Posted on 12/25/2018 10:13:37 AM PST by Jim Robinson
Working on Christmas Eve and through the government shutdown over border wall funding, President Donald Trump tweeted he had authorized the construction of a 115-mile stretch of border wall in Texas.
"I am in the Oval Office & just gave out a 115 mile long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas," President Trump tweeted Monday night. "We are already building and renovating many miles of Wall, some complete.
"Democrats must end Shutdown and finish funding. Billions of Dollars, & lives, will be saved!"
Working in the Oval Office after canceling his trip to Mar-a-Lago in Florida because of the shutdown, President Trump met Monday with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and other officials to discuss border security issues as a partial government shutdown over his U.S.-Mexico border wall entered Christmas without a clear resolution in sight.
Though both sides have traded offers over the dollars, they remain far apart on the wall. The White House insisted Trump will reject any deal that does not include money for a wall or fence; Democrats held firm in their opposition to a wall or other physical barrier.
In a joint statement Monday, the Democratic leaders of Congress, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, said as long as Trump keeps listening to the House Freedom Caucus and others on the right flank, there is no easy resolution to the impasse.
"It's Christmas Eve and President Trump is plunging the country into chaos," the leaders said...
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
I would suspect over by El Paso.
Would like to go check it out
There are a lot of those out there...
There’s a different board where I can say what I think of Schumer.
This is a family board.
Trump’s president though I’m not sure he realizes it. He’s asking for $5 billion, the U.S. government spends that every 10 hours, mostly on useless welfare programs. Divert some money and start building the wall, it’s within his power so do it and dare them to tear it down. How many bulldozers does Chuck Schumer own?
I love the guy but damn, you run the executive branch and these cvnts are never going to authorize you to do anything, just do it.
“Would like to go check it out”
In his statements yesterday (Christmas), the President said he would go for a groundbreaking in January, so we should know soon.
Two segments were announced last month around McAllen - six miles running West from the Port of Entry, and eight miles out from the Eastern edge of town (Weslaco, Donna), with a gap in the middle that will probably be separately announced. The one on the West has gotten lots of news coverage about an unhappy landowner, a butterfly center and a chapel.
The contractor (SLSCO) has to start work on those two segments around McAllen not later than February, but they have been showing up early elsewhere, to get some of the available performance bonuses for early delivery, and improve their performance scores to compete on future segments.
Sometimes we find out where the segments of wall will be built when the contract is awarded, but sometimes we don’t find out until the contractors show up to break ground (like in El Paso).
The 115 miles in Texas that the President mentioned is still a mystery to me, but I would guess that it is spread out over a few segments. If it is a straight run, South/East from El Paso seems the most likely place in Texas. If they work straight down the Border Patrol’s priority list though, it would likely be more down South in the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo, with some miles in El Paso.
I am excited to find out, and plan to visit in the Spring also, when construction is going full blast.
West from the Port of Entry, and eight miles out from the Eastern edge of town (Weslaco, Donna), with a gap in the middle that will probably be separately announced.
Yeah the Pharr/Donna area is the wild wild west.
We were doing night ops on a small section on the river. All hell broke loose and our band of 5 Brothers met up at the bug out. Next morning we looked toward the POE and right at the bend in the river downstream of it on the Mehico side it looked like someone ran a shredder through the trees. That must have been the 50 cal we heard that night. We did our AM look about and found a piece of an arm in a brush jam on the bank in the river.
Yessir, the wild wild west. Nothing like it except south of El Paso.
Probably a contract with no funding allocated against it. Happens all the time in Govt work. Means nothing without funding.
Some of those Mexican border cities are hyper-violent, with cartels shooting it out on full auto like it was Iraq, and decapitating and hanging bodies like they were in competition with ISIS.
If a wall cuts off their business, maybe they will leave the people on the Mexican side alone as well. Better for everybody.
Here's a map. The segments that are definitely going to start work in the next several weeks, are the five green ones East of the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, and the one West of the Anzalduas Bridge (labelled National Butterfly Center).
The plan is a continuous levee wall with 18 foot bollards in all the new stretches, good patrol road for BP, lights, cameras, sensors, and 150 feet South of the wall cleared of vegetation. The approximately 3 miles around the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge is currently planned to stay open (without bollards), so Wild West life might still be found there at night in the future.
“The Rio Bravo provides a lot of natural border. Its not impenetrable but it is a deterrent.”
I like that. Especially said with a John Wayne inflection.
“It’s Christmas Eve and President Trump is plunging the country into chaos>>>>
Chuck the Schmuck and Nancy Pelosifer? BuauauahahahahaHA!
What chaos? There isn’t any. Things are ticking along just fine except that the sweat molecules are starting to overwhelm the air filtration system at the DNC Liberal Fascist Headquarters as their slander and defamation propaganda machinery is starting to hiss, spark and overload in the face of President Trump’s un-dentable popularity, and this according to Gallup:
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GALLUP: This Is Why Trump’s Approval Ratings Are Unprecedented and Stable
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3715124/posts?page=9#9
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Why blame me?
I re-read my post and I don't think I blamed you, I was being sarcastic. But Kay did remove the funding at GW's request.
Since when does the President personally issue contracts for government projects?
>>It is a long held belief of mine that if the lawmakers, and law passers that impose their wisdom on the people, should, without exception, live within those requirements themselves. I think things would get much better for everyone very quickly.<<
I believe a Constitutional Amendment establishing this requirement, and the establishment of term limits, would receive massive public support.
>>We need more than DJT to save this country from the left.<<
Truer words have never been posted, and that is why, as much as I admire our President and his determination to make America great again, I believe he represents no more than a speed bump on the road to America’s third-world status.
Those federal officials in opposition of preventing invasion are committing illegal federal acts and should be forcibly removed from office.
_____________________________________________________
Unfortunately, that includes large swaths of Congress. If it doesn’t happen through legitimate elections, then the country (as a soveraign nation) is toast unless martial law is declared or a civil war insues.
There has been at least 2 park rangers that I know of that have been killed but a wall would not protect against that unless you put it on the river. Quite a bit of farming goes on between the levee and river.
Will be interesting how they control access for that.
“why they do not build in front of the Santa Ana Refuge.”
It was a concession to the Democrats and their Front Groups, who were making their stand over that segment. Since then, there have been a series of Court rulings that have swept aside the environmental tactic for blocking the wall.
Homeland Security might make some improvements around the Refuge without installing bollards, like more/better sensors (some vegetation was cleared). In the worst case, it will still be easier to guard a smaller opening, even if it will be 2-3 miles wide. It will tend to channelize them, so everyone will know the best place to set up their game cameras and tree stands.
Generally, Farmers get gates to access their fields, and are given access codes for keypad entry. The concept has long been that such gates would be under constant video surveillance, and alarmed to alert BP whenever they are open. In the past, execution often did not live up to the plan, and simple openings were left where the road crossed.
A contract was recently awarded to install gates in the first seven of 35 such openings left out toward Brownsville. That should start work in the next few weeks/months as well.
The Trump Administration has gotten past the Democrats first lines of defense against building the wall - their surrogates, like environmental front groups, activists and media; running campaigns of lawsuits and public misinformation. They are now issuing contracts for solid barrier system in the Rio Grande Valley, that will stand for generations.
The plan that Congress has, shows them that the next batch of funding that the Administration has requested ($5 billion), will pretty well close the door on the RGV (65 more miles, basically up to Falcon Lake, and 55 miles walling off Laredo).
President Trump has advanced through the Leftist screening forces, and this is now the main engagement of the battle over the border wall. It is the hardest stretch to build (requiring massive FEMA hurricane rated levee wall, with huge and deep foundations), the most expensive per mile ($22-25 mil/mile), with the most private ownership issues, and by far the most illegal immigrant traffic. If this gets done, everywhere else is easier, cheaper ($4-10 mil/mile), and quicker.
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