Today’s update brings a double dose of funny YouTube videos, this one being the more serious of the two (but still very entertaining).

Check back for some of my more typical posts sometime in the next week.

A bloodbath just south of the Mexican border has alarmed neighboring Arizona towns that have nervously monitored a rise in violence in the Mexican state of Sonora the past two months.

Mexican police killed 15 armed assailants in a fierce gun battle Wednesday after tracking a group that killed four policemen, leading to fears this morning that an armed outlaw convoy was headed to the U.S. border.

About 40 assailants apparently related to Mexico’s powerful drug gangs, drove in a convoy of up to 15 vehicles into the town of Cananea, 20 miles south of the U.S. border, to seize the policemen Wednesday. Mexican state police confronted the gunmen in the mountains 60 miles south of Cananea and reportedly killed 15 of the gunmen.

Source: WorldNetDaily

I’m really not sure what to say of this, but I guess it just goes to show further reasons that we need to be as careful as possible when it comes to border security and drug law enforcement. It seems to me that the best way to deal with these Mexican Drug Gangs would be to increase enforcement of our own laws and to more severely prosecute those who are caught smuggling drugs - or anything for that matter - across the border. Is that really too much to ask?

Then again, especially with Thursday’s travesty of an amnesty bill, I’m really not sure I have much faith left in our national leadership to make this happen. Even as Bush was pushing for immigration ‘reform’, I had confidence that the Republican congress would be smart enough to avoid it. When the Democrats took over, I was just about ready to start praying that they would never agree with Bush enough to get a bill through. Now that they all seem to agree, I guess the only option left is for public opinion to squash the bill - something I don’t see us having the power to do.

Yes, the proposed bill includes many security and enforcement procedures, but I refuse to accept any form on amnesty until every inch of the border is walled off with high fencing, barbed wire, and under video surveillance. Until every vehicle legally crossing is inspected and the cargo x-rayed, and until every police officer in the country is required to check immigration status when making an arrest. If all of this was done, then I’d be willing to discuss amnesty.

At the same time, I have to give props to the Senators for working out such a difficult agreement and, despite my many dislikes, making a number of important and needed reforms. Taking a look at the White House Fact Sheet, some of it actually looks decent.

• The plan establishes a merit based system for immigration, granting priority to the best of the best
• New English requirements and a push for greater assimilation
• An end to extended family (uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.) family migration benefits, which apparently account for nearly 2/3 of green cards issued
• Temporary worker program - although I don’t really support it, it seems like a good way to reduce future illegal immigration or at least track people - if we enforce the laws
• Increased sanctions on companies who hire illegal workers

Despite the good aspects, there are a few major things I still really want to see

• Recognition of English as the official language of the United States
• An end to the ‘birth right’ citizenship of the 14th amendment - you should be born a citizen if and only if one or both of your parents is a citizen
• Severe increases in the penalties for future illegal immigrants, including no-questions-asked deportation and a permanent bar from gaining a green card once that occurs, for both those who sneak in and those who overstay visas

If someone had a bill which included all that, I’d be ecstatic. Until then, down with amnesty and immigration ‘reform!’ Congress and President Bush, please give the American People what we want, don’t give in to illegals and huge corporations.

All right, as promised, the following is my interpretation of the State of the Union Address with a bit of commentary thrown in. I was typing this out as I was watching the Address on C-SPAN, so I do want to make it clear that I missed a few things. These, however, are what stuck out to me. I’ll be adding a video later.

Introduction
As usual, I find the entry of all the officials a bit strung out and tedious, all the applause gets a tad annoying, but at the same time it is kind of nice.

Introduction seems to have the usual positive tone, as would be expected, but I’ll hold of my own comments for the real meat and potatoes of the speech.

It seems that Bush is calling out to the Democrats (and possibly fellow Republicans) to try for bi-partisan cooperation to do their best for our nation.

Economy
Forty-one months of job growth, wow, over seven million new jobs - the economy seems fairly decent. Balancing the federal budget gets a good set of applause, as does the goal to do so without raising taxes. He wants to cut earmarks through budget reform and cut the number and cost in half by the end of the session. Nice - I hope it works.

We need to keep Social Security and Medicare in tact and doing well for the children (such as myself). Bush thinks they can be fixed and saved, but how?

Education
We need to build on the success of the No Child Behind Act, through the right to choose to leave failing schools and special help for those who struggle. We need to strengthen math and science education, but he offers no real ideas how.

Healthcare
We need to increase availability of health insurance and make it more available, via a standard tax deduction, this will make it possible for people to purchase their own healthcare and make insurance more affordable.

Federal funding for states that provide free or discounted healthcare to the citizens in need, grants for the states.

We need to expand health savings accounts, make small business insurance cheaper.

Price transparency, medical liability reforms (a very good idea), make sure patients and doctors retain the right to make decisions.

Immigration
We need fair laws and secure borders. We are doubling the border patrol and increasing technology on the border.

Increase enforcement at workplaces, make verification easier.

No animosity and no amnesty, but we need to handle those already here. This means a call for comprehensive immigration reform.

Energy Policy
We need to lessen our dependence on foreign oil to protect our economy and national interests and security. We need alternative energy (solar, wind, nuclear), hybrid and clean diesel vehicles, new ethanol production methods.

He wants to reduce gasoline usage by 20% in the next 10 years - we will be able to cut imports by 75% from the Middle East. We also need to increase targets for alternative fuels and domestic oil production.

We need to double the capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

We need to work to help reduce emissions.

Justice
Federal court nominees should be given fair hearings and prompt votes to get approved (great shot of only reps standing)

National Security, Terrorism, and Iraq
National Security and the debates on it are essential - to win the War on Terror, the fight must be taken to the enemy.

There is no way to know what the plots may hold, but the government has stopped a great many since September 11th.

Success against terror brings rejoice, but we must remember that this is a nation at war. The threat will not stop until we win the war. The enemy wants to overthrow government and cause our nation to retreat as a protector of democracy.

In the time since September 11 the dangers have not ended, we must use all lawful means to find the enemies and stop the attacks. This is an ideological struggle and a fine balance. We must remove the source of the terrorism - we need to continue to help moderates and reformers in the Middle East and around the world. We must for the sake of our own security.

Recent developments in Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq are examples of what can happen when people are given a choice through free elections. In Lebanon terrorists took the life of the Lebanese Prime Minister and have tried to overturn the government.

Extremists are also destroying places of worship, causing waves of sectarian violence and placing world security at risk - it would not be like us to abandon it.

We need to find our resolve and become victory in Iraq. We need to work with the Iraqi government and reinforce our troops over there - we need to help the Iraqi government secure the national and end the extremist and sectarian violence. More troops will allow this to happen and we will be victorious as will the free Iraq.

The Iraqi leaders need to begin using their own troops and bring security to the nation - to do this; we must help them secure Baghdad. If the US pulls out too soon, Iraq will be overpowered by fighting and could pull the entire region into chaos - this is extremist goal and our nightmare. We cannot allow this to happen; we must remember the lessons of September 11th and not let this happen.

The nation is perusing a new strategy Iraq and we must support them and give them time to end the fighting in Iraq.

Both parties and both houses of Congress should work together - there should be a taskforce to help make Iraq truly work.

Increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 in five years. We should also form a Civilian Reserve Corps - giving a chance for more people to help.

We have to send a message to the world that we cannot and will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. We need to continue work with other nations to establish a Palestinian state.

We are working and need to continue to do so to prevent North Korea from doing anything with nuclear weapons and we need to stop tyranny around the world and the genocide in Darfur.

Foreign Affairs
We need to provide food and medical assistance around the world - including helping with HIV/AIDS in Africa. In three years the people getting drugs has gone from 50,000 to 800,000.

Two and a half billion dollars to help fight malaria.

Trade and debt relief to help lives and eliminate poverty.

These show the strength and generosity and reflect the spirit of our country.

Personal Honors
We are proud of those who come here and become citizens of the United States to make their lives better.

We are proud of our entrepreneurs and those who work to help protect our children.

We are proud of the heroes (even if they refuse the title) who save the lives of their fellow Americans even at the risk of their own.

We are proud of our troops who make sacrifices every day and who put our country ahead of their own lives. They have earned the gratitude and respect of our entire country.

We see the character and spirit of America in there people and others everyday - we must honor and respect them and thank them for their sacrifices.

Closing
The usual thank yous, fanfare, and handshaking as the President left the room.

As I write this, we are mere minutes away from the 2007 State of the Union Address. I’m sure everyone knows that just about every network will be covering it, and it should be easy enough for everyone to find and view it.

I will be posting a video of the Address as soon as possible after it ends and I’ll be sure to include my commentary as well.

I’m a little surprised that I find myself having to concede this, but I’d like to offer the Democrats a hearty congratulations on completing the 100 Hour Plan yesterday evening, and successfully blowing my expectations out of the water. If they manage to maintain the pace, this could prove to be a very interesting two years. As the measures still await a trip through the Senate and the signature or (as the case may well be) veto of President Bush, I’m still willing to bet that about half of the changes will never see the light of day.

As many of you know, the 100 Hour Plan consisted of a number of laws and policy changes that the new Democratic House of Representatives wanted to pass in the early days of their reign. These ranged from repeal of tax cuts to an increase in the minimum wage and just about everything in between. According to Wikipedia, the points were:

• “Break the link between lobbyists and legislation” with new House rules
• Enact all recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission
• Raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.
• Grant federal funding to a wide variety of stem cell research projects
• Cut interest rates on student loans in half
• Allow the government to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies, securing lower drug prices for Medicare patients.
• Institute a “pay-as-you-go” policy to reduce the deficit
• End the Bush tax cuts for the Americans “at a certain level” (those making $250,000.00 a year or more)
• End large tax subsidies for large oil companies

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Hour_Plan

I’m not sure that there’s really much more to say on this, but it almost goes without saying that I will be keeping a close eye on what happens in the Senate and when the bills finally get to the President.

I also have a bit of a mistake to admit - I had misunderstood what exactly was meant when they announced the ‘100 Hour Plan’ - I wrongfully assumed that it referred to the first 100 hours of the new Congress, not just the first 100 working hours. Not that it really matters, not that this is any defense of my predictions, I simply want to make my mistake clear and be honest with my readers.

Well folks, as you have most likely heard, today was the transition to the 110th Congress of the United States of America. What is particularly interesting about this transition is that the Democrats are taking control of both the House and the Senate. I’d love to sit here and make doomsday predictions about how bad everything will be, but I feel safe enough that we will not have to. My reasoning is simple, and can be broken down into a number of simple points.

• The a large proportion of the Democrats who won seats previously held by Republicans are fairly moderate and not all that likely to support terribly liberal and leftist laws and programs.
• Although we have lost our majority, there are still a good many Republicans in both houses, enough that only a few democratic votes would have to ‘defect’ in order to prevent overly partisan legislation.
• President Bush may have only made one veto in the past, but I have a feeling we’ll see a lot more in the coming months and years. He may have a tendency not to satisfy the conservative base, but I have enough faith that he won’t allow the Democrats to destroy anything at the same time.
• The Democrats know that a lot of their support in the 2006 Election, especially in swing districts that had previously gone Republican, is due to moderate people who are fed up with the Republicans of the 109th Congress. Because of this they are going to have to avoid any radical policies and laws to have any real chance of keeping their majority in 2008.

With that and more in mind, I’d put the chances of the Democrats of making any real changes at about 20%, although I really don’t want to commit myself to that number. What I am fairly certain of, though, is that there is no way the ‘100 Hour Plan‘ will be enacted in 100 hours. While most of the 100 Hour Plan is actually pretty good and moderate, I just don’t think it will happen. I could be wrong, but I would be surprised.

To be honest, changes in Congressional rules and procedures aimed at greater accountability - regardless of the party sponsoring them - are something I would support with open arms. Hopefully, these rules will extend to the pork barrel projects that waste billions of taxpayer dollars every year. Repeal of tax credits for oil companies and the wealthy - although not something I’d support - are probably a good idea and will make a real dent in the deficit.

Besides marking a new Congress and a new majority, today marks a milestone in United States History. Shortly after the Democrats took power, Congresswomen Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, California took was elected Speaker of the House. Although I do not support her politics, I view this as an important advance for women’s rights and one step closer to ending affirmative action - I hope. Although I do not have a video of the vote and ceremony which followed, you can view a clip from FoxNews over at HotAir.com along with more information on the transition.

This post is getting to be a little long, but in closing let me say that I am looking forward to these next two years - not because I’m looking forward to the Democratic actions, but because I think this is going to be a great biennium for politics and political news.

Correction: There was a typo with this article, the incoming Congress is the 110th, not the 100th.

The 38th President of the United States of America, Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.,has died. He was 93 years old. I’m not going to offer commentary at this time, but the following is a summary from across the internet.

From the Associated Press (as of 1:39am EST):

The White House has issued a statement:

And finally, a little background on his life from Wikipedia:

I’ll end with my condolences for Elizabeth and the rest of the family. May you find strength through yourselves and others in this difficult time. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. May Mr. Ford have the best of luck with whatever he may face in the great beyond and my God bless his family and this country.

Gerald Rudolph Ford, may he rest in peace.

Once again, GOPbloggers.org is conducting a straw pull for the 2008 Republican nominee. Go ahead and vote (which you can do below) and take a look at how things are going.

Final results from the 2006 mid-term elections are still not available in some areas, and 10 House races remain too close to call, but it’s already time to start thinking about the next election. Candidates are likely to not even announce candidacy for at least a month or two, but the ‘what ifs’ are already here.

Take part in an early straw pull for the 2008 Republican Presidential candidate, this time at www.GOPbloggers.org.

The November Straw Pull is closed, please see my post on the December Straw Pull.

Thanks to HotAir.com for the link.

I called Virginia for Webb just before at 1:59AM EST this morning (all times and dates on the headers of this blog are PST), and I still stand by my prediction. What I find interesting, however, is that the total vote counted plummeted sometime early this afternoon or late morning. I checked the totals at about 10:00AM Eastern and it was at 99.86% counted. However, the Virginia State Board of Elections is currently reporting only 94.81% as having been counted. Although I have no real source on this, my best guess would be that many absentee ballots have yet to be counted.

None the less, by combining my call on Virginia and the Network calls on the other states, I am confident - albeit mildly upset - that the Democrats have won control of both the House and the Senate for the 110th Congress, making George W. Bush a very lame duck.

The breakdown of the 110th Congress’s Senate will be as follows:

The 110th Senate will consist of 49 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 2 heavily Democratic Independents.The map is based on data from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2006_US_Senate_results.png and a US map from http://libremap.org/data/boundary/ which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License available online at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/