Free Republic

Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services PHOENIX - A Senate panel voted Thursday to spend $20 million of state tax dollars to lease ground radar systems for one year to help locate and catch people sneaking into this country illegally. The 4-3 vote came despite objections from some that Arizona taxpayers should not be picking up the cost of a burden that should be borne by the federal government. "This is really no different than us paying $20 million to put the National Guard down there,'' said Sen. Bill Brotherton, D-Phoenix, something Brotherton believes should be financed by Congress. "My concern is...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — On a cool Wednesday night in Baghdad, with the stars bright overhead, Pfc. Ernie Ritacca sits in his mobile radar van, the door open, waiting for signs of “The Mad Mortarman.” Ritacca, 19, of Bullhead, Ariz., is with the 1st Armored Division’s Battery D, 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment. His van and a few other vehicles are tucked behind an earthen embankment near the flightline of Baghdad International Airport. “The Mad Mortarman” is the nickname some in his unit use for the faceless Iraqi insurgents who have been keeping a steady routine of hit-and-run attacks on...