Fenced Minds, Open Borders, and Balpine Hammers
Recently, President Bush signed legislation authorizing the construction of a security fence along the border. Unfortunately, it`s not going to happen according to the Conservative Union and Sen. John Cornyn.
While a fence should be looked on as merely one tool in the counter-invasion, it is a necessary barrier to easy access; it can be overcome given time, but the whole point of a fence is to slow the scofflaws down enough to apprehend them. The principle argument (and I`ve seen Wladyslav Plzhenski-sorry if I misspelled it-from the American Spectator make this case) against barriers is that they don`t work. Poppycock! Anyone familiar with the Huns knows that Attila planned on conquering China to use as an engine for an attack on Rome. Attila and his men arrived at the Great Wall, and couldn`t find a way around it, so scotched that plan and turned around.
The Romans had some success keeping the Scots and Picts out of their province of Britain with the wall Hadrian built.
Of course, had China actually been Attila`s goal, he would not have been stopped by the wall, but he would have lost valuable resources and men trying to overcome Chinese resistance at that wall. There is the key; a wall or fence is only as strong as it`s weakest link, and that link is made of flesh and blood, not brick or metal. If we fail to adequately patrol the fence we may as well not have it. It`s ONE tool in border defense, not THE tool; we have to fight this on multiple fronts. The advocates of loose border security will tell you that any one approach will not work, so we shouldn`t bother with any. Their reasoning is analogous to a storeowner, say a hardware store, stocking only one item-hammers. How long will a hardware store stay in business if all that can be purchased is hammers? Now, suppose the Small Business Administration comes along and refuses to finance any hardware stores because they say you can`t make it in the hardware business, since Hammers-Are-Us failed. In the immortal words of Gomer Pyle GOOOLLLLLYYYYY! If the hammer store tried stocking, well, nails, maybe they`d do a whole lot better?
A border fence will work fine, provided the border patrol backs it up, and the law backs up the border patrol.
Now, let me find my old balpine; thinking like a Washington insider has me wanting to take a few wacks at my skull.
While a fence should be looked on as merely one tool in the counter-invasion, it is a necessary barrier to easy access; it can be overcome given time, but the whole point of a fence is to slow the scofflaws down enough to apprehend them. The principle argument (and I`ve seen Wladyslav Plzhenski-sorry if I misspelled it-from the American Spectator make this case) against barriers is that they don`t work. Poppycock! Anyone familiar with the Huns knows that Attila planned on conquering China to use as an engine for an attack on Rome. Attila and his men arrived at the Great Wall, and couldn`t find a way around it, so scotched that plan and turned around.
The Romans had some success keeping the Scots and Picts out of their province of Britain with the wall Hadrian built.
Of course, had China actually been Attila`s goal, he would not have been stopped by the wall, but he would have lost valuable resources and men trying to overcome Chinese resistance at that wall. There is the key; a wall or fence is only as strong as it`s weakest link, and that link is made of flesh and blood, not brick or metal. If we fail to adequately patrol the fence we may as well not have it. It`s ONE tool in border defense, not THE tool; we have to fight this on multiple fronts. The advocates of loose border security will tell you that any one approach will not work, so we shouldn`t bother with any. Their reasoning is analogous to a storeowner, say a hardware store, stocking only one item-hammers. How long will a hardware store stay in business if all that can be purchased is hammers? Now, suppose the Small Business Administration comes along and refuses to finance any hardware stores because they say you can`t make it in the hardware business, since Hammers-Are-Us failed. In the immortal words of Gomer Pyle GOOOLLLLLYYYYY! If the hammer store tried stocking, well, nails, maybe they`d do a whole lot better?
A border fence will work fine, provided the border patrol backs it up, and the law backs up the border patrol.
Now, let me find my old balpine; thinking like a Washington insider has me wanting to take a few wacks at my skull.
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 4:58 AM
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