Category Archives: Wall

The Wall

13 Friday Dec 2019

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When I was young I learned of the Little Dutch Boy that plugged a hole in the dike with his thumb. T thought the dike must have been some thin vertical devise to plug, not the wide levies they actually are. I use this old image as a metaphor for Trump’s wall on our southern border. He says it will stop the flood of people crossing the border which he has called crooks, rapists, drug mules, and other names.

In reality it isn’t effective as the boy’s thumb because a customs pick-up has to carry a welding machine to patch the holes cut in his impenetrable wall. It takes less than 10 minutes to cut the hole and at least a hour to weld a patch over the hole. I’m not athletic so I thought a 20 foot ladder would be required to get over. Someone with a phone camera caught two guys climbing it almost as fast as I would on a ladder. They flipped over and went back down on the other side.

Who is paying for it? Definitely NOT the Mexicans! Over a year ago the media started showing the deplorable housing conditions on military bases. Congress was aware of these conditions when they designated billions to tear down the housing and build new for our troops and their families.

Why do I bring up that housing situation? The money to build the wall is the money Trump said he was going to use to build his wall. The constitution says redirecting specified money is illegal without Congress’ consent. Where he is going to get the additional funds over those in the budget, I don’t know but it better not be from the military housing. We can’t use dependant’s thumbs to plug the hole!

Thank You For Your Service

09 Monday Sep 2019

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Many people say this to people who volunteered to be in our country’s military. Military pay goes from $1,500 to $15,000 each month depending on years and rank. An old saying is “Rank has its privileges.” It means the more important a person is the more privileges they get. Those in the lower ranks don’t get the best housing and facilities. Those with families will live in poverty for years and maybe their entire careers. When they retire they are eligible for government healthcare at a V.A. facility.

Why is this important at this time? The President has decided to take $3,500,000,000 from the military budget that was to fix the dilapidated, deplorable and unhealthy conditions of housing, schools, PXs, and medical facilities. He plans on spending that money to build 140 miles of wall to satisfy his ego. The Department of Defense persuaded Congress’ budget committee that the conditions were so bad, old, moldy, leaky, and dilapidated; hundreds of buildings needed to be repaired or razed and new ones built. Now if the money is going to be needlessly subverted to satisfy a narcissist ego, the “Thank you for your service” rings hallow.

I wonder if the President would put them up in his country clubs and hotels which might cost more per night than they make in a month. Yes, the commander-in-Chief definitely believes in “Rank has its privileges.”

MIGRATION IS A MONSTER OF OUR OWN MAKING

11 Monday Feb 2019

Posted by in Immigration, Politics, Wall

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Americans seem to have a problem with repeating history. We have never learned from world, European, or American history that people will move away from problems or towards a better life. The Irish fled Ireland because of the Potato Famine. Various religions sailed the Atlantic for a place to peacefully practice their religions. Most probably came to make more money. The first people across the Bering Sea may have come for adventure. The Africans came without their consent. We move to other states for many of the same reasons.

Often people go back to where they left because the conditions there changed. I think most of the Syrians that left for Europe will return when the fighting is over. Some will go back to help in reconstruction. Others will wait until regular life has returned. When, and if, conditions and economies of Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and parts of Mexico improve, I think a large number of Central American migrants will want to go back to their origins.

Why do the people want to leave their ethnic home and move to Mexico, United States, and Canada? One reason is to make more money for themselves and their families. Another is the governmental corruption in their home country allowing rampant terrorism and preventing economic growth is the most stated reason when applying for entry. We may be at least partially, if not mostly, responsible for these problems.

Over the past century we have displaced democratically elected presidents and installed dictators who have terrorized and robbed their people. We helped the Panamanians to rebel against Columbia so we could build a canal and meddle in their politics until Bush I was forced to invade and capture our former spy asset Manuel Noriega.

My best friend built concrete “school houses” in Honduras, just yards from the Nicaraguan border. We supported the Nicaraguan rebels with guns from the Iran-Contra scandal.

We have supported American companies in those countries by bribery, political pressure, and rebellion. The term “Banana Republic” came from our help to keep Dole and Chiquita Bananas in business and not taken over. Peasant workers were little more than slaves causing anti-American hatred.

Violence in most of Central America would be the usual rebel and army retaliation with CIA or DEA implications. The Panamanian involvement with cocaine was so the DEA could track it. President Trump often talks about the MS-13 gangs coming across our southern border. He may not know MS-13 was born in Los Angeles and exported to Guatemala and other countries by our justice department.

Yes, the migrants want better lives for themselves and their families. Instead of trying to stop them at the border, maybe we should spend that wall money on fixing the problems our CIA and State department created. Maybe the people still there might stay and the caravans would be moving south instead.

The Symbolic Wall

14 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by in Immigration, Wall

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Statistics show we do not need a 1,900 mile wall on the southern border when only six suspected terrorists have been apprehended crossing that border. Seven times more crossed the northern border. Why not put a longer wall on the northern border if we are worried about terrorism?

If the administration is concerned about terrorism they should look at the conditions on both borders. The southern border is hot, dry and mostly unpopulated making it dangerous to cross. Many crossers die from thirst, snake bite and heat. The northern border is a drive down one street and turn into the United States or walking in one side of a church and out the other side, or crossing the St. Lawrence’s thousand island area on a motor boat or a canoe.

The terrorists we are concerned about aren’t from Central America. They are from the mid-east. Most of them are from commonwealth countries which means they can go from one commonwealth country to another. They fly to Canada and walk through a couple of back yards into the United States. Of course that would mean putting a wall between peoples who share the same color skin and similar language. The major difference is the people across the border find trash blowing around the countryside, roads, and cities adherent.

If we aren’t being attack by terrorists crossing the southern border why do we need a wall? President Trump’s supporters are scared our white ethnic society is being overwhelmed by brown people seeking a better life. Black skinned people are already here. The term minority used to mean black, brown, “yellow”, and “red”. Millions of white people don’t want to become a minority. The 2018 election shows the nation’s political elite are being subverted by non-white people and non-white women. The latter may be even scarier to some white men.

Most of us have accepted seeing people from Mexico and from countries south of Mexico. For years they have been doing jobs other people wouldn’t do. A few years ago the Alabama legislature passed a law where people hiring illegals would be arrested, fined and maybe jailed. After two years, the law was rescinded because the Alabama residents didn’t pick vegetables, wash dishes, do landscaping, and other hard work jobs.

Many if not most of the illegals wanting to do the jobs we won’t would work here for nine months, go back home, and then come back. If they can’t be sure of sneaking back in they bring their families. The long promised work visas are still a dream. Is Trump’s wall symbolic or racism?