It seems our neighbors to the south are having a bit of a problem with some drug cartels along the border regions... Ok, ok, I know I understated the seriousness of the situation down in Mexico-land. For those people who are hearing about this problem for the first time, since 2006 roughly 28,000 people have been murdered in a bloody turf war between rival cartels and the Mexican government (that is about half of the number of Americans lost in Vietnam for comparison). Basically Mexico has completely lost control over large sections of their border and 1,000's of government and law enforcement personnel have been butchered as a warning to anyone that opposes their drug operations. Although some people may think we should not be involved because it is Mexico's problem, unfortunately we (United States junkies) are the "demand" factor and the cartels are the very profitable "supply" part of the equation.
There are only 2 options in a situation like this, either you stop(reduce considerably) the demand for the illegal materials or stop the supply. Various news outlets have been headlining things like "Rick Perry is considering sending troops into Mexico!!", which seems a little sensationalized as media outlets like to do. He probably would with co-operation with the Mexican government if they requested the help as the Colombians did back in the 80's. On the supply side of the issue, I don't think it is a bad idea to send over troops to help, but with today's pathetic rules of engagement, the troops would be severely handicapped and scrutinized by the media at every turn. I personally think if we send over some special operations teams (Delta force, seals, or spooks) and let them "send a message" back to the cartels by forming groups like Search Bloc and Los Pepes (Colombian death squads) we could get this problem to a manageable level. Sending troops over will be about a affective as the British Napoleonic tactics in the civil war! These cartels kill wholesale and even dismember people, you have to get your hands dirty if you want to send them a message they will hear.
The other option is to stop the demand in the U.S., which sadly enough, will probably be even less likely to happen. We may be able to curb the demand by legalizing marijuana, but that is not really a solution, that would be a little like covering a stain with a different stain. We could try to fortify the crap out of the border as well, which is something we should do regardless, but that may take a while and will most likely require halting the majority of traffic across the border. I am curious what action our Government will eventually take, this problem is not going to go away on it's own.
Thanks Y'all,
Dan-O
About the content, I feel she brings up a very good issue that should be a concern to just about everyone. Food stamps and welfare are programs "designed" to help those in need make it threw tough times. Holly give good statistical information that depicts the growing percentage of recipients getting food stamps in El Paso. The numbers are a bit alarming since we (the working tax payers) are having to pay the bill. Working class people avoid going out to eat at restaurants to save money, yet they are buying lobster, soda, and TV dinners for 25% of the the people in their community? That is ridiculous! I think Holly also does a good job pointing out the failing systems that are paid for and are supposed to benefit the working Americans like Social Security. The Economy is like a ship, if you take on more water than you can bail out, you will eventually sink and die. Well... the liberals in Washington that want to keep throwing vast sums of money at dead-end programs have currently put us in a situation where we are taking on more and more water and have less and less people to bail. We are going to start sinking one of these days unless people in the important positions grow some attachments and cut the cord on generational free loaders! (Holly's article has done a good job getting me wound up).
