National Security & This Immigration Bill

I have a recurring nightmare. Not one that literally awakens me in the middle of the night. But, one of those ' what if' scenarios that keeps on looping itself, from time to time as I read things about our lack of national security.

Lack of national security? But,you might ask, I thought, after 9/11, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and all the BILLIONS of dollars spent on it, and the National Intelligence Czar...why rikyrah, why would you say that there is a lack of national security?

I happen to agree with George W. Bush on one thing - I actually DO believe that there is a Global War on Terror. I just don't think that we're fighting one. I am no neo-con, but I am no dove either. There are some very nasty people out there who want to kill us.

Yes, I know a great deal about the United States' part in creating our enemies, and as Malcolm said, ' The chickens have come home to roost.' American policies over the past 50 years specifically, have led to the creation of the jihadists against us. I will give up that point. I will also say that it doesn't matter, and we have to deal with the reality of the situation as it presents itself. There are some very dangerous people out there that mean us harm. Not only do they mean us harm, but they are willing to kill massive numbers of us- ' by any means necessary.'

So, one would think that the absolutely first priority of our government would be to at least try and protect Americans on American soil. To try and make the first line of defense as strong as possible.

That is not happening.

Yes, I'm back to the Immigration Bill. This country needs a border fence. It's not just to keep 3 million people from Mexico from crossing over. It's needed to literally protect the United States.

I'll describe my nightmare. The next massive terrorist attack on US Soil has just been done. The country is in the state of horror, and a couple of hours beyond the attack, we first see the videotape on Al Jazeera. It's a tape of those involved in the terror attack. The video shows them smiling and laughing as they, and their weapon of choice, are crossing our SOUTHERN, OPEN BORDER. They will be smiling, laughing..laughing knowing how easy it was for them to get into this country. How easy WE made it for them.

The Border Fence for me is first, and foremost, a method of DEFENSE for this country. Why make it easy for your enemies.

Whatever you want to think about our Islamic Terrorist enemies - they are not stupid. Use other words to describe them, but they are not stupid. The 'planners' of the attacks against us are usually well-educated, sophisticated men of means who are using their educations, sometimes Western educations - against us. We've spent billions and now harrass little old ladies to take their shoes off at the airport. If you were a terrorist, and had any kind of sense, what would you do? Would you risk being found out by taking a direct, or halfway direct flight into an United States Airport?

Or, would you demonstrate some of that patience you are known for, fly down to nearly any country in South America, hook up with some narco-terrorists, and then work your way up through Mexico and cross our OPEN Southern Border?

In addition, we also have the lack of protection that used to be in place, because THIS administration has Mexican Truckers Coming to a Black and Latino Community Near You, through the allowance of Mexican truckers to be able to travel throughout the entire United States.

That's right...the Bush Administration has begun a program that will allow Mexican truckers the ability to travel the entire Continental United States unchecked. We already know that even when the truckers were not allowed to travel, they were still able to get through the majority of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine sold in this country. And, that is when they WEREN'T allowed to travel unchecked. What do you think is going to happen now? I won't even bring up the fact that truck drivers are one of the last solid middle class job that you can get without a college degree in this country, and they will now be subject to the parasitic competition of the Mexican truck driver. I'll leave the economics out of it; this is about national security.

This so-called Immigration Bill CUTS the amount of border fence approved of last year -in half. I'll remind you that fence was NEVER FULLY FUNDED.

They underfund and underman the Border Patrol in this bill, not giving the resources to the Border Patrol so that they can do their job properly.

The other part of national security that hasn't been addressed is our ports. Our ports are the source of another source of illegal immigration - mostly from Southeast Asia. But, they are so NOT secured, that trafficking from S.E. Asia proceeds unabated.

It is lunacy that barely FIVE PERCENT of containers are checked in this country. Please explain to me how we think that we can be kept safe when only FIVE PERCENT of shipping containers in this country?

This IS a matter of national security. Other countries around the world can check NINETY-FIVE PERCENT of the containers coming through their ports - because they want to. Because, it is a priority for them. Why have we NOT been willing to do so? Because, Corporate America, with Wal-Mart leading the way, helped torpedo a $15/container tax that was being proposed to pay for the new system to check containers as they come into port. Heaven forbid that Corporate America would have to shoulder any responsibility for keeping this country safe.

After all, if a bomb does go off around their merchandise, they can just write if off on insurance.

WHEN we get attacked again - we've left ourselves open so stupidly for it not to happen- it will happen because of someone coming across our open border, or through our ports. There is absolutely no excuse for us to be as unprotected as we are in either situation. I know our enemy is determined; but, you never give your enemy the rope with which to hang you, and that's EXACTLY what we're doing in the cases of our border and ports. The United States is naked, and basically waving to our enemies - come and get us.

This Immigration Bill is a loser - it doesn't protect our borders, or our ports.