McAllen (Texas) Chamber president calls for wall around nation's capital

[deadparrot]

Source: The Monitor

McALLEN — What do you do when the federal government announces it’s going to build a large, metal fence through your community and there’s nothing you can do to stop it?

Write your members of Congress, complain on talk radio … suggest a wall be built around Washington, D.C., and e-mail everyone you can think of to make it happen.

Steve Ahlenius, president of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, sent out an e-mail to 140 media outlets nationwide Tuesday morning with the subject line: “McAllen, Texas calls for wall around Washington D.C.”

“We feel the need to protect ourselves from bad legislation, bad ideas and a waste of tax money,” Ahlenius wrote.

Read more: http://www.themonitor.com/news/ahlenius_3165___article.html/around_mcallen.html

[Virginia Dare]

1. It will probably happen in our lifetimes...

we're well on our way there. I can easily imagine a time when you have to go through checkpoints to get into D.C.

[Buns_of_Fire]

4. These days, I was thinking more in terms of a "Roach Motel"

"They check in... but they don't check out..."

On edit: Or, in the immortal words of The Eagles, "You can check out anytime you like -- but you can never leave..." Which, I suppose, leads to Plisskin III: Escape from D.C., where Kurt Russell, reprising his role as "Snake" Plisskin, rescues Dennis Kucinich from the new maximum-security containment zone erected by The People of The United States to protect them from their government.

[Virginia Dare]

13. Taking a different perspective for a moment...

it occurs to me that D.C. is already one big roach motel, once you've checked into the D.C. power structure, and you're one lucky roach to do so, you never really check out. Every once in a while somebody turns on the light and sprays some raid and they scurry for cover, but eventually, they come back out when you turn the lights out again and go to sleep.

[LiberalEsto]

2. How about prison walls

around the White House?

[Javaman]

19. Or orange jumpsuits. nt

[babylonsister]

3. Rec'd! Priceless!! nt

[baldguy]

5. Keep the black residents walled in & away from Georgetown & Arlington?

The GOPers probably think it's a good idea.

[Virginia Dare]

14. That's why the rich love their gated communities...n/t

[Bridget Burke]

26. Arlington is in Virginia, not DC.

And quite a few GOPers live Outside the Beltway.

[UTUSN]

6. K&R #2 for bwah-ha-HAH!!1 n/t

[liberal N proud]

7. For the neocons, that would be the ideal situation

They could let in only those who favor the new American system of government which will not look anything like a democracy. And they could use the checkpoints to round up the rest of us dare we attempts to approach the city to petition the leaders of the nation they freed from democracy and justice.

Yeah, I can see this happening, 7 years ago, I would have said never in our life time but that has all changed with the bu$h regime.

[crikkett]

8. That's just a dumb idea.

Besides, the beltways are a wall-o-traffic anyway.

[sonias]

17. Dumb and dumber

Build a 20 foot wall, and a new business selling 21 foot ladders will be created. That cartoon was also printed in the McAllen Montitor.

Never mind that, the though of a wall is so offensive. Why is the US building walls ala the Berlin wall? What kind of image is that for the leader of the free world? And only on the US/Mexico border. Where is the wall for the US/Canada border?

I listened to the NPR segment on this and no one in the Valley wants this wall. It's going to destroy a wonderful wild life refuge, because the proposed wall will wall the preserve off from the river.

Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/santana.html

Sonia

[Castleman]

29. No, no walls near Canada...

"Where is the wall for the US/Canada border?"
Are you kidding me, I plan on escaping into Canada soon...I hear they have this Democracy shit they're trying, where the people actually get to choose who runs the country, and if they don't like 'em, they kick 'em out of office and try new people.

[sonias]

36. Hey we're still trying that democracy thing too

In fact you have a golden opportunity in 2008 to kick those people we don't like out of office right here in the US. And maybe with enough delays, that damn wall on the US/Mexico border wouldn't have been built. Then we can cancel it.

Sonia

[EFerrari]

9. Definitely!

lol

[OnyxCollie]

10. I expect they'll park a couple of these outside the WH someday.

If the true crimes of the bush regime were known, it would be necessary to have a fleet of these stationed to fend off the townspeople with their pitchforks and torches.

[pokercat999]

11. Wi-Fi? Or dish TV?

[OnyxCollie]

12. Active Denial System

A "non-lethal" ray gun designed to fend off protesters.

Check it out in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3-SIXCkh5E&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpha2XHBbA4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3rjq2yDz3A&mode=related&search=

[pokercat999]

32. Kewl, I gotta get me one of those

:woohoo:

[Virginia Dare]

15. One of the most disturbing sights I've ever seen...

the day after 9/11, a fleet of those rolling down K Street It was a scary peak into the future for sure. Also, It was pretty much a police state during the last inaugural. Pitch forks and torches won't do much I'm afraid.

If you look closely some day, you can see the snipers and counter snipers perched on top of the White House.

[jobycom]

16. Could those walls be used to retain water?

So we can flood the region when the government gets out of hand? We would, of course, not flood the poor and middle class districts--no cause in harming decent people.

[icymist]

18. Waddya mean them there D.C.ers don't know Teaxs?

“In Washington (D.C.) they don’t speak the language and understand the culture down here.”

But, but, but isn't dimson supposed to be from Texas?!

[Xipe Totec]

20. They may know Texas, but they don't know the Valley

McAllen's lifeblood is Mexican shoppers coming over to buy American products and taking them back across.

You put a fence down there and McAllen will shrivel up and die.

[youngdem]

34. McAllen is Norther Mexico, in all but the name.

Brownsville, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Laredo, etc the same.

These communities are utterly dependent on all aspects of illegal immigration to support its economy and would be foolish to support the destruction of the leading industry.

[Xipe Totec]

35. I hope you're being sarcastic nt

[blogslut]

23. Welcome to show business

The part of President George W. Bush has been performed by Seth Witherspoon from Boonville, Indiana. Laura Bush is portrayed by Olga Zizzlestick from Sodaville, Oregon. The Bush Ranch is actually the old set from the television program Sugarfoot, starring Will Hutchins.

:)

[valerief]

21. Levee around NOLA? Aw, too late. nt

[Gman]

22. These felons in DC have shown complete disdain for Democratic areas

of the country. The best example is NOLA and Katrina where these felons are literally conducting an experiment in social engineering.

Hidalgo County, Cameron County and the rest of the lower Rio Grande Valley voted heavily for Kerry in '04 and Gore in '00. This is the most solid Democratic area of Texas. Thus, no one cares what they think.

[dembotoz]

24. 2 works--Warsaw Ghetto

Those who forget history....
Just did not think it would be so soon.

[19jet54]

25. Great Idea!

... can we post guards on our side of the wall to keep them from getting to us? And, will the Post Office refuse all mail deliver from them? That and throw some raw meat over the fence so the fight more (just leave us alone). They don't represent the people anymore anyway; since most are criminals, lock them away once and for all; it would be cheaper to just feed them instead of the gross national debt they ran up. Again I say, great idea!

Oh, yea - Leave the Mexican Americans alone!

[woodsprite]

27. There is already a wall around DC, called the lobbyists - and

the barbs on the wire are pointing out.

[pingzing58]

28. The fence contract should be given to local and minority business owners

who will then hire undocumented workers to build the fence. 
I'm loving it... :sarcasm: 

[JohnLocke]

30. Chamber of Commerce wants more illegal immigrants to create an underclass with...

[whistle]

31. Escape from New York and Escape from LA the Movies

....the siege mentality, U.S. political life imitating art:

Escape from New York is a 1981 science fiction/action film directed and scored by John Carpenter. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Nick Castle. Set in the near future of a United States so crime-ridden that Manhattan Island in New York City has become a maximum security prison, an ex-soldier — now legendary fugitive — "Snake" Plissken, is given 22 hours to find the President of the United States, who has been captured by inmates after his plane crashed on the island.

Carpenter originally wrote the film in the mid-1970s as a reaction to the Watergate scandal, but no studio wanted to make it because it was deemed too dark and violent. After the success of Halloween, he had enough influence to get the film made and shot most of it in St. Louis, Missouri, where a significant portion of the city had been burned out in a massive urban fire.<3>

The film's total budget was estimated to be USD $7 million.<1> It was a commercial hit, grossing over $50 million worldwide. It has since developed its own cult following, particularly around the anti-hero Plissken. A sequel, Escape from L.A., followed, and a remake was tentatively announced on March 13, 2007 with actor Gerard Butler set to play Plissken.<4>

Escape From L.A. (also known as John Carpenter's Escape From L.A.) is a 1996 film directed by John Carpenter. The sequel to the action film Escape from New York, the film follows war hero Snake Plissken, played by Kurt Russell. It co-stars Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, Bruce Campbell and Pam Grier.

[DeSwiss]

33. I imagine that in the future....

...a group of anthropologists and archaeologists will be digging under the rubble of our past. And the literature of that time will comment that: "one major indication of the advance human evolution and progress would be the absence of walled cities."

Of course they won't be talking about us. I wonder what they'll name us?
Homostillwallinus?

:hide: