This editorial published in the British Guardian last month provides some insightful observations on the place of free trade and the North American Free Trade Agreement in our future. "Fixing NAFTA's Flaws" by Kevin Gallagher and Timothy Wise.

• <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/jan/07/us-trade-nafta-development?

There is no doubt that we need a comprehensive immigration reform plan ASAP. And as the son of former illegal immigrants and a rationale person, I believe that the plan must include a provision to regularize the status of the undocumented immigrant community in the United States.

There are many reasons for doing so, but I will present the one that makes the most sense for all people in the United States, the money.
According to Tim Rutten's editorial, Immigration reform and the healthcare debate:

I don't think that US and Mexican officials have ever seen a movie about gangsters or the mafia. But c'mon they should at least be familiar with Godfather I-III, don't you think?

In the first Godfather the young gun, Virgil Sollozzo, tried to violently unseat the Don. In Godfather III Joey Zasa also made a bid to knock off the Don in a brutal, but spectacular manner. This is one of the primary themes of the mafia genre: there is always a younger, hungry, and more violent caporegime (Capo) waiting for his chance at replacing the Jefe Maximo. The other major premise is the turf war. Take for example Brandon Lee's first movie, Rapid Fire. An Italian mafioso tried to takeover control of the Thailand drug trade, sound familiar?

So on Sunday, Mexican officials announce the capture of Carlos Beltran Leyva, two weeks after killing his brother.

How bad is the illegal drug problem in the United States? Bad!

Military action and more laws aimed at trying to catch product and cash crossing the Mexican/U.S. border will not solve this problem. The governments of North America must focus on preventive measures aimed at curing each society's addiction for such products.

Along U.S.-Mexico Border, a Torrent of Illicit Cash

Those Hamiltons and Jacksons Carry Some Cocaine

According to a report of the American Chemical Society, Up to 90 percent of U.S. paper money contains traces of cocaine.

Mexico's Calderón urges sweeping political reform

It is always a potential step in the right direction when Mexican leadership can reform its political system. And it can be an admirable step in the right direction when a Mexican president begins this process. But similar promises where made by President Calles in 1928, whose reforms created "the perfect dictatorship," as described by Gabriel García Márquez. Yet Mexico's political system has to be fixed. Well, that is an understatement since it needs many fixes, but then again whose system does not?

To the point: experienced, effective, and honest politicians should have an opportunity to be re-elected, although not necessarily in perpetuity.

"Lawmakers and mayors could hold office for up to 12 years through re-election, making them more accountable, Calderón said."

I received this email from a friend and colleague. I have said in the past that he is neither the problem nor the solution. His tactics are deplorable and his popularity continues to grow.



If anyone has ever read any of the reader comments on just about any Arizona Republic article even the one's that have nothing to do with immigration, they see how racist many people in Arizona are. Just about every problem is blamed on Mexicans: legal, undocumented, citizens, residents etc. It's a sad state of affairs that only hinders our ability to find solutions.

I am not endorsing this group, but it is important to keep the dialogue open. 


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What is the role of government? A Republican political nation-state is based on a constitution with popular suffrage guaranteed through an electoral process. Within this broad definition lies a nation's greatest strength, protection, and weakness. The role of government must be perpetually debated so that each generation can address the most pressing questions of its time. We cannot rely on the past for exact answers but for guidance in understanding where we came from and what we believe in, so that we can best address our present and prepare for our future. Currently the present is in crisis and most Estadounidenses claim to be worried for our posterity.

Ideally, the North American Leaders Summit, recently concluded in Guadalajara, and the upcoming Border Governors Conference in Monterrey this week are but complementary halves (or, more accurately, quarters) of a “whole of government” solution to North American issues: the Summit envisions and sets a top-level priority list and Conference implements specific, local and customized solutions to a number of challenges.

Local Solutions are Often Better Solutions

Embassy Magazine: The SPP's Death Knell has Sounded

Rick Van Schoik and a number of NACTS partners are quoted in an extensive article on the demise of the Security and Prosperity Partnership in  Embassy, Canada's foreign policy magazine.