The Southern Border: What You're Not Hearing

     This post comes to you courtesy of an organization called Oath Keepers.  I cannot imagine that you are unaware of them, but if so, here is their mission statement:  Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of current and formerly serving military, police, and first responders  who pledge to fulfill the oath all military and police take to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”  Furthermore, Oath Keepers reaches out to both current and veteran military personnel, to remind them of their oaths, to teach them more about the Constitution they swore to defend, and to inspire them to defend it.  Their motto is "Not on our watch!"
     They go even further on their website in describing their loyalty to Article VI of the Constitution, rather than to politicians, but I will let you do your own research on what that may entail.  Today, I want to make you aware of what they are doing to help defend our Southern border.
     Under an article, titled Texas Ranchers Fear For Their Lives And Families -- Ask Veterans For Help, we get an up-close and personal view of just how bad it is on the Texas border.  Never mind what you hear the talking heads or the White House Press Corps say ... listen to the first-hand account of someone who is living the reality:  Rusty is a lifelong rancher along the border of Texas and Mexico.  He describes how the Mexican drug cartels are using death threats, assault, and attempted murder to drive ranchers and their families off of their land. He tells how some of his neighbors are fleeing their ranches, while others are standing firm with the help of volunteer patriot security patrols.

     In an audio interview on the Oath Keepers website, Rusty describes the Border Patrol intercepting Muslim men from Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and says “when they [Border Patrol] take them in, they’ll disappear – they’ll take them somewhere – and even the records will disappear. And I asked one of them ‘what’s the deal on the records’ and he said ‘that’s an order from way up the line, up in DC – they don’t want anybody to know how many are coming through’…they [the local Border Patrol agents] keep records but the records disappear, out of the mainframe – out of the computer – and the paper records too.”
     Rob, an out-of-state Oath Keepers member who has been serving as a volunteer guard on Rusty’s ranch corroborates Rusty's narrative, and adds his own opinion:  "The only thing we [the American public] hear about is women and kids… and when they make huge drug busts, that’s what we hear about.  We don’t hear about the gang-bangers coming across, we don’t hear about the terrorists coming across.  We don’t hear about the violence going down on the border.  I had a rancher call me last week, and begging for help on 15,000 acres.  He had been moved off his ranch because he doesn’t feel safe with his family there.  He’s been shot at and threatened.  We don’t hear that [on the news]."
     Perhaps the most frightening information coming from this interview was Rusty's account of the child abductions, sex-slave, and prostitution threats:  "They steal kids. Literally, they steal kids. Depending on how good looking they are, they’re gonna start at $35,00.00 to $45,000.00 dollars per kid. Blond haired, blue eyed little boy, little girl, is anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000.00 dollars, depending on how old they are. The older they are, particularly for girls, the more the price goes up. There’s been some girls that have been missing here, for five years from Brownsville, they were stolen when they were thirteen. One of them was found in a whorehouse in Mexico City. Her parents bought her out [from the cartels]– they bought her out for a million-five."
     Apparently Governor Rick Perry's call-up of the Texas National Guard is having little effect.  According to Rusty, "The Texas State Guard are in the flimsy, cheap, probably Chinese-made watch-towers.  They’re not bullet proof, they’ve got glass on four sides and they posted them from McAllen, which is the North end of the Valley, to Laredo, which is about 200 miles.  They’re not down here south."  And Rob is saying that the BLM land, owned by the Government, is a very large, wide open “free pass” zone for the cartels, terrorists, and gangs coming across the border.  "Border Patrol is not even allowed to chase people on it... There’s a joke in the community here that the only people allowed on Fish and Wildlife land are the illegal immigrants."
     And now these brave Texas ranchers (and Americans!) are left to their last resort ... asking Texas veterans to live up to their Constitutional oaths and come help defend the border.  That is a poor reflection upon this nation's sovereignty ... oh, but I forgot ... we are no longer sovereign or independent. There is an agenda here and it's not a pretty one.  Rusty's story makes it very clear that Americans and their lives, liberty, property, and pursuit of happiness are sacrifices worthy to achieve an ill-gotten goal.  May God protect these families and those who come to their aid!

Nehemiah 4:14     And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

Detention Center Contradicts Budget Request

     The ongoing battle between Congress and the President over the $3.7 billion in supplemental budget appropriations for the border crisis (the so-called "Border Bill") has taken on an ironic quality in the last few days.  At the end of last week, President Obama hinted that he was getting frustrated at the lack of action by Congress, stating, "I'm going to have to act alone; we've run out of money..."
     Excuse me, Sir, but can you answer a simple question for me?  If we have run out of money, can you explain the elaborate detention center for immigrant women and children, located in Karnes City, Texas?  As reported by KXAN-TV, out of San Antonio, this 29-acre facility that used to house illegal male immigrants that were caught and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has now received an expensive makeover for its new purpose.

     ICE field officers gave a tour to media representatives and proudly showed off the new detention center: “I am pretty sure you will agree this is nothing like we have seen before.”  I should say!  The media were shown newly painted rooms that catered to children, with cartoon characters painted on the walls, and all kinds of games to entertain them.  KXAN also reported that "Other amenities include recreational fields, a library, internet access, and a cafeteria which will serve three all-you-can-eat meals a day. Certified teachers will also be on site to provide year-round education and small jobs will also be available paying $3 a day for four hours of work."
     But that's not all!  Cable television is available, along with recreation activities that include exercise equipment, a soccer field, basketball court, and volleyball court.  A computer lab allows some internet access and email services but restricts social media.  (Why stop there?  If the American tax-payer is footing this bill, why not go all the way?)
     And it is not just free housing and upscale amenities that these illegal immigrants will receive. Pro bono immigration attorney services will be available on-site for those seeking asylum , and they will have an opportunity to see an immigration judge.  Apparently the immigration system does not guarantee the right to free and legal counsel, so attorneys are being solicited to " to see that the rights of the children are not violated.".  Please correct me, if I am wrong, but aren't these "rights" that pertain to legal citizens?   I am all for treating these unfortunate women and children with compassion and human kindness, but to infer legal "rights" on them because of an emotional response is not only un-Constitutional, but will completely bankrupt this country.
     Oh, I forgot to mention that the "Detention Center" will now be referred to as a "Resident Center"; Detainees are known as Residents, and Guards are called Resident Advisors.  It is hard to understand this kind of "soft-sell" mentality, when city governments in Florida and California are passing ordinances that would make being "homelessness" a crime.  SHTFPlan reports that a whistleblower within the Los Angeles Department of Health Services has blown the lid off a plan "to round up and forcibly house homeless citizens in detention facilities", which the Department prefers to call "Low-cost housing facilities".  Will these "residents" receive cable TV and all-you-can-eat meals, plus free attorney privileges?  Somehow, I doubt it!
     So back to my original question ... How can we be "out of money", yet be spending the crazy amounts of money necessary to completely overhaul a 29-acre facility that will ultimately house over 530 well-cared for illegal immigrants?  And I would be willing to bet that it is not the only facility of this nature and quality that will be available to illegal "residents".
     There are those who will tell me that the Bible says we are not to "oppress the sojourner or the poor".  Yes, it does.  But one must admit that it is not often easy to apply Scripture to a specific public policy issue, such as the humanitarian crisis we are currently faced with.  First of all, the correct Hebrew understanding of "sojourn" is a temporary stay.  That being said, the Israelites were to welcome such "sojourners".  But there are passages in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 16, for instance) that make it clear that foreign residents were to comply with Israelite laws, such as Sabbath observance, etc.
     But I digress ... perhaps I will undertake a separate post on the Biblical perspective of our immigration policy another day.  For now, I am simply trying to understand where the money is coming from to build these upscale detention centers.  Are they for "temporary stays"?  Or is this simply the first stop towards full-blown amnesty?  And what is the $3.7 billion appropriation destined for?  To beef up border security .... or to build more extravagant housing for non-citizens?  As a Christian, I know that the truly unfortunate should be cared for, but the duplicity that has led to this crisis does not generate an easy answer.  When you factor in the unknown number of those crossing the border who wish to do us harm WITH the unknown cost of feeding, housing, educating, and providing health care for hundreds of thousands, then it is mind-boggling.  Count it all as one more distraction by the Enemy to keep our focus off preparing for the return of Yeshua.  We must look upon Him for our deliverance from this out-of-control world.

Ephesians 4:31-32   "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."   

Politicians Shouldn't Quote The Bible

   

     I  just love it when entrenched and power-hungry politicians try to use the Bible to support their agenda.  It doesn't matter that they never see the need to apply its principles and foundations at any other time; only when they can manipulate a concept or two to try to shame the susceptible public.
     Such is the case when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tried to influence public opinion about the humanitarian crisis at our southern border.  First of all, these politicians are very skillful at neglecting to mention the other crisis -- national security -- as they attempt to play upon the emotions of caring and concerned Americans.
     Breitbart.com also points out that national leaders like Pelosi fail to mention the strain on our nation's financial resources.  Instead Pelosi announces on an MSNBC morning TV show that she "believes the U.S. government should look at the children like "baby Jesus," who she added "was a refugee from violence."  Why has no one bothered to correct her analogy?  Oh, I forgot ... she was on MSNBC and no one else in Washington probably knows the truth, either.
    The truth behind her half-truth is this:  Yes, Jesus's parents, Joseph and Mary, were forced to flee Bethlehem to avoid King Herod's murderous rampage.  BUT, although they followed the instructions of the angel of the Lord and fled to a safer country (Egypt), they were told to remain there until they received further instruction.  When the violence had abated and the threat to the child was over, the angel told them to return back to their native land.  Jesus did not stay and become a citizen of Egypt.  Nor did his father seek a green card to stay in Egypt and reap worker benefits.
     I know this is a cynical approach to Pelosi's comments, but I am tired of the misrepresentation by  these corrupt politicians and what they hope to accomplish.  I resent her subtle references to the $3,700,000,000,000 proposal the President has asked for the border crisis.  She claims that, in Washington, she sees "an embrace of the idea that this is a humanitarian crisis by people who are not politicizing the issue. What we need to do is have the supplemental that gives us the resources to meet the humanitarian needs, to do the border control, but also to have the judicial piece so that these children have representation and judges to hear their cases. those who have a right to stay, whether it's refugee status or asylum."
     TRANSLATION:  We, in Washington -- especially those of us on the Left -- are smarter and more compassionate than the hateful, bigoted people (and their elected representatives on the Right) who oppose these poor, innocent "Border children", as they are now being called.  Furthermore, we need that money to 1) help these unfortunate children and "to do the border control" -- whatever the heck that's supposed to mean!  Why don't you elaborate, Nancy?  Do you mean calling out the National Guard? Hiring more border agents? Checking IDs and stopping the criminal and terrorist elements from invading our country?  Or is that just an inane slogan for something you have no intention of addressing?  Finally, she claims they need the money for "the judicial piece"; these children to be legally represented in our courts of law, don't you know?   Notice that she never offers the other solution ... return them to their native countries!
     Or could she really be referring to what TheBlaze.com has reported:  the Senate-passed immigration bill would create millions of new green card opportunities for non-U.S. citizens — about 30 million over the next decade.  As Senator Jeff Sessions noted, the Senate bill could allow almost every Central American family to enter the U.S. legally. How is this nation going to be able to afford that kind of immigration surge?
     But that's not the only sneaky thing this proposed bill seems to be about.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has accused Congress of adding to the crisis by not immediately passing this emergency spending bill, saying if Congress doesn't act to supplement border activities, they are going to run out of money by the end of August.  But the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that "only $25 million would be spent during the rest of FY 2014, which ends in September. Most of the rest of it would be spent in 2015, and spending would continue through 2020.  In addition, all of the spending in 2014 would take place in the Department of Health and Human Services. Obama’s plan would give the Department of Homeland Security $1.1 billion, but none of that money would be used until FY 2015."
     So why the rush for this money, if it does not appear that the bulk of it goes towards immediately solving the border crisis issues?  And is any of this money to be used for the expenses of sending any of these children back home?  Or is that not really even part of the consideration?  That has to be part of the conversation... we simply cannot continue the border calamity as it exists.
     But I would respectfully ask all politicians to stop insulting my intelligence and my faith.  As a private citizen, I have contributed tithing money to Christian organizations that I know are seeing to the humanitarian needs of these children as best they can.  And as a taxpayer, I will be contributing money as my state spends millions to alleviate the security issues that we face.  But please do not use the holy and precious name of my Lord and Savior in your vacuous arguments.  You not only offend me, but you show a remarkable lack of knowledge and judgment.

Romans 1:22    "Claiming to be wise, they became fools,"