Congress plans a 1300 mile-wide open passage to the USA
President Bush has signed in a new bill that will see the construction of a new 700 mile fence along the US border with Mexico.
Around $1.2 billion has been appropriated by congress for the new project, which will construct a barrier in remote and inhospitable areas.
The US shares around two thousand miles of border with Mexico and it is one of the busiest and most heavily used borders in the world.
This Administration obviously hasn’t learned from history. The chinese tried to keep foreigners out by building the great wall of China. By the way, that was built up with rock and sediment and didn’t work. We’re building a fence. It’s not going to do what the administration hopes it will. It’s a waste of money and valuable resources.
ZeFrank has a great video-commentary on it.
It’s pretty stupid. It’s the ‘great open gateway to the north’ as zefrank says. Seriously, is a 700 mile fence going to block access when the border is around 2000 miles? That leaves 1300 miles of unfettered access.
“The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.”– Albert Einstein
The GOP once again affirms another of Einstein’s theories.
October 6th, 2006 at 9:23 am
Yeah, a fence is easily tunneled under or climbed over, or cut through.
We either need to put people with guns along the border or remove the reason they want to come to the US illegally in the first place.
This is a token gesture to the GOP’s base, and the reason they are sagging lower in the polls than they should be.
October 6th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
If The GOP are so Stupid (The Fence idea is stupid) what are the Democrats plans of protecting our borders.
The GOP is winning voters in the illegal immigration debate because at least they are trying, the Democrats have gone to ignoring the issue.
The fence is a HUGE waste of money though.
October 6th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
Does anyone remember the Berlin wall???? it was made of cement and it was torn down… no matter what we do people will still get through, and we might as well be friendly with our neighbors and figure out something that does work, because walls can’t stand forever.
October 6th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
There is a huge difference from the Fence they want to build and the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall came down because it represented a form of government that elimated all freedoms and trapped its own citizens from leaving. The Fence is designed to protect our Citizens it just is a bad way of doing it. People died trying to escape its own country
October 6th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
The comment of the Berlin wall wasn’t about the politics surronding it, but about its material. Its made of cement, and we’re going to build a fence of wood, or chain link. How is that supposed to keep anyone from crossing the border. They can cut the fencing, jump or climb over it, dig underneath it. Its not going to solve a thing, and the maintance on it will cost even more money. Its a waste in my mind.
October 6th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Actually, the Berlin wall was pretty effective for what it was designed to do….which was to keep its own citizens IN and not keep others out. Of course, they shot anyone caught climbing the wall.
This is a bit diffrent.
October 6th, 2006 at 6:08 pm
In the end though… the wall still came down, because the people wanted through, and out. It’ll be the same way here in the U.S. if you really want through… you’ll find a way through.
October 7th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” - President Reagan
The fence they want to build will never be viewed the same way as the Berlin Wall. You are talking about B&E techniques to get past the fence. The Berlin wall came down because it represented the end of a rein of oppresion
You cant talk about the Berlin wall coming down without considering the Politics behind it. I agree that the Fence is a bad idea, but you cant compare the Berlin wall to a fence the US wants to build.
I understand what you are trying to say, but the Berlin wall example does not make your point very well.
October 7th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
Fine then… a cement wall can be torn down, and climbed over. That means that the crappy fence the U.S. plans to build will also be torn down, climbed over, and destroyed. The idea the U.S. has to keep people out of our country is ridiculous! It’s not going to work, nothing is going to work. No matter what we do, people will always find a way in or out. We have U.S. citizens fleeing criminal punishment by heading North and South, people will always find a way in or out, and a Damn wall isn’t going to keep anyone out.
The only thing I see that will at least prevent people from risking coming or leaving the U.S. is going to have to be military force, action, and shots fired at people illegally coming over, and the U.S. isn’t prepared to do that, and its citizens aren’t either!
October 7th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
Some citizens are willing to shoot poeple coming in the US illegally.
October 7th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
Some are… but only because they are (well without using curse words) stupid. Terrorists will get in the U.S. Illegals will get into the U.S. Criminals will get into the U.S. and the only thing stoping them is a loosely guarded border and a crappy fence soon to be built. I feel so safe and secure… In the end guys, I don’t feel safe, their is no secure America, if someone wants to kill us and blow us up… it’s easily done with the security we currently have in place. These people will try to cross the border and if they get shot by some stupid U.S. citizen, trying to be a hero, they don’t care! They were already prepared to die with their suicidal attacks. They have nothing to worry about, and we do.
October 7th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
Then Maybe the citizens who believe we should send the National Guard (the expletive stupid ones) to shoot people who cross the border is right then, especially since you dont feel safe.
What is your answer to make America safer. It is easier to complain about a situation, but much harder to come up with a solution
October 7th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
First the flaming not very serious reply:
I would shoot them
The more serious one:
I think a sensible combination of barricades with a patrol presence could drastically reduce the illegal immigration problem. I dont think we have to reduce it to 0. If we knocked it down 90% that would proably be good enough.
Also, I think we could use a military force that would not be the equivilant of shooting anything that moves close to the border. Deter arrest the avg person crossing, while being prepared to engage well armed drug runners is the more sensible approach.
But a barricade by itself is not going to do much.