Image from the BBC!

What’s a pipeline got to do with a payroll tax holiday?  Ask the US Senate.

A new strategy to curb illegal immigration: fencing off the ocean.

Looks like TLC’s “All American Muslims” found some advertisers to replace Lowes.

Hunting and gathering in the holiday season.

The consequences of Tebowing.

Photo courtesy of the Huffington Post.

America is tired of wars in far-flung places. Maybe it is time to replace them with military conflicts closer to home!

Just as US troops may or may not be leaving Iraq, one Presidential candidate has suggested U.S. forces should be deployed in Mexico.

Former Governor of Texas Rick Perry has suggested military force as a possible solution to the ongoing drug cartel violence along the Mexican border.

The cartels, which are estimated to have killed nearly 35,000 people in the last five years, are not unfamiliar to Perry, who called for increased security forces along the border during his term as governor.

The U.S. has sought to step up efforts to combat the violence which has potential to spill stateside. Some say the US is a partner in this growing calamity.

A Senate report in June 2011 suggested some 70% of firearms recovered from Mexican crime scenes in 2009 and 2010 came from the US.

However, other critics argue that such a precipitous step as deploying troops would significantly sour relations between the U.S. and Mexico and infringe upon Mexico’s sovereignty.

Rep. Roberto Badillo, Secretary of the National Defense Committee in the Mexican Congress said in a 2009 Time magazine article,

“I would never, ever, support the intervention of foreign troops in our territory, and that is the way that 99.9% of Mexicans think. Perhaps someone should tell Mr. Perry?”

Thanks to Wikicommons.

President, no, Sheriff Obama, after playing the role of international lawman, has returned his focus to the dusty streets of  the Texas town of El Paso.

Yesterday, he spoke on the issue of immigration reform, something especially relevant to a town so close to Mexico (and raging drug war). Obama notes:

we have strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible.

…Over the past two and a half years, we’ve seized 31 percent more drugs, 75 percent more currency, 64 percent more weapons than ever before.

Because of this increased security Mr. Obama suggests it is now time to pass badly needed reforms as

…Today, the immigration system not only tolerates those who break the rules, but it punishes folks who follow the rules.

It could be expected that such words would stir up support from those calling for immigration reform but some are questioning his sincerity.

Over at Mother Jones, Suzy Khimm notes that

the timing of Obama’s renewed immigration push may give the impression that the move is largely a political ploy to win over Hispanic voters in 2012. Until Obama eases up enforcement and lays out a specific timeline to tackle immigration reform … he may have a tough time coming across as a credible immigration reform advocate.

Even if the President fully means what he says, Democracy in America’s E.G. thinks that his speech sent the wrong message that immigration reform is about national security rather than

an economic phenomenon with costs and benefits. That’s more accurate, less inflammatory, and would give any proposal a better chance of passage.

This has got us wondering. We’re sure that our readers are a diverse crowd, including immigrats, and we would love to know your view. Most likely they are more coherent than ours… so post them up!

Thanks to Wikicommons.

The dangers of speaking out. Protesters fired upon in Yemen by security forces.

Fantastic Fish Fatalities! Dead fish cover the surface of a marina after they became trapped.

When the going gets tough… Mexico continues to battle drug crime as Police chief flees to US for her life.

A television station in Georgia (the country, not the state) broadcasted a fake news story about Russia invading them.

Three U.S. citizens were killed in Mexico during a gang fight, on their way home from a birthday party.

A top Taliban member was arrested! Oh wait, that’s not good news?

Thanks to Google Images!

We at USDemocrazy stumble across some very curious items in the news.

Any article that contains the line, “The bear, who was wearing ice skates when the incident occurred…” sounds promising.  Plus, ‘Ice-skating Bears Gone Wild‘ would be an awesome idea for a Halloween horror movie.

Also, how can a police station, sworn to uphold the law, hold a banquet for a police officer who committed a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) and killed two people?  Tickets are only $50 we are told…, and really, we would love to go, but we have to give our goldfish a bath that night…

And this story really got our attention…

A Mexican drug gang called “La Familia” is causing (and solving) some serious problems in Mexico.

They decapitate, torture, and exhort.  Then they pray, and donate to charity.

The gang punishes those they see morally unfit (similar to the Saw movies… it really is almost Halloween!).

When not wreaking havoc it encourages its members to maintain healthy lifestyles (no alcohol or drugs) and go to church religiously.

Income from the group is understood to have funded schools, drainage projects, even churches.

But make no mistake, the Familia gang is extremely dangerous. Thankfully, the United States has performed several successful drug raids to rid Mexico of this problematic gang, and the violence that surrounds it.

The Gang might be wise to follow the advice of Spiderman here: “With great power comes great responsibility.”  Or, maybe we should stop watching so many cartoons.

Thanks to WikiCommons

Mexico just can’t get a break. An outbreak of Swine Flu has given one more headache (one of the flu’s symptoms) to Mexico’s over-worked government (see US Democrazy’s post on Mexico’s drug war).

So what is Swine Flu?

Called H1N1, this virus causes respiratory illness, headaches and a runny nose.

Don’t think this is a bunch of hogwash. Up to 81 people in Mexico have died leading the government to close schools and other public places.

Now the United States is starting to show symptoms. Eight cases of the disease have been confirmed in a New York City school as well as eleven other cases in California, Texas, and Kansas. On Sunday the Center for Disease Control declared a public health EMERGENCY (although they did say not to PANIC!).

It’s not only the US that is worrying. The rest of the world has begun to prepare, especially Asia (luckily they are prepared due to previous scares with other contagious diseases SARS and Avian Flu).

The World Health Organization has warned this porker problem presents pandemic potential.

For now there is no need to squeal with fear. Maybe this Swine Flu is no big deal.

Here’s some tricks to stay healthy. Wash your hands and keep your pig sties clean.

We hope this post did not boar you.

But MOM! China got a Porsche! Can’t I get one too?

My credit card took advantage of me! Don’t worry, Obama will fix it…

Stickin’ to their guns… Because guns don’t kill people, drug cartels kill people.

Weapons used by the cartel.

When President Obama headed to Mexico today, it wasn’t for a spring break in Cancun (which means US Democrazy can’t justify a fact-finding mission there).

Instead he is working to tackle, among other things, one of the most violent cities in the world. (And guess what, folks… it is not located in the Middle East.)

The Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, Texas, has become a literal war zone. Two-hundred and ten people have been killed from January to March, and 1,605 total for the year of 2008.

Why is there so much violence?

The government of Mexico, under President Felipe Calderon, has been cracking down on the drug cartels in his country (a plan backed by the USA). Such restrictions are forcing drug gangs ino a bloody fight for survival.

With increasing violence and corruption  (it is hard to fight crime when local police are paid more by gangs then by the government), the Mexican government has deployed federal police and the military to deal with the crisis. This has reduced the violence… a bit.

How does this involve us?  Well, America is seen as the source of this drug violence by many Mexicans.

It seems the drugs flowing through Mexico being fought over by Mexican gangs are not being consumed by Mexicans. These drugs are going north to the good old USA.

To add insult to injury (literally) the guns being used in the deadly drug battles on Mexican soil are from… you guessed it… the USA.

So what have we (the United States) done to address this issue?

Well, Obama is promoting a treaty aimed at reducing cross border gun smuggling. A “Border Czar” has also been appointed by the White House to direct anti-drug and violence programs.

 One suggestion is making it harder to get guns in the US by strengthening gun laws.

The lessons of the alcohol prohibition have been cited as a solution, promoting *gasp* legalizing drugs to cut off demand for smuggling.

So what should be done? Check out these ideas and post your own. We would love to know what you think (please post–  when you don’t comment, we cry).

Birth contol: BAD! Babies: GOOD! No, this ain’t the Pope talkin’.

We were always taught to blame others. But Hillary Clinton’s teaching us to blame ourselves!

Britney or Barack… Who’s easier on the eyes? One senator finds that question an easy one.