[dzzrtrock]

A wall, like...like... the Maginot Line! The problem I have with "a wall" is that historically walls have been very bad at keeping people out, as they are static.

Hyperbole, Life. Granted, walls are static. So is our national border. The Maginot line lacked solid anchor points and was simply bypassed through the Ardennes. Very few of the fortifications actually fell in armed combat. Most were abandoned by their garrisons after being bypassed. Lack of planning and lack of resolve defeated the Maginot Line. Sound familiar?

Unlike the Maginot Line, We have the Pacific Ocean for an anchor point on one end and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. Same deal with the northern border. There is no "express lane" around the end. Walls work well for some purposes, poorly for others. Every prison out there has walls as do banks, military bases, etc. percentage-wise, how often do those walls fail? Our invaders are hardly the Wehrmacht with air, mechanized and armored units, nor are they Ghengis Kahn's hordes. They're uneducated and unwashed, largely unskilled peasants. Even the french could have held off an invasion like that. Sadly, we don't seem to able to.

One really quick way to do that is to have all the sheep (voluntarily) stand up (and get fingerprinted). Will this have unintended consequences, you betcha!

you mean like they "voluntarily" wait for legal entrance; "voluntarily" learn english, pay their own medical bills, get auto insurance? Like they "voluntarily" leave their drugs at home, avoid gang affiliations, don't drink and drive, comply with ANY other law of our nation? Is any of this sinking in? And the gang members and drug dealers, they too will "voluntarily" submit to these standards? How about those with criminal records? Has it occurred to you that EVERY ONE OF THESE PEOPLE is a criminal? That's a great idea! Why don't we apply this standard at home to our home-grown criminals?!. OK, all you gang-bangers and drug dealers. Come in "voluntarily" and be fingerprinted....(waits....)

[Poohbah]

Unlike the Maginot Line, We have the Pacific Ocean for an anchor point on one end and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. Same deal with the northern border. There is no "express lane" around the end.

Actually, there is, you just wish it wasn't there. Movement by sea has always been, and always will be, more economical than movement over land.

[Cold Heat]

I guess you don't realize that a large percentage of illegals are here because they overstayed legal visas and refused to go home. It may well have been their intent from the beginning perhaps, but that would then be the prefered way to circumvent anything you build .

There are also boats, planes and workarounds for any barrier that has ever been built anywhere.

[patriciaruth]

We have the Pacific Ocean for an anchor point on one end

It is my understanding that many illegals come in boats, especially orientals.

Tonk, as a Coastee, do you have any knowledge of illegal alien flow from sea?

P.S. I note some time ago that you corrected your name spelling...LOL! It was more fun as Yatch.

[patriciaruth]

I know you are fixated on building a fence, but what do you think about Luis Gonzalez' idea that the way to stop ants from coming in is not to seal all the tiny holes in your foundation, but to seal up the sugar.

For myself, I also have to spray as I can't figure out how to put out cat food and not have them come for that, too. And sometimes they come just for the water.

My mother-in-law thinks it's stupid to rinse everything before putting it in the dishwasher, but she's probably never seen the ant colony that ate the dishwasher in her area.

We tried sealing up the sugar with prop 187 here, and got blown away by the liberal courts, and then eaten alive by the MSM at reelection time. And we tried employer sanctions but that has either not been enforced or been done in by jury nullification according to one poster.

How about shipping free birth control pills to Mexico?

[LifeofRiley]

Well, the Ardennes were thought to be "the end" and impassable. And as you brought up Ghengis Kahn, I'd say that there was one of the all time greatest "failure walls". Should we talk about Hadrian's wall as well?

As to prisons, banks and military bases, these are all relatively small walls which are vigilantly defended.

But the larger point of my post was what are The Priorities? And what are we trying to accomplish? Right, stop illegal immigration. Good, great, admirable! But we have a dysfunctional and corrupt state just to our south. So how do we protect ourselves?

As to your "voluntarily" fest, yes I do think that the vast majority of illegal immigrants would voluntarily come forward to be fingerprinted if it meant that they could stay here. Why? Freedom. They would no longer be in the shadows and afraid. Think this is a small idea? Look to January 30th for advice on this point. And the minority that don't come forward, well, they are hiding in a much smaller forest, and it make them (the drug dealers and other felons) easier to find.

Please don't mistake me, I'm not against a barrier of some kind, I just don't want to waste resources on something that I think will be ineffective. But I ask you again to rank what your objectives are.