You are reading the 1,500th (extended) post to American Rattlesnake, a project which began in the febrile imagination of my friend and colleague, Michel Evanchik. If you had told me in 2010 that over half a decade later this website would exist, let alone be flourishing, I would have scoffed. Those of you who are regulars know how fond I am of hyperlinking  useful information that illustrates a relevant point. One of the discoveries you make while curating these old posts is how ephemeral this medium is, as many of the sites linked to have long since disappeared into the Internet ether. The fact that we continue to make our voices heard in one of the most important election cycles in living memory is an achievement in itself.

This project began in the wake of SB 1070, a controversial Arizona law designed to punish, rather than reward, illegal aliens living in that state. Although the intent of this law was supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans, the political backlash it engendered among the ethnic grievance industry and the hispandering political class-as well as their stenographers in the news media-made it clear to us that we needed a venue to amplify the beliefs and concerns of ordinary American citizens. The idea of actually upholding and enforcing our nation’s immigration laws was untenable to the corporate-collectivist axis which has governed American immigration policy for the past half-century, which is why they directed their concentrated fury upon the one woman courageous enough to defy them.

Whatever you may have thought of Jan Brewer before 2010, her singular courage in resisting the forces that have bought and paid for the entire political class of this nation forced immigration patriots across the country to stand with her, and to stand with Arizona. The modest contribution made by my webmaster and myself took the form of a Web portal called American Rattlesnake. A wholly unique tool which harnessed news, analysis, and activism on behalf of patriotic immigration reform and the traditional values of indigenous Americans that have been under assault since the latter half of the 20th century. Located in the heart of this country’s half-century experiment with multiculturalism and unfettered, mass immigration from the third world, we have a very distinctive perspective on the cultural, political, social, and economic problems posed by the Californianization of the United States.

And while we’ve brought you firsthand accounts by those besieged by the invasion of our southern border, we’ve tried to explore how virtually every state in this new America has been transformed into a border state. Whether through the resettlement of unassimilable refugees in the mid-west and the deep South, the importation of thousands of Central American families, or simply the abandonment of any pretense to enforce federal immigration law by the current administration, we must recognize that our rulers have and continue to irreparably alter the nation once known as the United States of America. We have also tried to explain the refugee crisis in Europe, many years before Angela Merkel decided to turn her country into a hostel for Muslim rapists from the developing world. The fact that those in power both in Europe and the United States have chosen to level the full force of the state against critics of this insane policy, which amounts to cultural suicide, rather than confront the virus overwhelming Western civilization, speaks volumes about their priorities.

Even as countries which gave us the Enlightenment are besieged by those dedicated to its eradication, and purportedly free people become hostages within their own countries because of their leaders’ malfeasance and hatred of their people, those individuals brave enough to tell the truth becomes targets, both literally and figuratively. The ruling class and its rabid pets are seeking to silence truth-tellers, which makes sites like American Rattlesnake all the more necessary. As the marriage between online media monopolies and the leviathan state solidifies, and the denial of reality proceeds apace, the importance of independent, honest voices will only increase.

There are so few people willing to risk the consequences attendant upon telling the truth in a world where political discourse is shaped by lies. That’s why this website, however small its impact on the wider world, needs to be. It’s why me and Mr. Evanchik are extraordinarily grateful to our audience, which has been with us and grown over these past 6 years. I hope you’ll stick around for the battles ahead.

This site has consistently chronicled the glaring deficiencies of this nation’s immigration courts, including their maddening refusal to keep criminal aliens behind bars, a dysfunctional process exemplified by the President’s own uncle, whose years of defiance were eventually rewarded by the judiciary. With the ongoing invasion of the United States by Central Americans, facilitated by this administration, we thought it appropriate to delve a bit more deeply into the evasion which is endemic to the current immigration juridical system.

To that end, we highly recommend this Center for Immigration Studies post by former judge and Bush administration official Mark Metcalf, which outlines the failures that will only be compounded by the current occupying army ambling across the Mexican-American border. For a more comprehensive view, you could do worse than read Judge Metcalf’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in 2010.

The system of justice-no matter how sclerotic-has an impact upon all Americans, even those whose cries are falling upon deaf ears.

Good on her! If only other ostensible Republican leaders had the same fortitude and clarity of vision.

If only.

Today is the federally designated holiday commemorating our separation from Great Britain, despite the fact that the adoption of the Declaration of Independence  by the Second Continental Congress occurred on July 2, 1776. Even so, this is a great day to reflect upon how our country arrived at this point in its history. Which is why I’m providing you with audio from one of Professor Thomas E. Woods Jr.’s brilliant lectures exploring the all-too-often obscured history of the United States.

This particular lecture examines the early colonial history of America-up to and including the decision by the thirteen colonies to sever ties with its mother country-and how individual states asserted their rights in the face of collectivist aggression. It’s a talk that is pertinent to our current political climate, which finds the very concept of federalism under relentless assault from all quarters.

The author of this nation’s political and legal cornerstone knew more than anyone else how destructive the the powers of a centralized state could be, which is why uncovering the true history behind our forefathers’ audacious endeavor-at a time of unparalleled attacks against the Bill of Rights and individual autonomy-is such an urgent task.

Happy Independence Day, readers! I hope that you’ve spent some of it contemplating the beauty of our nation’s founding document, and hopefully examining what makes this country a unique experiment in republican self-governance.

It’s difficult to gauge the ultimate impact of this past week’s Supreme Court decision invalidating much of Arizona’s landmark immigration enforcement law, with the exception of Section 2(b), i.e. the clause empowering local police to ascertain someone’s immigration status if  “reasonable suspicion” exists when he or she is detained.  Even this seeming bright spot is obscured by Justice Kennedy’s muddled opinion, which seems to invite future litigation by the usual suspects, who will have their cases heard before the same judge who has thwarted the implementation of the bulk of SB 1070 for the past two years.

Heather Mac Donald, of the Manhattan Institute, wrote an incisive analysis of the decision for National Review Online, which merits reading by anyone who marveled at some of the flawed reasoning involved in overruling a state law that mirrors federal law in most regards. Her exploration of Justice Scalia’s bold dissent-which has earned universal scorn among the commentariat-is especially compelling. Because the current administration has invested its political capital in administrative amnesty and abandonment of immigration enforcement, it has fallen upon the states to do the work which the Supreme Court has deemed the exclusive province of the federal government. Since the current POTUS believes he must bribe Hispanic voters-who presumably favor amnesty-in order for he and his party to survive politically, he will use the perquisites of the  imperial presidency in order to thwart states-such as Arizona-which have the temerity to defend the territorial integrity of their borders.

That’s why the prospect of states reasserting their sovereignty-described so eloquently in Justice Scalia’s dissent-is so appealing. I disagree with the suggestion by some in the immigration reform movement that the Supreme Court’s refusal to preempt local and state enforcement constitutes a legal victory. Like Roy Beck, I believe that the most efficacious means of deterring illegal immigration-and of forcing illegal aliens currently living here to repatriate themselves-is cutting off access to jobs. Notwithstanding the majority’s decision to nix that portion of SB 1070 which criminalized illegal aliens seeking work, the fact that  during its last term the Supreme Court decided to uphold the Arizona Legal Workers’ Act indicates that there are tools available to counteract the damage done by the Obama administration’s quest for perpetual supplicants.

Even so, the courts’ decision to vitiate most of Arizona’s enforcement mechanisms leaves the ball in the court of the Obama administration, which has made its intentions with regard to this issue more than clear. Combined with its decision to wage class war against American citizens, the amount of leeway enjoyed by those who would enforce the laws American bureaucrats won’t has been reduced significantly. However, if individual states like Arizona begin to assert their rights under the Constitution-a path advocated by one of today’s most articulate advocates of liberty-then the power exercised by open borders proponents, and consequently, the damage inflicted upon Americans, can be mitigated. Although the prospect of nullification might appear dramatic in nature, it is a response less outrageous than the excesses of an unaccountable federal government with blood on its hands. Plus, the precedent has already been established.

We shouldn’t pin our hopes on an insipid standard-bearer for a national party that has equivocated and vacillated on one of the most important issues of our time. Nor should we  rely upon a federal government that has repeatedly betrayed a beleaguered American public. We need to trust ourselves enough to realize that the solution to this problem, like so many others, rests in our hands and in the wisdom of this country’s founders. A message particularly resonant on the 136th anniversary of the proclamation of the world’s most revolutionary charter of freedom.

As always, American Rattlesnake stands with Sheriff Joe, Governor Jan Brewer, and the good people of Arizona.

Even as Janet Napolitano’s flunkies and the Obama administration continue their war against Arizona, the vast majority of ordinary Americans, and rank and file ICE agents,  stand for law and order and against an illegal invasion aided and abetted by elected and unelected officials in Washington D.C. We stand with them as well.

I’ll post a more expansive exploration of the President’s latest unconstitutional administrative amnesty in the days ahead, but for now I’ll provide some pertinent links, including Janet Napolitano’s risible press release and video of Barack Obama’s abortive press conference in the Rose Garden-seen above.

When a reporter from the Daily Caller had the temerity to question the wisdom of granting work permits to millions of illegal aliens at a time of mass unemployment-close to a quarter of teenagers are currently without work-our fearless leader reacted in his typically composed manner. Of course, there is only one possible explanation for this contretemps; I’ll let you guess for yourself what it is. Federale has a good run-down of  El Jefe’s latest extraconstitutional power grab, which I highly recommend reading. Of course, the only elected Republican official to come out with a prompt, correct verdict on this administration’s latest iteration of amnesty was Governor Jan Brewer.

Unfortunately, the woman who eats scorpions for breakfast won’t be the Republican Party’s presidential choice this election cycle.  The GOP’s presumptive nominee is the antithesis of courage on this particular issue, as his tepid reaction to President Obama’s usurpation of power today demonstrates. We’ll see what happens in the days ahead, but so far things don’t look encouraging.

National Public Radio is, almost without exception, a black hole when it comes to obtaining accurate, reliable information and analysis about immigration. Half of the on-air talent could be executed by members of MS-13, and the following day’s headline on NPR would probably be “Aggrieved Undocumented Migrants Exact Misdirected Revenge Against Jan Brewer.” That’s why I was pleasantly surprised by Brian Lehrer’s interview of Hipolito Acosta, a veteran of the INS who has written Shadow Catcher, a revelatory look into the audacious cross-border operations initiated  during his tenure to eliminate human smuggling into the United States.

I’d love to hear the impressions of anyone who has read the book, which-based upon everything I’ve heard-seems like an incredibly fascinating chronicle of the life of a career law enforcement officer intent upon ensuring our nation’s border security.

Our good friend Michael Cutler has a new venue in which to explore the multidimensional problems associated with unfettered immigration and our government’s inability to control our borders. As a contributor to And Magazine this month, he takes a look at the Supreme Court’s deliberations over the constitutionality of Arizona’s landmark 2010 immigration enforcement law, SB 1070. Listen and learn why Arizonans are enforcing the law in a colorblind, responsible manner.

The actual name of the case, of course, is Arizona vs. the United States, which-as Jan Brewer points out in her wonderful book, Scorpions for Breakfast-is an inherent contradiction. The United States overwhelmingly supports the state of Arizona, and endorses the landmark immigration enforcement law that this administration is trying to suppress.

Even so, that’s the name of the case whose constitutionality the Supreme Court has decided to resolve during this session. Thankfully, you can read the transcript  and listen to the audio of the oral arguments from Wednesday. I also recommend watching the brilliant Paul Clement’s incisive defense of Arizona, from a federalist perspective, courtesy of MSNBC.