Southwest ablaze

Wallow Fire in Arizona and New Mexico

John McCain set off a firestorm recently by blaming out open borders and illegal immigrants on the fires in the southwest.

He has a point. They certainly cannot check into hotels so they do camp and in forests both Arizona and New Mexico have closed because of the very dry conditions. This hurts the economy of locals that depend on tourists this time of year. And this is where are homes are . . . or families and our pets and our friends. We are all on edge and very aware of the restrictions. I, who does not live in the forest but a meadow near its edge, cannot have a barbeque in my yard even or celebrate the 4th with fireworks.

We are all living in terror of illegal campers. And they could be US citizens from another state just unable or unwilling to read the signs warning of new camp fires, no smoking, no fireworks. But, Senator McCain is right, there is a higher possibility they are illegal migrants seeking to stay off of main roads and hide in the woods, set signal fires for others to meet them, etc. There is a piece of privately owned property near the national forest that has been used for years as a "gathering place" by the coyotes.

But to be fair it is not just illegals we are angry with. As our governors seek to ban the sale of fireworks as we approach the 4th of July we know the Indians will continue to sell them on their reservations knowing full well that is not where the buyers will set them off. And state officials of New Mexico and Arizona have no standing on reservation lands. But fireworks can be brought across state lines by visitors.

I think it is long past time that we ban fireworks and their use by anyone other than licensed individuals that set off public displays in closely controlled circumstances. Let's ring bells on the 4th of July instead. I have had enough flash, band and boom. We in the southwest are sitting on the front lines of a battle for our forests and the way of life they provide not just here but to the global climate.

Pacheco Fire in Pecos

I have been watching the smoke from the Pacheco Fire go 30,000 feet into the air. It was started by someone that went into a forest that was closed.

Whether an illegal immigrant or not it was someone doing something illegal but it is us and not them that will pay. And if our governor bans the sale of fireworks it is legal vendors that will lose money while the Indians continue to make it.

The 4th of July used to be about all men being created equal.

Get Out of My Backyard

Illegal immigrants connected to Mexico's drug cartels are growing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of marijuana in the heart of one of America's national treasures, authorities say. It's a booming business that, federal officials say, feeds Mexico's most violent drug traffickers, reports CNN.

I live in an area surrounded by National Forest. And I understand that the illegal immigrants growing pot is not limited to just this one forest in the story but is rampant in all of the United States National Forests.

Where is our National Guard when we need them to fight this invasion upon our soil? In Iraq fighting a war we should not have been involved in. And meanwhile the Mexican Army is making incursions across our southern border. They claim they didn't know they had crossed it. It is admittedly just a wire fence at the point they crossed but it is clearly marked.

And this is one of the areas where they were suppose to build the wall that was fully funded. It was suppose to be done by May 2008. But this latest pot plantation grown and tended by illegal immigrants was in northern California. Surely there was some indication before there that they had crossed the border?

This is not a racist rant. I just want my country safe. I want to not stumble upon a pot farm with AK47's protecting it when I am out walking my dogs. I want people that do not belong there to get out of my backyard.

Are we a nation of laws?

It is very popular these days to say we are a nation of laws but with Bush's 1100 plus signing exceptions one has to wonder. Is it a set of laws that is equally applied? Or is this structure of laws based originally on our constitution a fragile house of cards because of how it is biased to the rich and powerful. Or whatever is expedient at the moment.

I was rather pleased to see that watchers of the supreme court seem to believe that the right to bear arms will not be over-turned by the court. I am a gun owner. I am a woman living in the near wilderness who has experienced a stalker and how little the law can do about it. I have three weapons. I am anxious to see the final decision and what the court does with the words "cannot be infringed." We are battling that here in New Mexico which has yet to have a challenge to its new conceal/carry law. The New Mexico constitution also mentions that the right of the citizen to carry a weapon cannot be infringed upon.

But I digress. When I began this post I was thinking of the laws that used to keep the economy in balance and in part prevent a depression like which occurred in the 1930's. We went to war to get out of that. We are in a war now (usually a boost to the economy) and still heading down on the slippery slope. I like many Americans thought there was a structure of protectionist laws put in place to ensure that banks could not engage in dangerous and risky lending with the monies of its investors and customers. NOT it seems. All those laws were removed with a stroke of the pen by those who wanted no restrictions on their profits. And aided by the people put in office by those powerful lobbyists.

So once again it seems the laws only apply to the lower class of people. The rich can have the laws re-written. The rich can afford lobbyists and lawyers and money under the table to the correct powers. The powerful can decide to erase the laws to allow the illegal aliens to remain in this country ahead of those who took the legal route and may still be waiting in line. The powerful can make it so oil companies can get tax incentives and no taxes on their huge prices. The powerful can decide to tap our phones regardless of our constitutional "guarantees" to privacy. The powerful can pay spin doctors to call it enhanced question techniques instead of torture, and pay the lawyers to argue that before the supreme court.

I will not bore you with the entire list. On a personal level I am having a dispute with a contractor. He filed a lien that did not adhere to the letter of the law. That does not seem to matter. I must spend the money in court and on a lawyer to prove that. And legal aid seems to be something which has fallen to the budget ax. In an effort to continue to support a war that should be against all international laws the government is tightening its belt on "entitlements" and "pork barrel projects" (not all bridges are to nowhere). Still that does not prevent our government from bailing out a financial institution that morally did what it should not do. And if we had a fine reading of the laws that are still in place - illegally did.

Where, oh where is a nation of laws for the little people. And not the rich CEO's and companies.