one up and are attempting to remedy the problem from within.

Sheriff Joe's response to all of this? He simply stated that he is unafraid of so-called racial profiling and said, "When I make a decision, I stick with it. I don't back down. Maybe somebody will call and we'll solve some homicides."

The year 2007 has brought even more attention to the problem our country has with illegal immigration. Surprisingly, to quote President Truman, our "Do-Nothing Congress" has done exactly that; NOTHING! They pushed for amnesty, which was even backed by our President, but the American people spoke and the bill was shot down. Obviously the defeat of this bill is largely attributable to conservative talk radio. People like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham & Hugh Hewitt focused much attention on what they called the "shamnesty" bill and it was clear that America was not happy with the easy "road to citizenship" that the bill provided for. The funny thing about this issue it that it is strikingly non-partisan.

So what is the solution? Well, in 2006 the President authorized the building of a 700 mile fence on the Mexican border. The trouble is, the Mexican border is almost 2,000 miles long....do the math. Since the authorization of the fence, the fence has been trimmed down to a projected 370 feet, to be completed by the end of 2008. Once again, do the math. At the end of July, which is almost a year after authorization, we have built a robust 14 miles of fence and that, my friends, is cause for celebration.

But will a fence really solve the problem? Well lets be realistic here because the facts are plain and simple. It is estimated that roughly half of the illegal immigrant population came here LEGALLY! Assuming there are 12 million illegals in the country, our government let 6 million of them in! Dick Morris has chronicled this problem in his new book release, "Outrage". The problem is simple, yet has still not been addressed. We admit people to come in with a visa, but we do not keep track of who leaves. Basically, once you are in, it is a free-for-all. Stay as long as you want and don't worry, we'll give you free healthcare and send all of your kids to school....for free! It should also be noted that, of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers, 15 were here illegally! Of those 15, 10 of them came in via valid visas that had expired several months prior to the attack, but the government of course had no clue they were still here. The other 5 had "managed to slip through the cracks", according to six experts that conducted a study for National Review. Four of them were actually here legally.

We need to control what we can. Building a fence will obviously deter many people, but is ultimately not the final answer. The fact is, the government can control who it gives visas to. Clearly, a more stringent review of applicant information needs to be done and the government needs to track the people who leave in order to figure out who is still in the country with an expired visa. Its time for the most recent version of the "Do-Nothing Congress" to do something about this epidemic.

 About a week ago in Phoenix, a freak accident occurred that shocked the state of Arizona and people all over the country. Two news helicopters collided in midair while following an ongoing car chase through Central Phoenix, about two blocks from my apartment. I didn't hear a sound, but saw the breaking news shortly after it happened. The thief that caused the whole debacle was a 23 year-old man who, when asked by a reporter why he had run from the cops, brilliantly answered, "Because I saw your momma".

Five days later in Minneapolis, another tragedy struck the nation as the I-35W bridge crossing the mighty Mississippi collapsed abruptly as citizens headed home from work. The bridge was frequented to the tune of about 140,000 vehicles per day, but was only about 40 years old. So what would cause a structure of this nature to simply cave in all of a sudden? Well, as we have seen so often over the past 6 1/2 years, the first target is none other than President George W. Bush. I caught myself thinking that somehow the crazy left would find a way to "blame Bush" for this tragedy as I watched my television shortly after the disaster. To be honest, I was not surprised to see the Dems immediately find a way to steer the blame toward the president.

According to Reuters, Rep. James Oberstar, the Minnesota Democrat who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, blamed Bush's administration for shortchanging road and bridge repair in a highway funding bill two years ago. Bush, he said, "failed to support a robust investment in surface transportation." It didn't take long for Majority Leader Reid to chime in, saying, "Since 9/11, we have taken our eye off the ball" and suggesting that Bush has been too distracted by the Iraq war and post-Sept. 11 national security needs to focus on the country’s water, sewer and transportation infrastructure.

This is so typical, yet equally as disgusting as the garbage that has been spewed from the mouths of these liberals for decades now. It will be amazing to me if the American people elect a Democratic president in 2008. The mistake was made in '06, but I think people are beginning to realize that the Democrats really don't stand for anything, they simply oppose the Bush adminsitration. Well, I guess that policy did work in 2006 and Bush's approval rating is still at about 36%, about the same as election time. Unfortunately for the Democratic controlled Congress, their approval rating is at a paltry 14%. The American people are beginning to see the light.

 By now, we've all heard the tale told by the famous "Baghdad Diarist", Mr. Scott Thomas, or as we all know now, Mr. Scott Thomas Beauchamp. To be honest, I wish I didn't know his name. I wish the New Republic had used some discretion before releasing this article. Finally, I wish our troops didn't have to be portrayed as animalistic thugs.

We know that the New Republic bats left-handed and wishes to do whatever they can to undermine the current war effort, but to go as far as slandering our men and women who have given up everything to serve this great country is still a shock to me. How about the fact that the sole reason the New Republic exists is because of the men and women throughout history who have fought to keep this country free? How about the fact that the tales of Mr. Beauchamp are completely uncorroborated? How about the fact that Mr. Beauchamp is not going to give a fair assessment simply becuase he is a lefty himself (we know this for several reasons, one being the fact that he worked for Howard Dean's campaign in 2004----ahhhhh!!!)? How about the fact that the only reason Scott Thomas Beauchamp joined the military was to somehow further his journalism "career"? Come on NR, this is NOT journalism, it is propaganda disguised as just that.

Let's be honest, our troops are not perfect, but they are still heroes who should be respected and portrayed with dignity and class. I don't care that the socialist Mr. Beauchamp disagrees with this war or that the NR would rather see America head down the same road the French have taken. I do care about our men and women who fight to keep America great and to them I will give my utmost respect.

Read the article by searching "Shock Troops" at http://www.google.com/.