Posted on 08/22/2004 2:13:47 AM PDT by television is just wrong
Posted on Sat, Aug. 21, 2004
Bush's Nephew Rips Armed Border Guards
MARK STEVENSON
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY - President Bush's nephew, campaigning for overseas votes in Mexico on Saturday, called the federal policy of arming U.S. Border Patrol agents with plastic pellet guns "reprehensible."
Speaking in a mix of English and sometimes-halting Spanish, George P. Bush said his uncle was not to blame for the gun policy, which has angered Mexicans. He instead blamed it on "some local INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) guy who's trying to be tough, act macho."
"If there has been American approval for this policy, that is reprehensible," Bush said of the guns, essentially paintball projectiles filled with chile powder. "It's kind of barbarous."
The pellet guns, which were approved at the federal level, have been used on a trial basis since 2001 in California and Arizona. The U.S. Border Patrol fired the pepper-balls in 81 instances in 2002-03 and reported no deaths or severe injuries.
President Bush's Hispanic nephew - he's the grandson of migrant worker Jose Maria Garnica - is in Mexico on a week-long visit to drum up support for his uncle among the estimated 1 million Americans living there.
The younger Bush, whose father is Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and mother, Columba, is originally from Mexico, acknowledged at a news conference that the war in Iraq is not popular in Mexico but defended the military action, saying "we're almost done with it."
He also acknowledged that "there are some people in our (Republican) party who don't see the benefits of immigration," but promised that President Bush was a proponent of immigration reform.
He called Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez "a dictator" and cast doubt on his victory last week in a recall referendum, saying Chavez had "a long history of fraud." Outside observers, including former President Jimmy Carter, have endorsed the Venezuelan vote counts.
Christopher Fussner, global chairman of Republicans Abroad, which funded Bush's trip, called Mexico "the most important country" for getting overseas votes.
Fussner said Republicans are advertising in overseas English-language newspapers around the world in hopes of capturing expatriate votes.
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's campaign also has enlisted family members to woo voters in Mexico. His sister, Diana Kerry, chairwoman of Americans Overseas for Kerry, visited Mexico City in July.
Kerry supporters also held a voter-registration and ballot-request drive in Guadalajara on Thursday.
ON THE NET
Wonder how many votes this brat just cost the President-from INS agents alone.
The kid is a fool.
Campaigning against the U.S.
I'd pipe down kiddo since if I was in control these paintballs would be 145gr JHP.
So P is a Hispandering moron. What else is new?
Loud-mouthed brat punk. They should be using .308cal instead of play ammo.
Someday there will be mines and an electrified fence. Later there will be a ray gun to zap anything that moves in the DMZ. We'll all look back on this and laugh. But some people are going to sit out this election and not vote for GW because of it. Somebody needs to give the Bush administration a clue about immigration.
The first article I read about this said that P. is in Mexico on his honeymoon. The article also that he is trying to get American citizens to vote in this election. It is estimated that there are 1 million Americans that live there. I don't know if this is some of the anchor babies that have grown up there or not. Many Mexicans come over the border and have babies that we pay for then go back to Mexico. They have been doing this for years.
It's gotta stop. We'll be outlawing English in this country in 50 years. I hope I live long enough to see the tide turn. Our generation is the last one to stop this inexorable invasion.
I totally agree. He'd be the worst. But we have about three days to impact the convention, and about a month to get any change effected in the Bush platform. It's probably already too late.
P. should also keep his mouth shut regarding the elections in other countries. I am afraid that this is exactly what is going to happen here if we have foreign observers with our elections. P. is actually disagreeing with the foreign observers.
There must be enormous pressure on P. I hope he understands that our frustration isn't personal. There has to be a way for us to have strong relationships with other countries without giving away the farm.
If all that the border patrol has is pepper balls, I don't think it will stop. So much for Homeland Security. What a waste.
I also read where the Republican Governor Sonny Purdue was down in Mexico this week visiting Fox. He is trying to get the FTAA in Atlanta. The article mentioned that there is 200 to 300thousand hispanics living in Georgia. I feel sure Fox gave Purdue his marching orders.
I agree.
Let me see if I've got this straight...
The President's nephew is campaigning against the use of "less than lethal force" weapons carried by the Border Patrol?
This is one of the dumber things that I've heard lately, and I've heard a LOT of dumb things lately... Like about the 2 KC cops who have been given an official reprimand for "TASERing" a "66 year old grandmother" (that's the official news description).
Mark
I agree.
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