ARE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS SETTING CALIFORNIA FIRES?

By Michael Cutler
August 18, 2009
NewsWithViews.com

An article that appears on the CNN website http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/16/california.fires/ that includes a link to a broadcast version of the news report concerning the fires that are plaguing California, threatening massive destruction of property and endangering lives.

Succinctly stated, some of these dangerous fires are apparently being traced to the cultivation of large numbers of marijuana plants by members of the Mexican drug cartels operating inside our country. The news report I watched on CNN today also noted that often these cartel members are known to be heavily armed. The news report went on to talk about how these individuals use propane tanks to cook their food because they fear that a traditional campfire would generate smoke that would be easy for law enforcement to spot. It is theorized that one of these fires got out of control resulting in at least one of the major fires that fire fighters are battling.

The news report makes clear the amount of damage that the fire started by the drug gang members has caused- to quote from the article:

In Southern California's Santa Barbara County, a weeklong blaze has charred more than 84,000 acres, investigators said. The fire originated at an illegal marijuana camp believed to be run by a Mexican drug organization, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Narcotics Unit said in a news release Saturday night.

In addition to damage that these fires have caused, imagine the huge financial costs associated with the valiant efforts of the firefighters to combat the fire that has burned more than 84,000 acres, especially at a time when California is already suffering insolvency.

The report further noted that these cartel members were growing millions of marijuana plants inside our national parks! Stop and think about this- while this is not a new situation, the idea that drug traffickers would be inhabiting our national parks, growing marijuana and carrying weapons while their mere presence in our country is a violation of law is nothing short of an outrage!

These criminals are heavily armed in order to protect their crops. Imagine what would happen if a hapless family stumbled upon these thugs and found themselves staring down the barrels of their guns. I cannot imagine such a situation would result in a "happy ending!"

Our nation has been and continues to be infiltrated by criminals from various countries owing to a failure of our nation to secure its borders and create an immigration system that has the resources and the commitment to enforce the immigration laws from within the interior of our nation.

As I have often noted, "A nation without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!"

When will the time come when the concerns of the citizens of our nation will be taken into account by our elected "representatives?"

I would remind you that the difference between an immigrant and an illegal alien is comparable to the difference between a houseguest and a burglar!

In less than two years each and every member of the House of Representatives is up for reelection.

In less than two years more than one third of the members of the United States Senate will have to face their constituents. They need to be reminded that they work for us, We the People!

To borrow a phrase: The politicians are either with us, or they are against us! There is no "wiggle room" here- not when the stakes are so high!

The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!

The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.

I implore you to get involved!

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