07/17/2007
Building The Border Wall? Don't Count On It
By: Chris Freind , The Bulletin

Hats off to the federal government. It has made incredible progress in the construction of a 14-mile stretch of border wall in California. The nine miles that have been completed so far were built starting in 1996, so our country is averaging a lofty 0.81 (that's "point eight one") mile per year.
Good thing the feds are efficient. Those nine mile have stopped at least six armadillos so far. Defenders of the "progress" will tell you that arrests are down significantly in the San Diego area, which is true. Of course, that would have nothing to do with the fact that illegal immigrants are simply moving more than nine miles inland, would it? Or more accurately, that they are crossing in Arizona, where John McCain welcomes all aliens with open arms and the promise of amnesty.
There is hope though; construction is beginning again. And why was it halted in the first place?
Mainly "environmental" concerns, even though Congress finally passed a law two years ago waiving any rules and lawsuits that would halt or prohibit border wall construction. They were only 11 years late doing so, given that the Republicans came to power in 1994 and the Republican platform is staunchly anti-illegal immigration.
The Bush administration wants 370 miles of fence built by 2008. Maybe those folks are using the "new math," but it's probably not a good bet that their stated goal will be met.
The job of the Department of Homeland Security is to protect the United States from harm, and certainly the most important aspect of that mission is to build a wall to keep out undesirable people, both those seeking to work in America illegally and those seeking to blow America up and kill its citizens. But all we seem to hear out of DHS are babblings about Secretary Chertoff's "gut feelings" about a pending terror attack this summer. What is truly incomprehensible is that he cannot - or will not - make the connection between possible al-Qaida attacks and the fact that we have a porous border.
Granted, al-Qaida really isn't all that bright, as evidenced by their latest example of sheer incompetence when their operatives, who also happened to be doctors, couldn't even pull off a simple car bombing. These geniuses are worse than the gang who couldn't shoot straight. I sure hope they operated on patients better than they operated as terrorists.
That being said, they only have to be successful once to wreak potentially devastating havoc against us. Does Chertoff really believe that they haven't put two and two together and figured out that crossing an unguarded and unsecured border is infinitely easier than trying to fly into America to establish new terror cells?
A Homeland Security spokesman stated that the agency wanted to be a "good environmental steward" and instead of a solid, 16-foot high wall, it much prefers a "virtual fence." This would be a system of sensors, cameras and radar in areas that are deemed "environmentally" sensitive.
Isn't technology amazing?
Our bureaucrats would be able to watch the illegals running unchecked across the border while they sit in their ivory towers and sip lattes. We wouldn't be able to catch them, mind you, much less prevent them from entering the U.S., but at least we would know how many crossed per night.
I felt the need to consult the New Webster's Dictionary. It defined "environs" as "neighborhood, vicinity." Interesting.
Given that definition, it dawned on me that the Department of Homeland Security needs a serious kick in the derrière. The World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon, and the aircraft hijacked on 9/11 were part of our "environment." Yet the leadership of DHS seems more concerned about some remote estuary than protecting us.
As unfathomable as that is, it gets better. Homeland Security has decided to rework its plans for the Texas border wall after getting criticized that its proposal would not just hurt the environment but would "infuriate" Mexicans who crossed the border legally.
Twelve million illegals have been allowed unfettered access into our land. In the process, they have inflicted serious damage on the American worker, gouged the American taxpayer and risked America's national security.
Ronald Reagan once said, "A nation without borders is not a nation." To slightly deviate from another famous saying from the Gipper:
"Mr. Bush: Build up that wall!"

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