Posted on 08/21/2004 9:04:20 PM PDT by ETERNAL WARMING
(08-21) 15:55 PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) --
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.
Not "interesting" at all....I'm just being polite now,answering your posts to me.
Are you referring to the anti-Mexican illegal alien posts on Free Republic? FReepers are right in expressing their disgust with foreigners who have no respect for our laws.
You've been spewing your fair share of racist venom on Free Republic lately, bayourod. So, when do you plan on slithering back under your rock?
He speaks fluent Spanish. I don't care what the article says.
blah, blah, blah
The immigration law that is on record is a really, really lousy one.
Are you suggesting that a large majority of American small businesses rely on illegal alien labor, or did I miss something in your post?
No. There are industries all across the Southeast, Southwest, West, and this entire nation basically, that need more workers. You must find it amazingly coincidental or ironic that over the boom in immigration from Mexico over the last 2 decades, our economy has not only boomed, but it has boomed most dramatically in the regions I list above, especially in the urban and suburban areas where many of these Mexicans settle after immigrating. Also, how ironic is it for you that most Americans are also rapidly moving to these areas? (And whaddayaknow... most of these areas are solid red-state, fwiw.) How do you explain all this? It definitely doesn't seem to fit with this "We're all doomed!" mentality you and your friends here have.
I totally agree. Pat Buchanan and Tom Tancredo are two of the sorriest racists and just flat out lousy human beings I've ever witnessed.
No it's not. It's because you and your neighbors have voted for people who raise your taxes. Elect people that cut your taxes and you won't have this problem.
Why should we have to pay for some businessman's cheap labor?
You don't. You actually benefit from it greatly as well.
We're all doomed!
...and restaurant industry, and construction industry, and golf course industry, and hotel industry, and landscaping industry, and janitorial services industry, and dozens of other industries that are done far more inexpensively now than 20 years ago causing your salary to go exponentially farther than it used to...
'We're all doomed' mentality? Please cite exactly where I have indicated such. I posted some information about Stingballs, chatted with the Russian guy about off-topic stuff, and expressed an opinion about border policy- that we ought to properly control out borders. I do not think that the Administration has adequately done so.
I deliberately do not take sides in online pissing contests, because it is a waste of time and effort. My main reason for stopping by here was to shed some light on some apparent misconceptions about Stingballs.
Now, where have I said anything beyond that?
Da! We are conquering diss thread, you little Menshevik punk!
(Czar and Czarina order the Russian army to wage costly battle against Turkish freepers over the Crimea. Turks make pact with British contingent on FreeRepublic, declare jihad against Russian freepers.)
Caution: Race card in use on this illegal immigration thread.
Hell, just the fact that "Atossa" actually admits LIKING and marks out to the absolute TURKEY that was the 1984 Dune would get even SciFi geeks laughing at it.
I'm not kiddin', NP, I've seen some real fruit roll-ups here lately...some going on about UFO's, Nostradamus, you name it. It's really distracting and plain idiotic on what is suppose dto be a reasonably serious political site.
Seriously, retired US citizens have moved to Mexico for years because the cost of living is so low but retain US citizenship. I know people looking into it now.
Anyone who won't, or can't, make the distinction between legal and illegal I tune out permanently.
What is reprehensible is sending out or allowing a neophyte to make policy statements on one of the most important taxpayer issues in history because we the people will pay for those mistakes initially with our back pocket revenue and ultimately with our very lives when the Internationalist Elites finally win their way to a stupid no win situation that plays into our enemies hand.
The logic of a tiny mind.
It may surprise you to know that I, and many others, did not agree with everything Ronald Reagan did...
Come to think of it, I have never agreed 100% with any president I have voted for. And I have voted for the loser only once.
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