Paul A. Ibbetson
Barack Obama: securing the border, one sign at a time
By Paul A. Ibbetson
No one likes to be opposed. As people, we pick a side of an argument we believe in and try our hardest to win. That's life, but there are differing ways in which we oppose one another and some are much more inflammatory than others. See if you agree. Is it not more frustrating, more infuriating when someone attempts to trick you to win an argument? Is there not more respect given to those who say, "You're wrong, I'm right, and I will prove it!" versus someone who attempts trickery and poorly devised schemes to win an argument while congratulating you on your hard-fought victory?
I say it is better to be defeated than to be duped and defeated. When it comes to the issue of border security Barack Obama is attempting poorly crafted chicanery on the citizens of this country. Obama is not the first to fail the American people on this issue, but he is the first to fail them in such an insulting manner. Before we shine the light of accountability on Obama's bamboozling bag of border tricks, we should look at the failures to secure the border that preceded his presidency.
Through the time and effort of average Americans in the Minuteman Project the nation received video footage of the undeniably massive influx of illegal aliens crossing the border. If ever it was in question, the will of the American people to be safe and secure in their own nation has now been made clear. The U.S. border must be secured.
On Oct. 26, 2006, the Secure Fence Act was passed. It stated that within 18 months the government was to have secured the border through the use of physical barriers, border patrol agents, unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based sensors, satellites, radar coverage, cameras and additional checkpoints. Just to make sure there was no question about the end goal, the term "operational control," which is referenced throughout the law, was defined as "the prevention of all unlawful U.S. entries, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics and other contraband." So why is the border still wide open? Here is where the trickery starts. Instead of going full bore to complete the project, funding became a political wedge issue as double fencing became single fencing, and by the time the Obama administration was faced with the border security issue, fencing at all was seen as impractical. As reported by the Associated Press back in 2005, then-Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano was already undermining the fence option with statements such as, "You show me a 50-foot wall and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder at the border. That's the way the border works."
In a very foreseeable progression in the government's failure to secure the border, Arizona passes SB1070 to protect its state from an onslaught of illegal immigration. The current Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, once again with a majority of American support, forces the government's hand to take action. Even with the self-proclaimed transparent Obama administration at the helm, like painful déjà vu, government trickery again replaced government action. In response to Brewer's meeting with Barack Obama and the promise of government aid to secure the Arizona border, the president's response was to post warning signs in the desert, 80 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border and about 30 miles from the state capital. The signs read, "Smuggling and illegal immigration may be encountered in this area." No kidding, Sherlock! As reported by CBS news, Governor Brewer now stars in a new video showing the warning signs at her state's border as she gives the president both barrels for his lackadaisical response to this growing threat.
I can identify with her anger because it is not just opposition to securing the border that Obama is showing, it is opposition presented through an intelligence-insulting ruse. The Obama-border-sign fiasco is the biggest slap in the face to America on this issue so far and it will not be forgotten quickly. The economic and physical security of Americans is not a joke to be placed on signs at the nation's edge. After what has been years of failed policy on border security, Barack Obama is redefining the concept of "adding insult to injury." You can put that on a sign.
© Paul A. Ibbetson
July 9, 2010
No one likes to be opposed. As people, we pick a side of an argument we believe in and try our hardest to win. That's life, but there are differing ways in which we oppose one another and some are much more inflammatory than others. See if you agree. Is it not more frustrating, more infuriating when someone attempts to trick you to win an argument? Is there not more respect given to those who say, "You're wrong, I'm right, and I will prove it!" versus someone who attempts trickery and poorly devised schemes to win an argument while congratulating you on your hard-fought victory?
I say it is better to be defeated than to be duped and defeated. When it comes to the issue of border security Barack Obama is attempting poorly crafted chicanery on the citizens of this country. Obama is not the first to fail the American people on this issue, but he is the first to fail them in such an insulting manner. Before we shine the light of accountability on Obama's bamboozling bag of border tricks, we should look at the failures to secure the border that preceded his presidency.
Through the time and effort of average Americans in the Minuteman Project the nation received video footage of the undeniably massive influx of illegal aliens crossing the border. If ever it was in question, the will of the American people to be safe and secure in their own nation has now been made clear. The U.S. border must be secured.
On Oct. 26, 2006, the Secure Fence Act was passed. It stated that within 18 months the government was to have secured the border through the use of physical barriers, border patrol agents, unmanned aerial vehicles, ground-based sensors, satellites, radar coverage, cameras and additional checkpoints. Just to make sure there was no question about the end goal, the term "operational control," which is referenced throughout the law, was defined as "the prevention of all unlawful U.S. entries, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics and other contraband." So why is the border still wide open? Here is where the trickery starts. Instead of going full bore to complete the project, funding became a political wedge issue as double fencing became single fencing, and by the time the Obama administration was faced with the border security issue, fencing at all was seen as impractical. As reported by the Associated Press back in 2005, then-Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano was already undermining the fence option with statements such as, "You show me a 50-foot wall and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder at the border. That's the way the border works."
In a very foreseeable progression in the government's failure to secure the border, Arizona passes SB1070 to protect its state from an onslaught of illegal immigration. The current Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, once again with a majority of American support, forces the government's hand to take action. Even with the self-proclaimed transparent Obama administration at the helm, like painful déjà vu, government trickery again replaced government action. In response to Brewer's meeting with Barack Obama and the promise of government aid to secure the Arizona border, the president's response was to post warning signs in the desert, 80 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border and about 30 miles from the state capital. The signs read, "Smuggling and illegal immigration may be encountered in this area." No kidding, Sherlock! As reported by CBS news, Governor Brewer now stars in a new video showing the warning signs at her state's border as she gives the president both barrels for his lackadaisical response to this growing threat.
I can identify with her anger because it is not just opposition to securing the border that Obama is showing, it is opposition presented through an intelligence-insulting ruse. The Obama-border-sign fiasco is the biggest slap in the face to America on this issue so far and it will not be forgotten quickly. The economic and physical security of Americans is not a joke to be placed on signs at the nation's edge. After what has been years of failed policy on border security, Barack Obama is redefining the concept of "adding insult to injury." You can put that on a sign.
© Paul A. Ibbetson
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