10 Percent For Nothing

Bush--who some forces on the right have always suspected was soft on undocumented immigration--agrees to fund only 200 of a projected 2,000 fresh border patrol agents for fiscal 2006.

Comments

[Kevin]

Egad, another Yes reference. Let the debate about their most underrated album begin!

[Paddy O'Furniture]

Just as long as they keep out the Irish...

[AJS]

Kevin, I spotted that Yes reference too 🙂 Relayer is my vote for their most underrated album. I knew there was a reason my liking the folks who run this magazine/site -- they're prog heads!

[rst]

The biggest problem is that anyone sees this as a problem. I agree with Bush's approach, although I would have reduced it by another factor of ten, and stationed them all in Seattle.

[The Lonewacko Blog]

Hey, everyone: Welcome open borders apologists!

After you've read that, come back with your stock reply. The number "58" will figure in my response.

[Sandy]

Immigants. I knew it was the immigants! Even when it was the terrorists I knew it was the immigants!

How appropos that they named this post after the shortest Yes song I can think of right off the bat...

[The Lonewacko Blog]

OK, well maybe next open borders post then.

Anyway, you were supposed to say, "but, that's just one nut! Yes, I realize his ideology is a threat to the United States. I realize that libertarian ideology says we must defend the United States. Therefore, I realize we must defend ourselves from people who hold his ideology. But, like I said, he's just one nut!"

Then, I would have replied with this:

Americans and Mexicans have widely divergent views of border issues, according to a new poll by Zogby International.

Zogby found that a large majority of the Mexican population believes the southwest territory of the U.S. rightfully belongs to Mexico, and that Mexicans should have the right to enter the U.S. without first obtaining U.S. permission. By contrast, Zogby's survey of Americans conducted within a few days of the Mexican poll shows a large majority supports reducing immigration levels and wants the military deployed along the border to protect the U.S. from illegal immigration.

Zogby's poll found that 58 percent of Mexicans agree with the statement, "the territory of the United States' Southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico." Only 28 percent disagree, and 14 percent are unsure.

A similar majority, 57 percent, agree with the statement, "Mexicans should have the right to enter the U.S. without U.S. permission," while 35 percent disagree. Seven percent are unsure.

[cdunlea]

"Zogby found that a large majority of the Mexican population believes the southwest territory of the U.S. rightfully belongs to Mexico, and that Mexicans should have the right to enter the U.S. without first obtaining U.S. permission"

Well, you tend to get delusional when you spend a lot of time smoking peyote, drinking psilocybin mushroom soup and wandering the desert...

[Rick Barton]

I'd be more impressed if he agreed to fund only 10% of fresh IRS agents.

[kwais]

Hell yeah, amen Rick Barton,

But something is better than nothing. The IRS is next year brother, just as soon as they are finished fucking with the NAACP this year. A sort of have your enemies go against each other and then destroy the victor.

[Shannon Love]

I think the idea that a terrorist could just waltz across the border from Mexico is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how Mexico works.

Mexico appears chaotic to Americans because their formal legal and political systems do not work well but in reality Mexico is highly structured on an informal cultural level. Everybody has a place. The organizations main goal is to protect the status quo. That is why outsiders and Mexican innovators find it so hard to get anything done.

The Mexican-American border is porous from the Mexican side because nobody in Mexico from the poorest peon to the richest oligarch to the most violent drug lord has anything to gain from stopping Mexicans from crossing the border. They all benefit enormously.

If terrorist attacked the US from Mexico and the US militarized the border in response it would be disastrous for Mexico and everybody from the peon on up knows it. Anyone not from Latin America who tried to cross the border like an illegal worker or drug smuggler would be discovered by the informal organization . Either the police, the oligarch's private security or the drug lords would make sure the terrorist disappeared.

If this seems far fetched reflect that over several dozen terrorist and terror suspects where known to have crossed into the US from Canada while zero have been identified as coming from Mexico. Mexico's informal system and lack of rule of law, combined with the self-interest of the entire Mexican society make the US southern border a lot more secure than it appears on paper.

[Poustman]

I'm late into the fray but loved the YES headline, too. It was like seeing one of my most private thoughts written on a protest sign. Hallucination? Nope, it's real.

[The Lonewacko Blog]

link

Congressman Solomon Ortiz, ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, was quoted in the Brownsville Herald as saying that Mexicans [I think he meant "Other Than Mexicans" --LW] with possible terrorist ties have been detained after entering the country from Mexico, but are being released for lack of jail space. "It's very, very scary," said Ortiz.

link

Al-Qaida may have an alliance with a violent Central American gang that has established a presence near the Texas-Mexico border, according to members of the U.S. House Select Committee on Homeland Security.

[A]n El-Salvador-based gang, has met with the terrorist group and may attempt to infiltrate the U.S. border, committee member U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz, D-Texas, said Thursday?

[Ken Shultz]

If you read it in the Brownsville Herald, then it must be true.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/print.php?id=60910_0_10_0

...er...uh...rather, if it's said by a politician, then it must be true.

"We have been in contact with El Salvadoran officials and they have verified that al-Qaida has been active in these gangs," Ortiz said.

...Well...um...anyway, if it's a politician quoting El Salvadoran officials, then it must be...

...Aw Hell! Somethin's true--I just know it!

[Peter James Bond]

Oh man, 58% of Mexicans understand that the southern half of the U.S. used to be part of Mexico? And think that they should be able to cross our borders with the absolute freedom of our Canadian neighbors?

Don't they know they aren't white?!? Like VIRGINIA DARE!!!!

Lonewacko, YOU'RE the one who's soft on treason! What I wanna do is force ALL persons of Mexican heritage residing within the U.S., regardless of immigration status to, take a LOYALTY OATH providing that President Zachary Taylor, or whoever, had TOTAL JUSTIFICATION for seizing any and all Mexican lands. If any person of Mexican heritage questions our framing of history, or questions our law enforcment practices in any respect, they're gone.

And if Salvadoran gangs have "links" to Al Qaeda, Lonewacko has "links" to Tim McVeighites. Sorry, dude, but it's true.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Until the mid-1960's Mexicans had the freedom to simply walk across the border, which my friend Willy did sometime in the late 1940's. Because he did that I ended up with a life long friend, his son, El Geronimo de Crow, that I've known since 1964.

El Geronimo de Crow spent his first few months of life living in a tractor trailer rig in Tortilla Flats. Now he has a top secret clearance and works in the space program. And BTW, his dad, Willy's a millionaire.

And for Lone-Wacko to identify racist and absurd beliefs held by certain individuals who don't count the part of their heritage that evolved from the WHITE Spaniards who intermarried with the local Indians and thus created the Mestizo does not change the morality of the issue.

The five of us who don't hate Mexicans don't think the SW belongs to Mexicans, we don't think illegals should vote, we don't think they should get tax-paid medical bennies, but we also don't care if they come here and work. And the last time I checked none of the 09-11 terrorists came across from Nogales.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

And one more thing, Lone Wacko, I hold you personally responsible for violating my constituional rights every time I have to stop in Rainbow on I-15 while some Border Patrol Agent peers into my car with a flashlight and then motions me on. I am being detained without probable cause and sometimes the traffic is backed up for miles. All in name of keeping some Mexican out of here whose sole crime is to want a better life for himself.

[Ken Shultz]

That checkpoint is pointless.