Trump’s Border Wall Folly

“Believe me,” said Trump. But no, Mexico won’t pay for a wall. Trump is now demanding American taxpayers pay for it.

While still promising Mexico will pay for it, President Trump is now trying to extort $25 billion from U.S. taxpayers to build a “big, beautiful” border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and he’s holding DACA recipients hostage to do it.

It’s clear Trump either doesn’t understand, or is ignoring the nuances of legal and illegal immigration as well as actual statistics about the rates of crime committed by immigrants vs. U.S. citizens, and how most contraband gets into the country illegally.

By far the biggest contributor to violent deaths in the U.S. is not immigrants, but our country’s own violent culture paired with easy access to deadly firearms — a fact President Trump completely ignores in his effort to whip up xenophobic fear among Americans.

The stakes for Trump’s wall are extremely high for American taxpayers in many ways. The first is financial.

To give you an idea of exactly how much tax money Trump is demanding for his wall, let’s take a look at how much money $25 billion really is:

  • If someone gave you $1 (one) billion today and you spent $1,000 every single day after that, it would take 2,740 years to spend ONE billion dollars. At that rate, it would take over 65,000 years to spend the $25 billion Trump is asking for.
  • A tiny fraction of $25 billion, just $216 million, could fix Flint, Michigan’s water crisis once and for all. The EPA says only nine states report having safe levels of lead in all their water supplies. $25 billion could go a long way towards alleviating faulty and failing water infrastructure in other American cities.
  • $25 billion could alleviate hunger around the globe for a year.
  • $25 billion could cover the cost of completely eliminating homelessness in the U.S. for over a year.
  • $25 billion could build new electric streetcar systems with 20 miles of tracks in 50 U.S. cities.
  • $25 billion is enough to repair 50,000 miles of U.S. highways.

In addition, the only ones who thrive from building physical barriers along the border are smugglers, who merely become more creative at their trade and charge higher and higher fees to hapless, impoverished immigrants who are desperate for their services.

Beyond this, investigation reveals that a border wall would be futile given the way immigration and smuggling really take place.

People crossing the southern U.S. border illegally is not a major source of illegal immigration

The U.S.-Mexico border along the Rio Grande River would require a wall along, or in the middle of the twisting, turning river

According to Homeland Security, the single biggest source of illegal immigration is foreign visitors who overstay their legal permits to be in the U.S., not people crossing U.S. borders illegally. And by far most people who overstay their legal visas are from Canada, not Mexico.

Trump claims a border wall is needed to stop terrorists from entering the country, but the Department of Homeland Security has no evidence that terrorist groups are organizing in Mexico and plan to cross the southern U.S. border. In fact, data shows between 1975 and 2015, only one foreign-born terrorist in the U.S. was from Mexico, and that person didn’t even kill anyone. Yet nineteen Saudi Arabian terrorists killed 2,369 Americans and two terrorists from United Arab Emirates killed 314 Americans within the same time span, but Trump isn’t proposing any restrictions on immigrants from these countries. Recall that the 9/11 attackers were all Saudis, and got into the U.S. using legal visas. So the idea that terrorists are flooding into the country from Mexico is not borne out by facts.

Treaty obligations, natural runoff routes and flood zones along rivers would  also require part of Trump’s wall be built inside the U.S. border, which would be awkward if Trump continues to demand Mexico pay for the wall, as he has promised. And Mexican officials have said unequivocally that they would not not pay for a wall.

Tunnel under the border at Tijuana, with electricity and a railway. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Building a wall would also show great contempt for our neighbor to the south, would poison our relationship with Mexico and likely end their cooperation in fighting smuggling activity, drug cartels and other criminal activities that require joint cooperation between the two countries.

Also, a significant part of the border between Mexico and the U.S. follows the tightly winding path of the Rio Grande River. In many places, a wall would have to be in the river itself, which is utterly impractical.

Tunnels, catapults, trucks and bribes…Oh, my!

Drug-throwing catapult attached to the Mexican side of the existing border fence (Photo: CNN)

Creative drug smugglers already use a multitude of strategies to circumvent existing border fences and walls, and they are constantly finding new ways to get over, around, through or under them.

Specially-designed, undetectable boatsair-powered cannons, catapults and drones are just a few of the ways smugglers get drugs into the U.S. from Mexico, but by far most of the contraband comes through formal border checkpoints between the two countries. The January 25, 2018  issue of the Texas Tribune contained an interview with a lifelong marijuana trafficker who said he moved about 50 tons of marijuana a year through official points of entry in 18-wheel semi trucks. He told the Tribune that a wall wouldn’t stop him. Smugglers also use “cloned” cars and trucks that have been modified to look exactly like federal vehicles. Former smugglers also point out that a significant amount of smuggling relies on border patrol agents who take bribes to allow contraband and people across the border.

A wall won’t stop any of that.

Smugglers also evade border barriers using tunnels. Since 2001, law enforcement officers have discovered more than 100 tunnels between the U.S. and Mexico, some of them quite elaborate, with electricity, ventilation, and wheeled carts. One tunnel was 2,400 feet long. Tunnels are hard to detect. Their discovery usually depends on word of mouth.

A wall will not stop tunneling.

Seizures, mistakes and eminent domain: A wall poses havoc for landowners

The construction of physical barriers between the U.S. and Mexico has already proven to be a nightmare for private landowners along the southern U.S. border.

The U.S. government in the past has abused it’s power to seize private property along the border for a fence by giving landowners lowball offers based on faulty valuations of their property. The government also uses a law called the Taking Act, passed during the Depression, that allows it to seize private property before any money changes hands and bulldoze it the same day. The government has

Border wall prototype. Big, yes. Expensive, yes. Beautiful, no.

mistakenly paid people for property they didn’t actually own, and a huge number of transactions for land along the border have ended up in lawsuits for landowners who have the money to fight them.  Many people can’t afford the fight, and just give up their land to the government or take a pittance for it. The federal government is already facing a long list of condemnation cases from previous border-barrier efforts in which the government seized land without knowing who actually owned it. One U.S. court alone is currently facing a backlog of 320 eminent domain cases involving government seizures of private land along the U.S.-Mexico border. Some landowners have incurred huge legal debts just to correct mistakes the government made in seizing their land for a border fence.

Fight the border wall

The illogic surrounding Trump’s demand to build a border wall and it’s detrimental effects on the U.S. is clear. The nuances involved in border security render the idea little more than an expensive flight of fancy, but one  Americans will pay dearly for if Trump gets his way. Every American who believed Trump’s promise that Mexico would pay for a wall has been utterly duped. If Trump gets his way, the cost of the barrier will come out of all of our pockets, at the expense of America’s needs being left completely unaddressed.

It would be better to face reality and find less expensive and more rational and suitable solutions to problems posed by illegal immigration than to go along with Trump’s misguided, hare-brained border wall proposal.

 

 

 

  52 comments for “Trump’s Border Wall Folly

  1. I tend to agree that from perspective of cost/benefit analysis, that overall costs tend to outweigh benefits – particularly if one posts a wall as a universal solution across the entire border.

    The benefits often seem overstated. I’ve seen multiple arguments that start with anecdotes but then fail to carefully question whether a wall would actually change things – or whether it would simply cause different mechanisms (overstays, false documents, tunnels, jet skis, etc) simply get used.

    The costs are understated, particularly in areas such as eminent domain. Actual numeric costs while large as your article points out aren’t enormous on scale of federal government spending/waste at times in other aspects – but permanence of taking lands via eminent domain or disrupting border communities are undercounted. Thanks for writing your article.

  2. In cases where landowners refuse to sell, the party exercising eminent domain can file a lawsuit to force the landowner to sell. Not surprisingly, parties exercising eminent domain often make offers that are far less than what a landowner thinks a property is worth. The most effective thing that landowners can do to ensure that they obtain the compensation to which they are entitled under the law is to retain an experienced eminent domain lawyer.

    • I’m not a big fan of eminent domain, however, I’m also not a big fan of the Obama care mandate and tax. Why? Because they remove individual choice by law. And I think the standard that should be applied in fairness is to see that the land owner is compensated (as least as much as market value) plus somewhere around twenty thousand dollars, for loss of choice. And I think the American citizens would soon make up the difference with the fact that 62% of illegal immigrant households receive government aide supplement, as opposed to 30% for legal households.

      https://cis.org/Report/Welfare-Use-Legal-and-Illegal-Immigrant-Households

      • AP, you need to better investigate the source of your information. It is a highly biased source. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the source of your reference, the Center for Immigration Studies, as a hate group. It’s founder, John Tanton, has a history of working with racists and holocaust deniers and spent decades at the heart of the white nationalist movement. In 1993, Tanton wrote a letter to a friend that plainly sets out his beliefs. He wrote, “I’ve come to the point of view that for European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-American majority, and a clear one at that.”

        • GAO noted that: (1) in fiscal year (FY) 1995, about $1.1 billion in Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Food Stamp benefits were provided to households with an illegal alien parent

          And just for your info, politifact and politico use this study. they are hardly right wing

    • I’m not a big fan of eminent domain, however, I’m also not a big fan of the Obama care mandate and tax. Why? Because they remove individual choice by law. And I think the standard that should be applied in fairness is to see that the land owner is compensated (as least as much as market value) plus somewhere around twenty thousand dollars, for loss of choice. And I think the American citizens would soon make up the difference with the fact that 62% of illegal immigrant households receive government aide supplement, as opposed to 30% for legal households.

      Can’t put in a link without moderation so will just say: US immigration studies for stats

  3. To be accurate, I replied to your email asking; was this what I wanted re; Trump, that it was precisely and exactly what I wanted, because it was precisely and exactly what our country needed. But I must admit that The Donald has surpassed even my expectations.

    But of course, all of that was before you anointed yourself as an accredited psychiatrist. It was back when I thought you were actually a nurse, back when you had your little problem and needed a sympathetic ear.

    Have you seen the video of snowflake Shift when he was calling for a military parade? Probably not, because it was all over Fox news.

    Anyway, I wanted to apologize for the delay in answering your self serving rant. I was previously occupied for the past few days, engaged with some FOFs (Friends of Faisal). Just doing a little research work.

    As for the future, after the next seven years? Actually, I think four will be enough, considering the progress we’ve made so far. It’s all about time. We should have the swamp gas down to an acceptable EPA level by then. But that’s just short term, and in the long term I think that your hope for climate change is probably your best bet.

    So go ahead; psycho analyze that or perhaps just tune out all that news that doesn’t fit your agenda. Or ashes to ashes and dust to dust, in the sure and certain hope of an American resurrection. A hiatus from the Obummer experience.

    But don’t get me wrong Benita. I know exactly how you feel. I guess the difference is, I can’t agree that resistance to America is a viable political strategy. But good luck anyway. Only seven more years, unless of course you pick the shortcut option, which will only cost you eight to twelve more years, …..and it’s really too bad that you won’t be reading this. You know what they say; forewarned is forearmed.

    Have you noticed how much less snow than usual we’ve had this winter? But of course, nothing lasts forever. And I assume you’re prepping for the decline and fall of the snowflake era, aka the melt down. You sure don’t want to let that one catch you by surprise or without supplies

    PS; if you read the comments in the order in which they were posted it’s all pretty simple. And you won’t even notice the smell. I’d love to stay and talk with you, but I have an omelet to make and a few eggs to break. But I guarantee you in the end, it will be all nice and fluffy, unless you prefer yours extra flaky. That’s a problem, because our chickens don’t lay red eggs. They’re free-rangers. Now, ain’t that a yolk. We call the omelet the “blue plate special”. Bon Apetit.

    • “My God, I would rather see this country in ashes than to see the spit ball ilk inherit it.”
      — The so-called American Patriot

      Babble all you want; you can’t undo it. It didn’t take long for the truth about you to come out , and now all of your furious backpedaling mealy-mouthed denials and posing won’t change it. You’re nothing but a petulant old poltroon, and your allegiance is not to this country, but the country you want it to be; anything less, and you’re happy with destroying it to spite anyone that follows. Luckily, your threats are as impotent as your rhetoric, but the sentiment is clear;

      You’re no Patriot.

      At best, you’re a collaborator, with whoever you think will give you what you want. You’re so desperate for some kind of relevance, that you’ve sworn allegiance to a con artist who is damaging this nation every day. The country will survive, far longer than you will. But your legacy is carved in your own words. You will be remembered just like all those who fought progress in the name of bigotry, hatred, and their own twisted sense of what this country should be. The people who picketed in favor of subjugating others. The people who willingly submitted to despots in the hopes they’d end up on top. To be fair, it worked for your ilk, sometimes; there were those like you who held relatively high positions in the Warsaw Ghettos by serving up their peers. You should be thankful, really; the good guys are much nicer to collaborators than your side.

      • Seamless, thanks for the time it took for you to write your deranged rant. How’s this for relevance. And now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Well, don’t worry about me son, I’ll rise from the ashes like a Phoenix.

        Did jo Mama drop you on your head when you were in the pupa stage?

        • “My God, I would rather see this country in ashes than to see the spit ball ilk inherit it.”
          — The so-called American Patriot

          Why would anyone worry about you? What’s the worst you can do, type about how awesome you are? That’ll teach ’em. Rise from the ashes? The ashes are from someone else’s fire, that you crawled into and claimed as your own. Again, copping other people’s words and presenting them as your own, and mixing mythologies, too. You’re like a lamprey, sucking on to (and off of) anyone else you can. Other people’s deeds, other people’s sacrifices, other people’s patriotism. Hell, when your Cheeto Messiah goes down, you’ll probably take credit for that, too, and claim it was your brave, insightful posts online, or a post-it note you left in a public restroom (TeaBagger HQ) that spurred on Mueller’s investigation, the resulting indictments and guilty pleas, and Trump’s eventual downfall. It’s not like you have any dignity that prevents you from doing so.

          • Again thank you for your time in writing another deranged rant. I simply play your words back on you, other than your obsession about sucking and public restrooms. Because I figure what you do in the back seat of your very own automobile is your business, like I said before, unless you do it in plain view of children, just off mainstreet. And again, thank you for your time.

            Next??

          • President Trump is right. We need a border wall to help keep slackers out of our country. They are bleeding our social safety net dry. And we didn’t take these people to raise and commit crimes against citizens. This is more than just a nuisance that we don’t have to put up with. We have enough slackers that are here legally.

          • “My God, I would rather see this country in ashes than to see the spit ball ilk inherit it.”
            — The so-called American Patriot

            And when you don’t have a quote to steal from someone else, you fall back on schoolyard retorts; because without someone smarter to steal from, you really can’t make a case for anything. It might do you some good to actually read the Bhagavad-Gita; although, since the passage you lifted comes from Lord Krishna’s teachings to the Warrior Prince Arjuna*, there’s not a lot there that would resonate with you; after all, Arjuna was a actual Warrior.

            *unless you’re stealing it from Oppenheimer’s misunderstood translation, in which case, there’s still not a lot that would apply to you, as Oppenheimer accomplished something other than self-aggrandizing blog posts and bragging about them afterwards.

            But, to the original point tagged above (Fake Patriotism); you’re clearly abandoned any credibility in yours; to you, the narcissistic sociopath in the Oval Office is the only person who is telling the truth. You are willing to trash this country to protect your own ego. But feel free to pull a quote from Nathan Hale or Siddartha to make yourself feel smart.

          • So Seamless, what are your views on the eschatological hermeneutical significance of the vast magnatorium of human anatomy? Ordinarily I wouldn’t ask, but it appears you need some assistance in establishing your intellectual superiority, that is for a sub species who’s spent more time in the closet than Hillary Clinton’s unauthorized private server.

          • As to your first question, I don’t differentiate between “Holy” Books, as they’re all fiction, and their usefulness is based on the individual reader’s interpretation. And “magnetorium” is a made up word. Made up, like your allusions to military service.

            As to “the closet”…Are you accusing me of being gay? Like a damned middle schooler? That’s an insult, to you? I’d offer some info as to why I don’t consider that an insult, but as you’ve proven with Ms. Phillips, any personal information offered to you is eventually turned against that person as an attack (from your comfy little coward’s nest of anonymity) once threatened. You just can’t help yourself. You whimper and plead about how real people can vouch for some aspect of you, and then turn on them when it suits you. If you had dignity, you’d be ashamed.

            As for intellectual superiority, you’re wrong, as usual. I’m not interested in establishing any superiority. I couldn’t care less about being seen as superior to you. It’s not an issue. You keep thinking that other people are like you, that they care about their online persona. They’re not like you. They have real lives, and don’t spend their time carefully crafting their legends from half-truths and other people’s deeds.

            As to Hilary Clinton’s email server, the indictments stand at:
            Trump’s Team – 4 (with three guilty pleas so far)
            Hilary’s email server – 0

            But, by all means, keep trying to distract, as long as you can. As I said, eventually, Trump will fall, or quit, and you’ll pivot and claim you were working behind the scenes against him all along. Because sticking to one position isn’t your thing.

          • Magnetorium; exepectable or presumably, as in Magnetorium of Gerald, a means of diagnosis

            It’s a fortunate thing for you Seamless that you didn’t know the word’s meaning. But that’s just for your edification. As for your not be offended by an inference that an unauthorized server has a sexual preference, well I suppose some is better than none. That would be according to your adherence to the tenets of your order. What have you been doing in the closet Seamless? Pretending to be a search engine? Just groping around in the dark, in the sure and certain hope that even a blind hog will find an acorn occasionally.

            Do yourself a favor, don’t try to impress the great unwashed masses with your literary skills, or lack thereof. Because all you’re accomplishing is to remove all doubt.

          • “My God, I would rather see this country in ashes than to see the spit ball ilk inherit it.”
            — The so-called American Patriot

            “Magnatorium” is not a word. “Magnetorium” is. It’s not my fault you can’t spell, in your haste to seem smart.

          • You’re an idiot Seamless. And anybody that looks can see that.

            You are a tiresome, uninteresting person. What amazes me is that you don’t have to work at it. You’re a real piece of fag work. It’s in the Cambridge English Dictionary…just for you.

            Picking out spelling errors is so childish. There are a few in your posts too.

          • “My God, I would rather see this country in ashes than to see the spit ball ilk inherit it.”
            — The so-called American Patriot

            You can call me what you like, because your insults are as flaccid as the rest of you.
            Just don’t call yourself a Patriot, because everyone can see the truth.
            That is now beyond argument, by your own words, as rare as it is for you to use them.

          • “My God, I would rather see this country in ashes than to see the spit ball ilk inherit it.”
            — The so-called American Patriot

            That’s all you got? Seriously? You can repeat it to your shriveled little heart’s content, it doesn’t faze me. If you’re the type who thinks that’s an effective (though cowardly) insult, I guess I’m not surprised.

            What else ya got?

          • “My God, I would rather see this country in ashes than to see the spit ball ilk inherit it.”
            — The so-called American Patriot

            And, yes, everyone is aware that “fag” and “faggot” had a number of meanings throughout history, so you will cower behind the argument that you weren’t actually calling me gay, thinking that I’d consider it an insult. You don’t even have the courage to insult someone directly.

            A self-identified American Patriot, devoid of any of the qualities that term implies, shrieking “Fag!” repeatedly, because that’s literally all he’s got left.

  4. On a happier note….The Falcon Heavy had a successful launch. It was as exciting to watch as the Moon landing I was forced to watch as busy waterskiing teen. AND our wonderful child-like President wants a “military” parade, that I bet will be bigger then North Korea’s. It will also cost taxpayers another HUGE chunk! Reduced taxes for the ultra rich, stock market oscillating wildly, increase in wages to the amount of $1.50 more per pay period that is satisfying to Paul Ryan, treason in Congress for not clapping and cheering the great accomplishments of a treasonous (for real) bone spur coward, the psychotic latching to a physical wall that is so stupid to the tune of 25 BILLION DOLLARS, the insistence of a military parade and the coup de gras, the defunding of the CDC to the tune of 80% of operations in the middle of the worst flu epidemic in 2 decades. Aren’t all those things uplifting?
    AP…you know I had hopes for this President. But my hope will not BLIND me to his lack of any understanding, any respect, any responsibility to his DUTY to this nation as its President. Today he threatened to shut the gov’t down if he doesn’t get his way. If you REALLY believe that is OK, I want you to remember what it was like to be a soldier, now think about your nation not paying you, as the last shutdown, no Republican stood nor did the President, stand up to ensure the pay for our military. Trump is dangerous and way too unpredictable for the world as it is today. Now we are going into our fifth budgetary extension. I hope you have been saving your pennies, because next year, SS will be on the chopping block.Even Obama didn’t mess with SS.

    • Trump, unpredictable? Who’d a thunk? And doing precisely what he was sent there to do. Promises made, promises kept. The status quo apple cart upended. And a whole gaggle of very nervous career politicians and swamp critters. And nobody has any idea which direction he will jump next. Why, it’s all so exciting, it’s enough to make a person lose track of time. Has it been that long already? No mass extinction? Or does that come after he’s sucked ANWR dry? I’d go with ice age.

      And if I wanted to run an effective anti-animal cruelty petition, I’d go to the corn country of the midwest and show the three cage method of hog husbandry. You know, that’s the one where you feed all the upper level hogs and the ones in the two lower tier cages underneath just root for their sustenance. Making bacon takes on a whole different meaning, don’t you think? The point is, it ain’t too hard to locate what divides us.

      As for the military parade on the 4th of July. Oh I remember those. But of course, that was back when we celebrated the things that brought us together, like love of our country, and pride in what we were trying to build. Respect for the blood, sweat and tears that we all contributed to. The common bond.

      Oh, we knew it wasn’t perfect, but we never believed that it was terminally flawed? Tattered, but not beyond repair. But of course that was back when we were all working together, back when we put our country first. And political party came in somewhere way back in the field. But things aren’t like that anymore. And it is what it is.

      And along comes this rich guy that sounds like a working guy. He’s smart and he’s rich and he was just stupid enough to actually believe he could put it all back together. Make us proud of who we are. Make our country prosperous, and great again. At first, everybody just ignored him, and then they laughed at him, and then they fought him and then he won. And who knows what he could do with the help of people who put their country first? If Donald Trump is a charlatan then I can guarantee you one thing; you ain’t got nothing to lose that you haven’t already lost.

      Me? Personally, I don’t care what kind of magic he works. What we needed was time. And he bought that. And we’ll take just as much of it as he can afford. But let me be more clear. A reporter walking up a road during the Korean war, saw a wounded GI, lying on a stretcher in the mud. Trying to pick up a human interest story, he walked over to the wounded GI, and he asked him; if you could have anything you wanted, what would you wish for? The hollow eyes and thousand yard stare unbroken, the GI responded; “I’d wish for tomorrow, Sir, give me tomorrow.”

      Give us all tomorrow. And we may find a way. And if not, then tomorrow will be very much like today.

      • I take it you did not see the Falcon Heavy launch today. Those are the things that made America great. Science and a view to the future. I felt so elated that someone still believes in what this nation could do. I remember the 1960s…death of a President that set this nation on the space adventure. Do you know how many inventions that came out of the space program are used in medicine? All modern medicine is totally BASED in that science. Trump can NEVER make America great…only grunt.
        There will be no future. Humans are lemming to the the precipice guided by the people like DT that have no concept of the scientific base for the weather models. He doesn’t even know nor does he care to know, the Constitution. He did not even stand, but continued to talk and joke to Hannity’s FOX during “retreat.” Some would give him a pass, because they were in a hanger. But he used the beauty of the bugle to tell the crowd they were playing for Hannity’s ratings. He is NOT RICH AP. He has been bankrupt 4 times that are documented. No one loans him any money except the Russians. Them, first through the Deutsche Bank, and later directly from Russian banks. Why do you think he is not releasing his taxes? He is a shyster. I wanted the apple cart shook up. But this is not what I, me, myself bargained for. Now that I have a grandson, it is more imperative that we quit playing pee a boo President Carbon. The ocean can only get so acidic, then life stop in the sea and land animals will follow rapidly. That is NOT the Earth I want to leave my progeny. I know you don’t either.

        • My God Benita, you sound just like some conservatives did when Obama was elected; “the end of the world as we know it, we will all be killed”. Horse hockey. Suck it up buttercup. Elections have consequences. And you only have seven more years to go.

          You can’t do for one what we did for eight? But of course, you have your point of view, or is it your point of view? And that’s all that matters. Well, endure it you will, because endure it you must.

          All you hear Democrats talking about is paying the Republicans back. Back for what? Obama? And of course no one cares that you’re lashing out at the heart and soul of America. We are not the Republicans. We are the designated irredeemable deplorables. You could do whatever you wanted to to the Republicans. And we certainly wouldn’t care. But you decided to bitch slap the little people. Why? Because they actually, finally got a choice in an election? And you don’t like their choice?

          And I think you hit all the Democrat talking points. Okay, so you take the party and I’ll take the people. And we’ll see which glass gets fullest. I can only wonder what this country must have done to you to make you hate it so much? Why don’t you get a group and go to the airport and spit on service men returning home? The below the knee amputees will be slower of course. And you can follow them around and spit on them.

          My God, I would rather see this country in ashes than to see the spit ball ilk inherit it. Back when I was telling you that things were getting really bad, and that we needed to work together or there was a good chance we were going to lose it all, I must have seemed pretty funny to you then. Are you laughing now? Because I’m not. I’m using every day in every way. Every minute of time is precious, and non refundable.

          And just think, you could have had it all if you just had the patience to wait until the old soldiers died. They’re the ones that know who you are and what you stand for. They’re the ones who had to endure being spit on by your ilk. And they’ve lived a lifetime with it, trying to do the right thing. And now all they want is to make it count. You’ll have no trouble talking yourself into a war with those folks. And they know how. My advice would be to sit down and breathe through your nose for awhile. Because that kind of wrath and reciprocity can be measured in megatons.

          Or your other option is to continue bitch slapping those people and telling them, they don’t get a turn. Their votes don’t count. I don’t know if you’re that much braver than I am. But then I know those people. And maybe you’ve noticed, they’re not buying into your political correctness anymore. Their time is short. And they have a deep conviction to their grandchildren that they should grow in a land that’s free. And we’re almost there. They don’t feel entitled, they feel determined.

          They’ve gotten the bill all their life, and they’ve decided it’s time someone else had to pay for their free lunches. My only regret is that I spent so much of my time, so many of those years, trying to talk people into being reasonable with those that didn’t agree with them. They all kept asking me, how reasonable would they be with us? And now, by God we know.

          If you feel lucky, grab that brass ring and give it a pull and see what jumps out at you. What’s that you say; now all of a sudden you’re beginning to believe that you can get there from here? I personally don’t see any way you can avoid getting there. And I’ve put some effort into it.

          Screw political parties. That’s what put us on this road to destruction. Well that, and a bunch of people who think they’re supposed to have their own way, all the time. That governing is their birthright. And they don’t have to earn it. November 22, 1963…. and the message was; ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. Ideals are peaceful. History is violent. And Trump derangement syndrome is not the only derangement syndrome out there.

          Yeah, I watched the launch, just like I watched the explosion of Challenger. And what it told me was that the private sector can do what a government can’t. And you don’t want a military parade. Well, okay then. Stay home.

          What you’re forgetting Benita is that they earned the right. There was a window of opportunity for a reset and the sound you’re hearing is that window slamming shut. And what you should know is the cost of getting it reopened again. You’ve earned that. You deserve it. And we’re here to see that nobody cheats you out of it. And what today is non negotiable, tomorrow will be set in stone. You may well get your wish, but it won’t be without resistance.

          The trick in politics is knowing when to quit. And we’re way the hell past quitting time. Be careful what you wish for, because there may be no second choice. Are we impressed by the whining? Or the demands? Why should we be? We’ve been through a whole life of silence, because nobody gave a sh** what we wanted, what we needed? And all we ever got was a gob of spit. And you shouldn’t underestimate a gob of spit. Over time, it festers, it humbles and it forms a scab of terrible resolve.

          Wherever we go from here, we go together. And perhaps that’s right. Perhaps that’s the only unity that’s possible. It ain’t easy, in much the same way of having to stand and allow people to spit on you, because they can, and they like it. And I guess we’re just going to have to find out how much they like it. There will come a time when we’re all out of time.

          You want pride in your country, in your science? Yeah, well once upon a time we wanted pride too. But we were told we couldn’t have that. That was too much for little people to ask for. Alright, we can accept that. So we won’t ask anymore. Now, it’s your turn. But we don’t expect you to ask like we did. We expect you to demand, like you always have.

          Bring it on. All or nothing. We ain’t going nowhere we haven’t been before, but we will be going together. It’s a small thing, but to us, it’s everything.

          • “My God, I would rather see this country in ashes than to see the spit ball ilk inherit it.”

            This is all you have to know about the man who calls himself “American Patriot” (with the same credibility that Trump has, calling himself a “Stable Genius” ); A petulant, querulous old fool who’d gladly have everything destroyed because he can’t have it his way anymore. No wonder you’re so enamored of a spoiled con artist who cares for absolutely nothing except the protection and feeding of his own monumental ego; you’re cut from the same stained cloth. All empty bullshit and posing, but like a screaming toddler when you don’t get your way.

            • NO AP….this is not about the election and you forget who you are talking too. I do not need to justify to you nor explain to you how or what I “feel” about this country. I have far more experience then you in living within an environment where I lacked my rights. Women are still 2nd in this country and this regime is heartily trying to reduce that as thoroughly as they can, even taking tips away from restaurant servers. I know that is not what you wanted.

              I read your frustration in your need not to be wrong about TT. (Treasonous Private bone spur)
              No this is about what lethal mischief the cabinet members are perpetrating against the health and safety of the American public. Get you head out of the political hole NOW. That is over and now non-productive.

              This is about the lose of 80% of the operational budget of the CDC during the worst flu epidemic in decades, this is about death in the mines and the pollution of our water and air due to withdrawal of OSHA regulations to promote safe working environments and EPA regulations directed at environmental standards to prevent future Firestone. This is the withdrawal of these health and safety regulations that thousands have given up to the ultimate cost to get into place over decades.

              Now America stand alone…make America great?…by being the ONLY NATION in the world to NOT take any governmental action in regards to climate transformation. Make America great by spending on a “Military” parade? What the HELL!! Give that money to the CDC to continue research.

              No one is more disappointed in Trump then you. I “feel” that. You are showing your desperation in your anger. He was what you told me you wanted, but he is shooting from the hip without a plan. Chaos is non-productive. Doing budgets that last weeks is not long term planning. You and I are old. I want a future for my grandson. Do you see a future for this country after another seven years? I doubt it…because you NEVER talk about it.

              I will not respond on this string further as it is now so long it is becoming onerous to look through the comments. Just know that you definitely have won. TT is doing just what you had hoped. I can only hope that not many people are killed due to this folly.

          • Perhaps you haven’t noticed Seamless, we are getting it our own way, because as Obummer said; “Elections have consequences”. That’s why you’re so delusional.

  5. 100% of illegal immigrants who made improper entry have committed a crime. This is not accounted for in the statistics presented in the link. Additionally, deported individuals are omitted from the statistics.

    A wall is going to do very little to deter illegal immigration. I fully agree with that.

    I do think it is pathetic to attempt to lump gun control hysteria into this issue..

  6. So do you think Trump will launch a “limited targeted nuclear black eye” at Mexico in order to make the Mexicans pay for a wall that over 60% of Americans do not want? He threatens North Korea with it.

    Physical barricades are as old technology as combustion engines or the air monitors used by our illustrious CDPHE ( Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment….all a total misnomer like a “border wall for security” ) HA!

    • “Nuclear black eye” for Mexico? No, I don’t think that would be necessary. We could just levy a border tax. That’s what nations do. Unless of course, Mexico, like Kim the younger threatened our people with nuclear annihilation? And I doubt that would be seen as a credible threat. Now, an opioid epidemic, threat? Well, I could see how that would be viable? I mean, you know Mexico being a failed state and all.

      I think what Trump has in mind is restoring our nation’s sovereignty that went into decline about nine years ago. And reestablishing the rule of law. I think he would see that as a win for American citizens, the people that he represents. That is, unless he can make a better deal for the American people, by securing our borders the high tech way or the old fashioned way.

      The last time I looked, they had a chain link wall around our jail, topped with concertina wire. But you know how cops are? They’d rather be safe than sorry. And oh yeah, and they have a TV camera monitoring their border fence. Now, why do you suppose they have the TV camera? Without the fence, would the camera stop anyone who just wanted to walk away? Why do we have locks on the doors of our homes? To keep people from just walking in, taking a vote and deciding what’s ours, without objection, should be theirs?

      Don’t we have enough domestic citizens who believe they are entitled to give away their part and our part of this nation, to anyone they deem entitled to it? To a lot of people out here, that sounds like not only collusion, but collaboration. And come November next, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if a lot more American citizens weren’t really sure whose side those folks are on? Who those people truly represent? Oh, they know who gets the bill, and perhaps that’s why they want Mexico to pay for the wall. I personally think they’re misguided. And if I were the President of Mexico, I would just forward that bill to the DNC, marked return to sender.

      I think maybe that’s what Donald Trump has in mind for the illegal aliens in our country. Oh, they can dream, but unless Chuck and Nancy act most ricky tic, in the reality that they’ve already been offered the best deal they can ever hope to get, I think the dreamers will have to do their dreaming in their own country. You know, kind of like we do here?

      And I know what you’re thinking. How can we possibly deport 12 million people? Well, it won’t be easy, so we’ll just have to do as many as we can. It is the law you know. And that would be the American law. And that’s a thing that once meant something, and perhaps it will again. Wouldn’t that be great?

      Although I’m sure some people think they should be able to import 12 million new Democrat voters without incurring and owning the bill. And I hear the price for that sort of thing is going through the roof? Haven’t you heard, the smugglers have upped their price from five thousand to nine thousand dollars, US. But they don’t discriminate. They’ll bring in anybody for that kind of money. But I hear you can get a heck of a lot better deal going south. It’s a space available thing. And maybe a limited time offer. And I hear Mexico and Syria are nice this time of year….to visit I mean. But I don’t think anyone would want to actually live there.

  7. Trumper supporters don’t care about facts ya see. Most can’t comprehend much as they are blinded by what they think they know from the tb.

    All the info in your piece is correct. What doesn’t reality matter anymore?

  8. “By far the biggest contributor to violent deaths in the U.S. is not immigrants, but our country’s own violent culture paired with easy access to deadly firearms“

    I noticed you didn’t say illegal immigrants. And apparently you think we don’t have enough of our own domestic criminal element. And that it would be a good idea to import more? Remember the Mariel boat lift from Cuba, especially the part where they emptied their prisons onto small boats headed for Miami? Citizen criminals, we’re obliged to live with. Illegal alien criminals, we’re not. It’s like a numbers thing. Kate Steinle’s death at the hands of an illegal alien is thereby reduced to a statistic. Perhaps one too many for the American people.

    That’s probably why Trump was elected on the issue of building the border wall by the American people. And you may take sharp issue with that, but it’s not, nor has it ever been Trump’s wall. It’s what the American people want. And he is your President, if not your preference.

    As far as the smugglers getting inventive, well of course they will. And that would include not only the drug smugglers but also the human traffickers. And if the price goes up on human trafficking, don’t you think it will go up on illegal drugs smuggled in? Why, just think of it, Colorado (where recreational marijuana is legal) may even be able to compete with the Mexican drug cartels?

    Of course, ruining people’s lives with cocaine, heroin or dusted pot might not rise to the level of terrorism in some people’s book. But then you’d have to ask yourself is one illegal alien terrorist one too many? And if we face (as you say) a far more substantial threat from Islamic terrorists, why then would you oppose limiting their numbers with a travel ban or extreme vetting?

    But you’re absolutely right, the wall won’t stop all terrorists, all illegal aliens or the mountain of drugs coming across our southern border. It will however, make that route of entry is more difficult for both.

    And as you say, raise the price of drugs. But isn’t that what we’ve done through regressive taxes, designed to curtail tobacco use? Now, you do agree Anne that tobacco is a drug? And that the government has a history of using the health and welfare codes to do so. Is that a different or just a previous standard ?

    Certainly the wall will have a door in it, probably called a port of entry. But the wall’s existence as a barrier will also free up customs and border patrol, (CBP) and ICE agents as well as DEA and other law enforcement agency personnel in order to enhance port of entry inspections, investigations and to work with the Mexican government in the prosecution of their criminal cartel members. And over time, no doubt save lives and American treasure by reducing the crime that we don’t have to put up with or pay for.

    And of course, you do agree that it’s the governments prime responsibility and decision making paradigm to protect American citizens.. that is unless and of course you’re a globalist and do not believe in our country as a nation and a Constitutional Republic. In conclusion, your more appropriate option (if you don’t like your government then what you should do is try to win an election. They have one every four years or so.

    And of course, like all American citizens, you’re free to go in search of a country and a government more to your liking. And you’ve got somewhere between three and seven more years to make your case to the American people. But if I were you, I wouldn’t do so in the expectation of the absence of resistance. More and more people are waking up every day and realizing that if you give their country away, they won’t have one. And we can always collect from Mexico later. That is, once we can control movement of goods and people into our country.

    But just as an aside, aren’t the dreamers in this country illegally? Isn’t that their legal status? And of course, you do believe in the rule of law? Or perhaps I’ve presumed too much? And your position is nothing more than an effort to supply cheap labor to the corporations, and hold down American blue collar wages? I know some Republicans that hold that view. We call them “never Trumpers” or RINOs. But I suppose they could be closet Democrats. There do seem to be a couple of issues in common there.

    • At least you’re admitting you’re a Republican again. Of course, like most of your brave stances, it’ll change based on the argument you’re trying to make. Seriously….there are Yoga Masters who envy the flexibility of that pipe cleaner you call a spine.

      • Oh, I’m sorry Seamless, did I awaken you? And so early. Apparently too early for you to realize that your personal attacks are not relevant to the issues.

        • Why yes, that happened. Sad . And an angry white guy killed 58 and wounded 851 in Vegas recently. Too bad you don’t want to do anything about that demographic.

          And what exactly gives you, the proud independent, the right to judge anyone as being a RINO or not, besides your own sense of entitlement?

          • Well, perhaps the fact that I fought them for ten years. You remind me a lot of those people. With them, it’s all about the party. You can’t tell them the truth, because they won’t believe it. And they won’t check it out. Alas, all you can do is defeat them, and count the opportunities they missed along the way.

            Is it possible that partisan politics has blinded more people than a sharp stick? But what does that matter, they’re just Americans? And they didn’t believe it could happen to them either?

          • So, by not being a Republican, you’re entitled to speak for them? And yet, now, as the GOP kneels before Trump, the opposite of a conservative leader, you join them in supplication…because? Maybe you’re just a latent Republican, or at least, wedged firmly in the closet.

          • Yeah, I know, you’re not into answering questions, just posing them. Just like you’re not into actually fighting battles, just taking credit after the fact, and switching to whatever side you will benefit you.

          • Actually it’s not necessary for you to know anything Seamus. Actually I don’t come to this site in expectation of a meaningful conversation. I use it as a conduit in the hope that there’s someone in charge over there, who realizes they don’t have to agree with what I’m saying. Just pass it along to someone in possession of enough common sense to evaluate the information.

            And guess what Seamus, it’s not for my benefit. Your side is rapidly losing a window of opportunity, either deliberately, or because they don’t recognize it for what it is. The idea here is a two party system that puts the nation first, and the party second. And occasionally, in that decision making paradigm, along comes a chance to do both.

            And then before you know it, that opportunity is gone. Later, what you’ll hear is someone saying; why didn’t you say something? Well fracking duh!

            Is it necessary to start my posts on this blog with the words; get you head out of your butt, I’m about to give you some information that you don’t currently possess? Whether you take advantage of it or not is entirely up to you. I am beginning to understand that you have absolutely no idea what’s going on inside the GOP.

            And me, well I’m the guy that published the GOPs political moves to appoint and anoint state senator Steve King to the office of Mesa County Sheriff and to move Ray Scott up into his vacated position. And I published that in writing in an email blast to all our Tea Party members, eleven months before they put that plan in motion. Now, how do you suppose I knew that? And if someone hadn’t listened, Steve King would be your sheriff now.

            But then perhaps you have a better source than that. And that’s fine with me. But let me be clear. If you doubt the validity of what you just read, then pick up the phone, call Claudette Konola. I have her home phone number, but I don’t know if she would appreciate me publishing it here. But with due diligence, I’m reasonably certain you could get it from Anne or Benita.

            Trust is earned, not given. I’m not asking you to trust, I’m asking you to verify, and you don’t even have to like me to do that. Or alternately, just shut up and listen. Who knows, you may find out something you don’t know. And it’s fairly obvious to me right now that you don’t know what you don’t know. And you’re doing everything in your power to discourage anyone who might try to enlighten you, because you fear that the truth might effect your opinions.

            But I don’t think you have anything to worry about there. The chances of changing your stated opinions, in my opinion, is somewhere between slim and none. And slim just took the last train to the coast. It’s the end game that I am concerned with, not the minutia. Because I do not believe the end game (as presently configured by the GOP) will work out well for any of us. And I see very few if any signs that the Democrat party has any idea what’s coming down the pipe.

            I do not wish to help you. That’s not my purpose. But I also do not wish to help the GOP. And as much of a shock as that might be to you, there are real people out here who can see a train wreck coming and feel an obligation to do something about that. I do what I can when I can. And I’ve been doing it for over a decade. And it works both ways.

            I’m not just along for the ride on the party boat. And I’m always in search of people of a like mind, or at least an open mind. But you ain’t it. And as far as I can see, you ain’t never going to be it. So have a nice trip Seamus. And if you want to know where you’re going or how you’re going to get there, you might ask the GOP. They’re right up your alley. But somehow, I do not believe in my heart of hearts that you’re going to find any information there. But you might find a lot of people of like mind, who are planning to take you for a ride.

            You see, they do believe in a one party system….theirs. And they don’t tolerate people of a different persuasion. And now you know why I am not a Republican, and haven’t been for well over a decade. You might want to take more than ordinary care in who you shoot at. There are real people trying to live out there, sandwiched between two political parties hell bent on domination. It might be easier for you if you can just bring yourself to think of us, not as irredeemable deplorables, or snowflakes, but rather as “we the people”.

            Reply and challenge if you must, but read in understanding if you will.

          • Get your head out of your butt, I’m about to give you some information. Donald Trump was elected because the Republican party had to deal with the Tea Party insurgency. They had to deal with the demand for change, coming out of the white, blue collar working class, disenfranchised, forgotten people.

            The GOP didn’t want Trump. They wanted the Bush dynasty, to wit; Jeb Bush. He was their anointed one. But the fly in that ointment was Hillary Clinton. She could beat Jeb Bush and the GOP, hands down. But the Republicans would have rather taken the third straight loss in the presidential election, than to accept an outsider. Do you recall the motto of the Tea Party at that time? “Do not vote for the incumbent, do not vote for the party anointed, and do not vote for the career politician”.

            It was all about baggage, and the status quo. And about giving new voters an opportunity to vote for someone outside the status quo. Someone without the GOP baggage. Need I tell you that it worked? Or would you prefer to think Russia, Russia, Russia?

            Perhaps you’ve noticed, a lot of the GOP status quo incumbents have suddenly decided they need to spend more time with their families? And declared that they will not run for reelection. Is that counterintuitive to establishing a GOP super majority? So why is it happening? Is the GOP about to run fresh young faces against a failed, retirement home Democrat status quo field in the midterms?

            You can say a lot of things about the GOP, but they’re not stupid. They saw what happened to them and they improvised, they adapted and then they jumped aboard the Trump train, under the theory that winning was preferable to losing. The Tea Party simply furnished the impetus and excuse for that change.

            Do you have a working, effective insurgency inside the Democrat party? isn’t it unity that has always been the strength of the Democrat party? So how do you turn a strength into a weakness or a weakness into a strength?

            Why does Donald Trump use social media? Did he find something there that he exploited to win the presidency? What was it? The pulse of the people wanting change, wanting to shake up the status quo? And do you think the Tea Party was not aware of that sentiment in the GOP base? Of course we were, long before Donald Trump showed up. That is exactly what fueled the establishment of the Tea Parties.

            Now, how do you suppose Democrats missed that? And they’re about to miss that gravy train again. Probably for more than any other reason, because they do not have an effective insurgency within their own party, challenging with fresh faces, without baggage. And they see no compelling reason to change the same worn out strategy of a coalition of the willing….coming apart at the seams.

            Are there forces within the Democrat party promoting change? Well, of course there are. What they’re lacking is the where with all to make their voices heard. Bernie may come to mind. But Bernie got thrown under the bus, because he was the symbolic leader of a growing insurgency.

            Perhaps you’ve wondered why the various Tea Party’s across the country did not organize themselves under a single leadership? Believe me, it was considered, and rejected for exactly the same reason that Bernie got thrown under the bus. That decision was made to avoid decapitation by the GOP status quo. Something that we saw as a clear and present danger. But it didn’t stop them from trying. And by the time they discovered that a strategy of decapitation of the Tea Parties was not viable, they made a quick shift into co-opting at the local levels.

            It gave us time to find candidates who could finance their own campaigns in primary challenges. Politics on a shoestring budget. The idea wasn’t to elect Donald Trump, but rather to insert an imperative into the GOP thinking, for change….irreversibly.

            At the same time, we were growing an Independent base. It removed the imperative of the lesser of two evils, inherent to voting along party lines. The imperative is where they get you boys and girls. You’re not voting for the person, you’re voting for the party…or more correctly, you’re voting against the other party. They like it like that. It keeps them in power. It’s the essence of status quo politics. And the people were telling us that they had enjoyed about all the status quo politics that they could stand.

            At this very moment in time, you are being presented with the same opportunity for a fundamental transformation of the Democrat party, right in the middle of a losing streak. An identical position that the Tea Parties were in way back when. Do you recognize that? But of course, to take advantage of that reset would require that you have a working insurgency. One that can’t be bought off or thrown under the bus.

            But, again let me be clear. We have learned a hell of a lot from the Democrats, about creating an insurgency. Anti establishment was for generations your trade craft. And it’s something you’re very good at. The problem is, when the chips are down, you guys choke and fall prey to the imperative.

            So why was it different for us? Because we did not have a place within the GOP to go home to. We had been summarily purged because we refused to vote as instructed, from our party of choice. And we were being told, there’s just no way in hell the Tea Party would ever be able to elect a president or any other candidate without the aide and assistance of the GOP. They had the money and they had the organization. They controlled the ground game.

            We found the candidate who had the money, and through social media, we had the ground game. And what we didn’t have we co-opted from the GOP. It was really pretty simple. The operative question was, do you want to win or would you prefer to lose and keep your status quo? And what good is a political party that can’t win elections? What we did was tap into the expressed will of the people for change.

            Is there any doubt that the GOP felt the pressure from the great unwashed masses. That was the vehicle, the catalyst necessary, to overcome the professionals, by the amateurs. I can’t tell you what will work on the Democrat side. But whatever it is, if you want to win, you’re going to need a working insurgency to do it most ricky tic. The trick there isn’t that you can win elections with ten or eleven percent of the vote. But you can control with ten or eleven percent of the vote, who loses.

            That’s the power to make it happen. That’s how you become a force to be reckoned with. How you affect change within your own party. Your other option is to hemorrhage disenfranchised Democrat voters to the point where change will happen anyway over time. How much time do you have? It took us ten years to put it together. And you have until the midterms. And after that, your options will be limited to impeachment or assassination.

            And we can only hope that you’re fully aware of the consequences to our country that would result from your options being limited. Right now, a lot of people of the conservative persuasion are convinced that you’d rather fight than switch. That you don’t want a reset in the status quo same old, same old politics. That you’re deliberately closing the door to the peaceful transfer of power through elections. That you are willfully and deliberately venturing into uncharted waters?

            And we’re looking at the same map you are. And it says; here be dragons. And that’s just as scary for people on our side, as it is for the people on your side….hopefully. And if it’s not, then that’s where we will go, and we will go there together. The natural end game to partisan politics, and two political parties controlled by unprincipled men who wish to usurp the reigns of government to their own benefit. The end result will be to destroy the very engines that raised them to their unjust dominion.

            And can you guess who will pay that bill? That’s not what we want. How about you?

          • So, it wasn’t Steve King’s embezzlement charges (after becoming the GOP’s nominee for Sheriff) that took him down, it was your brave email blast to your fellow TeaBaggers that did it? And you’re actually taking credit for that? That’s kind of how it works with you, isn’t it; something happens due to other’s deeds, and you puff our your chest and determine that it was something you did that brought about the change. I just don’t see how scuttling around like a wannabe spy, informing on your own party (without having the spine to stand up to them publicly) to further your own ends can be seen as particularly heroic.

          • Are you being deliberately obtuse? Or do you really not realize that the Tea Party movement is a collaborative effort in that we all share in common at least for the most part, basic values, principles and convictions. I am a Tea Party co-founder. And that would be one of two. But once the founding was done, you don’t get to sit around to the accolades of an adoring crowd.

            Why heck son, you don’t even get to pick your own job. The board decides where your particular talents would best serve the cause. They made me a reporter, which was interesting but perhaps more suitable for a younger person. Someone more attune to the fast food and sleeping in the back seat of a car, waiting for something to happen. I was also a spokesperson, an advisor to the board, as well as chief cook and bottle washer. The point Seamus is I played a part in the Tea Party movement, and I’m proud of that.

            And part of that was cooperating with and supplying information to people like Kevin King. And I presume from your response you did at least some rudimentary research on just how the charges came to be? And how Steve King came under investigation. How he lied in an email reply from my desk. But perhaps I presumed too much. You have an absolute right to your own opinion. What you can’t control are the facts.

            What you risk is the remote possibility that you may actually have readers on this blog who decide for themselves to find out. I mean it doesn’t take anymore than typing a few names on a keyboard. And then maybe an hour or so of follow up. And you can get a pretty clear picture of what happened involving Steve King’s work at the college and you can access a lot of Kevin King’s postings on line.

            Now, there’s a guy who in my opinion would make an outstanding investigative reporter. He knows how to drill down into the bureaucracy of government and come out with indisputable facts. I just get bogged down in the minutia.

            But I’d like to ask you one question, just out of curiosity? How warm and comforting is it wrapped in the dragon’s wings?

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