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EDITORIAL
What immigration reform?
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On Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stole the show at a downtown Las Vegas rally demanding a "path to citizenship" -- amnesty -- for illegal immigrants. He told the few thousand people in attendance that allowing millions of illegals to remain in the country and gain citizenship would be the top priority of Congress beginning this week.
"We're going to have comprehensive immigration reform now," Sen. Reid said. "We're going to do immigration reform just like we did health care reform."
Reform Immigration for America, the group behind the Las Vegas rally and others around the country, made the senator's remarks the banner headline on its Web site. Its leaders declared Sen. Reid's promise a major victory.
So imagine their surprise Tuesday night when Sen. Reid emerged from a private luncheon with fellow Democratic senators and said immigration reform was not, in fact, on the front burner. It wasn't on the kitchen counter at all.
It turns out the Obama administration and Sen. Reid's caucus have no interest in taking on an issue as politically poisonous as their health care takeover. With new financial regulations in the works, a forthcoming Supreme Court nomination and a debt-funded budget to pass, the Senate probably won't touch illegal immigration this year, let alone this week.
"Aides to Mr. Reid said he never meant to imply that he was going ahead immediately," reports New York Times blogger Carl Hulse.
Words, you see, mean precisely what the senator wants them to mean at any given time. Which is to say they can mean something else entirely the next day.
"The question for Mr. Reid now," Mr. Hulse writes, "is whether in trying to rally Latino supporters back home, he will face a backlash for raising expectations."
After all, if Sen. Reid's most loyal supporters can't take him at his word, why would anyone vote for him?
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Here’s an actual solution to the illegal border crossings from Mexico. And, it’s much less expensive than building a B.S. wall.
Build a 50 foot “forest ranger” type tower every mile or so, along the 800 miles. Equip them with a toilet.
Place a military trainee team in each one. Oh, did I say they should be snipers in training? 3 teams (Sniper and spotter) per tower. 8 ½ shifts.
When they see someone making a run for it, start shooting! It would be terrific training for our military. They wouldn’t have to shoot further than ½ to ¾ miles. Sure, some would still get through. But, many wouldn’t. Guaranteed, these terrorists illegally entering the country in this way would cease to be a problem.
After a month of equipping all 800 towers 24/7, they’d be able to just man 1/3 of them. But, keep changing which ones are manned.
Talk about a deterrent! And, it would be excellent training for our military.
@ Dahn Shaulis,
Why do you waste my time with hey joe print your real name? Why don’t you post your phone number and I’ll give you a call, what nonsense.
Clearly you wish to insinuate I support something I don’t so you can spew victim ideology again.
I am a confirmed capitalist and do not believe this is the system we have now. Otherwise AIG, Goldman Sachs etc would have rightfully been left to fail.
How nice that you have chosen what people are the real victims, which is incorrect since illegals are criminals. Of course you go on ignoring right from wrong as you justify some criminal actions by comparing corporate crime as a means to dismiss massive numbers of individual crime and conspiracy.
Basically you are a hypocrite just another selfish agenda driven, phony humanitarian spewing blame the U.S. or whitey for the world evils completely ignoring how your agenda harms others. Of course you feel you can because you actually think you are right.
All you are doing is trying to justify your own hate without damaging your arrogance or bloated ego.
The funniest thing about the article and these comments is that people are actually surprised Dingy Harry lied. Too bad Pinocchia wasn't a politician. His nose would be 200 hundred miles long and idiots would still vote for him. Amazing.
@Joe C.
How about coming out of the shadows?
Tell us your name so we can figure out why you hold the position you do. Clearly, you wish to support US corporate and government corruption in Mexico and the US as well as US illegal arms dealing with narco-traffickers.