Bush, Chertoff give away part of Texas to Mexico

Bush administration Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff bulldozed right over ranchers, land owners, environmentalists, citizens, and the University of Texas in an unholy rush to put up the Great Wall of Tex-Mex, just in case thousands of Mexicans suddenly decided to flood across the border into Texas, oh, say, tomorrow.

A story in USA Today announced yesterday that, "The Homeland Security Department used its legal authority Tuesday to waive environmental and land management laws, so it can complete 670 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexican border."

The waiver affects Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

According to USA Today:

Although Congress gave Homeland Security the authority to waive the laws, some members were furious. "Today's waiver represents an extreme abuse of authority," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said. "Waiver authority should only be used as a last resort."

Never mind that there is legitimate labor and commerce exchange across a border that has been open for years, and upon which the South Texas economy is dependent. Also never mind the negative environmental, ecological and wildlife impact of this rushed wall. Never mind that it puts a portion of Texas on the other side, including the International Technology, Education and Commerce campus of the University of Texas at Brownsville on the other side of the wall.

No, the big show of the wall is more important, never mind how negatively it affects the lives of those near the wall.

Build in haste, repent in leisure.

I think Germany and Eastern Europe proved that walls are rarely good for anyone or anything.

A bird's eye view of the proposed wall:

Source: Blueblogging

How can you stop these abuses of citizens and our environment? Vote Democrat!

Two hundred and how many days left?

Julie also uses her words at her personal blog.

Comments

[Daisy]

So sad.

[Jenny, Bloggess]

That's kind of awesome. You can just put up a fence where ever you want? I'm totally going to put a fence going from my backyard all the way to my neighborhood pool and back. That'll keep those damn kids from watching me sunbathe nude.

I had no idea this sort of thing was legal.

[Julie Pippert]

Your optimism and creativity are what I adore about you, Jenny. ;)

Of course you can do this or anything you want!

Just invoke the magic words, "Matter of national security...Homeland Security...imminent domain..."

And VOILA!

You can eat your cake and have it too!

Next time we go out let's tell them to bring us sangritas pronto...for the sake of Homeland Security, then let's seize the drinks and say we're taking them for free as a matter of national security.

WOO HOO!

I only have one point of confusion: do we live in the Motherland or the Fatherland?

This is important to me to know.

[PunditMom]

You know this administration has all sorts of things like this up its sleeve between now and January.

[debbie - i obsess]

can we make it an issue of int'l security that the mandatory, nationally sanctioned drink at Jenny's private pool is the mojito? or, well, I guess there could be two sanctioned mandatory drinks, like the sangritas and mojitos?

groovy.

I'm beginning to like this whole take-whatever-you-want-if-you're-powerful-enough deal. 'course, it's never worked *for* me in the past, only against. so, you know, yeah.

[Sara]

This reminds me of a story I heard on NPR this week...apparently all the super-anti-immigration legislation that has passed in McCain's home state of AZ has left the state with a HUGE labor shortage. Enough that they're looking to fix it by a state version of the federal work-visa program. I almost drove off the road at the irony of that one!!!

[Tony Iovino]

Forget the First Amendment issues--how stupid is this? We have young people who are turned off and tuned out to politics, who are too busy playing X-box to worry about the ballot box, and "educators" are trying to stifle an interested kid?

Why?

It simply makes no sense. We should be encouraging participation, thought, the free exchange of ideas-- the District should be less worried about keeping decorum in its hallways and more worried about firing the synapses in the heads of kids whose brains have been worn dull by countless of hours of reality TV and Internet porn.

This is particularly outrageous since the T-shirt wasn't obscene.

I mean, it was a shirt supporting Edwards, not Hillary!