Do you remember Sheriff Joe? Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County out in Arizona. He has been dubbed America's Sheriff. He has tent city and all that nonsense. Anyway, Sheriff Joe has been doing what the federal government fails to do when it comes to illegal aliens. And now, the federal government wants to make sure it doesn't happen anymore. Yep. The Department of Homeland Security has stripped Sheriff Joe of his authority to arrest illegal aliens solely based on the fact that they are in this country illegally. But, God love him, he says that he is going to continue doing it anyway.

And then we have Janet Napolitano ... clearly Barack Obama had a brain-fart when nominating her as head of Homeland Security. She announced this week plans to remove illegal aliens from prison and put them into converted hotels or nursing homes. It's being called "Alternatives to Detention" and includes the hotel option as well as actually releasing some illegal aliens and merely have them supervised by the government.

This is all a lead-in to complete amnesty for every illegal in this country right now - that is unless the congress can figure out a way to exclude illegals from European countries. That's not all though. As soon as they're legalized the looters will find a way to turn them into voters. Looter voters.

What's the number we hear tossed around? Let's settle on 47 million. OK, a few questions:

How many of the uninsured are illegal aliens. Answer ... about 25% of them. They came here illegally, they stay here illegally, they work here illegally ... and we're supposed to be upset that they can't afford health insurance? If they get hurt patch them up and send them home.

How many of the uninsured are young and just not buying health insurance because they think they're pretty much bulletproof right now? I've seen estimates as high as 20 million .. almost one-half of the uninsured. Hey, they made their choice ... let them suffer the consequences. Why do I have to sacrifice my health care freedom because some nimrods decide it is more important to pay for that new BMW and the flat screen TV than it is to take care of their health needs.

How many of the uninsured are eligible for Medicaid or Medicare and just haven't signed up for it? Millions. So ... sign them up? Instead of taking over our health care, get these people signed up and take care of them under the programs we already have.

And how many of the uninsured are in a transitional state ... moving from one job to another and waiting for the new policy to kick in. Millions more. We're going to turn out health care system over the government because of people changing jobs? How about just passing some laws that make health care insurance more portable?

Remember .. there are solutions out there. The only solution acceptable to the Democrats is one that makes government more powerful.

And in keeping with the theme of taxes .......

A new report being released today finds that millions of citizens and illegal aliens will apply for tax refunds that they don't deserve. I know you are shocked, right? The report's official title is The Earned Income Tax Credit and Illegal Immigration: A Study in Fraud, Abuse, and Liberal Activism, and it was conducted by financial analyst and economist Edwin Rubenstein.

Rubenstein found that the Earned Income Tax Credit is "the largest anti-poverty program in the United States -- and the most illegal-immigrant friendly." He found that about 30% of all Earned Income Tax Credit claims were improperly paid. That equates to about 6 to 7 million households and $12 to $14 billion in fraudulent payments. The Earned Income Tax Credit is "the most accessible of the major entitlement programs and used by more people than food stamps and welfare combined."

Those are your tax dollars.

Try this: Google "money to Mexico." I got over 100,000 hits. Why? That would be because we have millions of illegal Mexican aliens in this country who send most of the money they earn back to their families in Mexico. Now there is something to be admired here. Consider the number of American deadbeat dads who spend money week after week on their cigarettes and beer but nothing for the children they've fathered along the way .. but I digress:

This money-to-Mexico thing is a big deal because of a little stunt our wonderful Democrat majority in congress pulled on us. We are fixin' to spend billions of dollars on various government contracts ... everything from building bridges to sniffing pig armpits. There will be billions spent on construction projects - and where you find construction projects you find illegals. Now there is a system out there whereby contractors can determine with some degree of certainty whether or not a job applicant is in this country legally. It's called "E-verify." This is an online system where you can compare information given you by the employee with various government databases. It's free. Its' also voluntary. Republicans wanted the government to require E-verify checks on people applying for jobs created with stimulus money. Democrats said "no way." Why? Because Democrats don't want to get in the way of Illegals scarfing down these jobs. After all .. these are potential voters, right? Remember - Democrats are behind movements in many states that would grant the privilege of casting a vote in local elections to non-citizens. How long before illegals are included? Democrats are also doing a bit of Hispandering to legal Hispanic citizens who like to see their voting power increased.

Now .. do you have any idea how much money illegals sent back to Mexico last year? Let's just put the number at somewhere over $20 billion. When, thanks to the Democrats, we put tens of thousands of illegals at work on taxpayer-funded stimulus construction projects you will see much of that money heading South to bolster the Mexican economy. Wonderful plan, don't you think?

Now ... having said all of this .. there are some advantages to putting illegal immigrants on the payroll for these construction jobs:

1. First and foremost.. They're not union.
2. Hispanics generally have a stronger work ethic
3. Projects will be completed faster and more efficiently
4. Increased sales for Rosetta Stone

That's just me ... always looking for the silver lining.

As if we didn't have enough to talk about when it comes to this Democrat dream scheme .. otherwise known as the economic stimulus bill .. a top Republican Congressional official is claiming that illegal aliens would be eligible for the stimulus.

Part of the stimulus includes tax credits of $500 per worker and $1,000 per couple. But in order to receive these tax credits, you don't need a social security number. All you need is an individual taxpayer identification number in order to qualify.

According to Jamie Dupree, "millions of Americans who don't make enough money to pay federal income taxes could file returns next year and receive checks." Well of course! That's the point! This is a welfare program; a brand new entitlement program. You think this is just part of a one-time stimulus program? Hardly. Just how in the world do you think these Democrats are going to go back to their voters and tell them that their $1000 check was only a one-time deal. Not gonna happen. This $1000 welfare check is going to become a permanent part of our annual federal budget. What's more, every time an election comes around the Democrats are going to promise to increase the size of this phony "tax cut" while warning the voters that if they vote for evil Republicans they'll take that money away.

We're screwed.

When is it going to end, folks?