We're not ready. According to a report in the conservative Washington Times, our military units in Iraq are going through armored vehicles and combat aircraft as fast as Ed Rendell goes through cheesesteaks. And the net result is we lack equipment. This is not particularly good news as the situation in Lebanon crumbles by the minute and Iran, North Korea and Syria grow more bellicose.
In the meantime, Republican strategists have us focused on the real problem - illegal immigration. Yeah, that's the source of all our troubles.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
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Tuesday, August 01, 2006
6 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
We have the capacity to wage a full scale war in that region should Syria and Iran tempt our trigger fingers.
ReplyDeleteIllegal immigration is a serious threat. To be brief, because it undermines security, if negative reivforcement, and sucks of money in social programs.
Doctor, I just got done posting a report that states we can't wage a war on a second front. Now if you want to contradict that, that's fine. Youy might even be right. But it is incumbent upon you to state WHY and include a link to a source.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, illegal immigration is real serious.
Which way do you think terrorists would rather get into the country post 9/11? Through a tightened up Visa screening process with watch lists and no-entry warnings? Or across a porous border?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, what does it take to make people understand that not controlling your borders isn't such a great survival trait for a country in a world of anthrax dust and dirty bombs.
Frankly, devoting untold resources and losing valuable resources in a search for the bogeyman is just a little silly.
ReplyDeleteThe simple truth - illegal immigration is not and has never been a problem in this country. And the only reason there is illegal immigration is because laws were changed in 1986 to make it impossible for most unskilled laborers to gain entry. Under current laws, most of our forbears would be denied entry.
But while Santorum is running around w/ his radio ads and Hazelton passes an unconstitutional law and state Republicans conduct "hearings" during an election cycle in which they are only interested in listening to those who agree with them, our military is falling apart. Now that's a real security threat. And it was pointed out in a conservative publication. Why not focus on real problems instead of inventing ones that don't exist bc you think it will get you elected?
The question still stands and you did not answer it. Do you think that a feebly patrolled border presents a security threat?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry. I thought I did answer it but guess I was too general. I don't think illegal immigration is a real problem so it necessarily follows that I don't think there's a security threat.
ReplyDeleteThis whole idea of a "feebly patrolled border" is a misconception anyway. We have 8 times as many border patrol agents as we had in 1986. And we have built walls and raised the budget 10 times in the past 20 years. But it's hard to keep people out who are trying to feed their family.
They are portrayed as the source of all our troubles by the new nativists. And illegal immigrants are the new Jews.
So to be real specific, I don't think our borders are all that feebly patrolled. But even if they are, illegal immigrants pose no security threat. Last election cycle, we were looking everywhere for those damn terrorists. Now it's the illegal aliens. You can only say "The sky is falling" so many times before people get wise.
Now you and I disagree, but that's OK. I appreciate your view. And although I will argue a point up and down, I will admit when I'm wrong. We're both on the same side. We both want what's best for this country. So I appreciate your concern, and hope you can see my point of view as well, even if you disagree. Take care.