How about we spend that $500Million on putting some serious US muscle down on the border. I am afraid that we are just handing $500Million the corrupt Mexican gonvernment that will fritter this money down a rat hole. Maybe even use it to buy the drug cartels some new trucks and updated weaponry...just don't trust those gouys.

Heeelllooooooo!

The drug cartels ARE the Mexican government!

If you can walk and chew gum, you CAN'T be that stupid. . .so I have to assume that you're that corrupt.

I agree with HAD IT. Why not just write a check out to the presidente himself? It would be the same thing.

I refuse to believe that this country and this congress would be so stupid and inconsiderate of U.S. Citizens to pour $500 million of OUR tax dollars into a country that has more excess money (if properly managed and not squandered) than we have.

Bush just ignores history. He knows where this cash will go, and it won't be spent fighting the drug war or improving the lives or security of Americans. Many billions of dollars in aid, equipment and advisor's over the last hundred years have accomplished...what? The more we send, the worse it gets. More likely the helicopters will become recreational vehicles for the politicians, the cash will simply disappear, and the electronics will soon be in the hands of the cartels.

The money would be better spent on our side of the border, paying for the prosecution of employers and fighting the ACLU. ICE, the Border Patrol and BUILDING THE FENCE should be our next priority. Sending cash and equipment south of the border will just wind up in the wrong hands. Every time.

"...We gaze up at the wheelhouse and discover no one's there..."

Sending another half-billion of US taxpayer money to the Mexican government's so-called "drug war?"

The only war waged as a result of this will be another round of "who's rathole swallows the money."

OH, Yaaa, let's pay the fox to guard the hen-house!! Just when I think this idiot president couldn't get any more ridiculous, he does!! Mexico's corrupt government is allowing it's military to guard drug-loads entering the U.S., using Hum-Vee's with machine guns and our pathetic government says's, and does nothing. Why isn't our military fully armed and on the border dealing with this problem? Could it be someone is making money off this crap in our government??

Although I'm adamantly against merging two sovereign nations, I'm in favor of U.S. military cooperation and presence in Mexico if it's part of a plan to put down the drug cartels and bring the stability that will give Mexico a chance to develop economically. Then we will have a reasonable shot of repatriating Mexican nationals to a country where they can prosper and be proud of their country. I know this is an unpopular view among many on this blog, but I'm giving President Bush my support here. I just spoke to my mother, an avid Republican (I'm a Democrat) and she agrees, too. One can be a patriotic American and ardent advocate of true immigration reform and also back the President on helping our next door neighbor.

TAKE ACTION: WRITE THE STATE DEPARTMENT. TELL THEM THAT YOU OPPOSE $500 Million going to MEXICO. TELL THEM YOU WANT THAT INVESTED INTO BORDER PATROL AND A FENCE.

GO TO CONTACT FORM:
http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?p_sid=TDlNwWOi&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0xMTEmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x

Why is it always the U.S. who has to foot the bill and come up with solutions to the problems that originate in the rest of the world? I wouldn't doubt it, if the Mexican government has some major players in the drug trade. I'd much rather see $500 million go towards a fence and technology down at the border. I think that would help slow drug and all kinds of other traffic, a great deal.

Concerned Citizen: I have some waterfront property in central Georgia---you might be interested in buying!!!!!

It's not in the budget!! I veto it!!

some how, some way, this money gets back the the elites and then is spent on the lobby of their chose.

I cannot believe President Bush is even considering such an incredibly stupid gesture. The Mexican government is so corrupt that this money will simply end up lining the pockets of Mexican bureaucrats. The $500 M could better be used to beef up the border patrol and build more fence.
The senseless DREAM Act is another abomination to Americans. We (main stream Americans) do not want the illegal immigrants to be eligible for in-state tuition and any politician who is in touch with their constituency should know this.
I think it is time for a 'None of the above' selection on the ballot so that Americans are not forced to pick between the lesser of two evils.
What ever happened to democracy in this country? You know 'We the people'? It seems that the politicians in office have forgotten this essential tenet.

hey its better than givng that money to the palestinains HAMAS govt, what do you expect from BUSH,

Money spent on Mexico is money down the rat hole. This has been the case, over and over, and over. Americans would be shocked if they knew how much of their tax money has gone to the worthless nation of Mexico over the years. The result was always the same. Nothing, no effect.

You have to wonder about the timing of this $500 million aid package. We are seeing reports that Mexico's oil revenue is rapidly declining due to the irreversible collapse of their super giant oil field Cantarell. I would also guess that the housing downturn has reduced remittances.

With the proposed infusion of American tax dollars, monies that are being spent by the Mexican government to fend off the drug cartels that are not under their control can now be shifted to domestic spending for their struggling economy and thus mask the fact that Mexico is quickly becoming a failed state.

On the face of it, this proposal doesn't make sense for the American taxpayer. The money should be spent on border security and interior enforcement. If the drug cartels are only in business because they can smuggle their loads across the southern border, then tightening up border security and allowing the border patrol to do their jobs would be the surest method of putting the Mexican drug cartels out of business. Instead, Border Patrol agents are thrown in jail for defending themselves when they attempt to apprehend drug smugglers. This is a clear message sent by the administration that the border will not be secured, even against drug smugglers.

If the "war on drugs" was a real priority, there is no doubt that drug smuggling across our borders would have ended long ago. This would have had a tremendously positive impact on our society and would have eliminated untold billions of dollars wasted on crime, treatment, incarceration, loss of productivity, etc. What a shame and a lost opportunity to strengthen our society.

Some analysts have said the magnitude of the profit factor for illegal drugs is enormous and represents the third biggest revenue generator in the world behind the weapons and energy industries. The amount of money laundered through banks and various forms of investments is mind boggling. In the U.S., there is also the profit the privatized prison industry rakes in from high levels on drug-related incarcerations. Cynics believe these profit factors are such that ill-gotten gains are legitimized and then flow into political campaigns thus impeding bona fide attempts to curtail illegal drug use.

This general line of speculation is beyond the scope of this article, but it does underscore how nonsensical a $500 million giveaway to Mexico is. It really is like throwing it into some cosmic black hole. Where does it end? After the first infusion of aid is sent, another will be required and so on, ad infinitum.

Also, consider the U.S. is running an enormous deficit and more "aid" money sent to Mexico is just another excuse to force monetary inflation on an unwitting American public. Already, food, energy, and medical inflation are driving more Americans into destitution. We read reports that food banks are being slammed with record numbers of needy Americans. Why spend money we don't have and exacerbate the problems of food and energy inflation for America's own poor?

The untenable plans behind globalization were spearheaded by U.S. elites and have hampered Mexico's self-sufficiency by allowing it to become economically dependent on the U.S., that is the honest truth. But, it is also true that Mexico is a Pandora's box of trouble and attempts to further meld the U.S. and Mexico will only make the long-term consequences worse for both countries, with U.S. citizens getting the worst deal in an emerging neofeudal society under the banner of the NAU.

Let's hope Congress has the backbone to tell Bush that this agreement negotiated in secret and without the input of Congress or the American people is unacceptable.

What a freaking bunch of baloney!

Must be a PAY OFF!

I have to agree with everone but CC...

We need to put $500 MILLION towards a military or BP increased presence on the border to STOP the illegal drugs from coming in. Let the mex-cans learn to fight their own war... which, is tied to their gubernment ... corrupt all the way to el presidente.

A gentleman named Willis Papillion is taking this a step further, calling for a Marshall Plan for Mexico according to the latest vDare.com letter. I agree with him. He makes a great point about the money we're already spending on this immigration disaster, not to mention all the lost income among African-American and other citizens of the United States. He writes:

"We should send our construction companies to Mexico to rebuild its infrastructure. Sure, the whole project may cost hundreds of billions. But we’re already spending that much year after year on illegal alien benefits with no end in sight. And our cost keeps rising.

We're subsidizing Mexico—why?"

The idea that spending money to help Mexico is unacceptable because it costs American citizens money is a red herring. IF the plan is done with thought and prudence, we stand to gain an infinite number of years of savings on law enforcement, overburdened infrastructure, etc., and the United States also will stops perennially losing earned income and tax revenue. I also would argue, despite hearing Lou Dobbs call this whole Administration "idiots" last night on T.V., that we have a team in place that can, when they want to, do the right thing. Robert Gates is highly able and won't send troops into Mexico without a strategy that includes political and economic factors, and Condi Rice, who recently helped broker a North Korean solution, could do much good if she focused on Mexico. The State Department has been tied up with hot spots overseas while shunning our southern neighbor, and I hope that changes soon.

Embedded in Papillion's comment is a shrewd observation: you want to get Americans back to work in jobs currently occupied by illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America? Recruit the big infrastructure and politically-connected corporations who want lucrative nation-building contacts as our allies. Let them fight and clambor for new opportunities in Mexico. Dare we mention that the promise they saw in Iraq has not yet materialized? Maybe Mexico is a new frontier for many of these companies. The people here illegally now, and skilled Americans, as well, would be recruited for jobs south of the border, and with the housing/construction boom already collapsing in this country, watch as millions head home for better opportunities despite all the previous words we heard about them wanting so much to be Americans and have the American Dream. I say Mexicans really wanted the Mexican Dream, on their own terms, all along. Why deny them? Why do ethnocentric ultra-liberals in this country fail to respect this basic human striving?

SHADOW GOVERNMENT?

This is proof of the below:

The shadow government conspiracy is right and Bush has been given his orders to comply.

Bush is a moron.

There's Dem/Rep secret deals, if you do this for me, I won't impeach you.

The Mexican Mafia and the Mexican government are tweedle dee and tweedle dum, so this is funding for their drug cartel.

All of the above.

A Marshall Plan for Mexico? Unfortunately, the men of high ideals and honor who put together the Marshall Plan are long gone.

In their place we have the purveyors of crony capitalism (not true free market capitalism but corporate fascism) who gave us Katrina, Blackwater, and other assorted anti-democratic fiascos reeking of corruption that have spelled the end to whatever transparency still remained in our government.

I would suggest to anyone who believes our political elites intend to uplift Mexicans, rather than push down Americans, should, for starters, read Naomi Klein's new book Shock Doctrine, The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. It just might make some people question whether the fiscal mismanagement, offshoring, outsourcing, and open border policies seem like a deliberate scheme to further concentrate economic and political power and enact a virtually totalitarian system of governance.

Bush is NOT a moron...HE is EVIL and knows what he is doing...he is trying to end this countrys sovreigntry and meld all 3 countries.....
He is contemptible!!!

For starters, over half a trillion dollars has been spent on the "war on drugs" and what do we get for that money? More drug use than ever. As long as our borders are wide open, drugs will not stop flowing into our country, it is that simple. We have been sending billions into Colombia for the purpose of stopping cocaine production and yes, some money was used to spray deadly defoliant chemicals all over their otherwise productive farmland and the end result has been millions of acres of sterilized soil that made the land worthess to the land owners. In addition to that, many of the deadly chemicals have poisoned rivers and streams, killing fish and wildlife. I dont need to explain how much that kind of intervention will win friends in that region. Anyway, these countries are filling a need that we have yet to address , that is America's insatiable desire to get stoned. Whatever the reason is, America has become a very drug-fueled nation (legal or illegal) and that is the real problem, our consumption.
It is widely known that the shipment of drugs into this country has been helped by people in high places here in the U.S. Why else would Bush & company throw Ramos & Campean in jail for stopping a drug shipment? Please check out this link and decide for yourself. The drug problem is big business!
http://www.powderburns.org/