Rocks Thrown at Border Patrol Chopper

"Dave Stadt" wrote in message
...

"Frankie" wrote in message
k.net...
Very simple.....votes. Upset the Latino community and its all over.

Illegals can't vote.

Only US citizens can.

If the (legal) Latino community gets upset at the suggestion of tougher
border control, they are insulting their own people by implying all, or
most, Latinos are criminals.

Doh!

Frankie


Listen to the Latino community leaders. You are dead wrong. Every time
talk of closing the border is mentioned they get on the racist band wagon.

That's the "leaders"; listen to the average Joe (or should I say "Jose").
See post about AZ's Prop 200.

Listen to the Latino community leaders. You are dead wrong. Every time
talk of closing the border is mentioned they get on the racist band wagon.

Exactly.

Many Latino leaders feign offense and claim racists are trying to keep out
Latinos. This is standard practice, and is very effective. It scares people
away from the issue.

But look what's happened:

If trying to keep out illegal immigrants equates to racism, and Latino
leaders claim offense, they have unwittingly associated all Latinos with
illegal immigrants (criminals). Thus they've just insulted the whole Latino
community by insinuating all Latinos came here illegally; that the whole lot
of them has no interest in coming to America legally!

It's twisted logic.

Frankie

"Dave Stadt" wrote in message
t...


Very simple.....votes. Upset the Latino community and its all over.


When Arizona passed it's Prop 200, the highest percentage block voting FOR
it (some 75% or so) was the legal/2nd generation Hispanics.

Perhaps we should arm the copter with machine guns and fire back?
No, that would be barbaric.

Why? A rock can certainly bring down a civilian helicopter if it hits
something critical - a rotor disc, an oil or fuel line, whatever.
Military helicopters are armored against this - but as a result they
weigh a ton (literally that - or more) and cost a fortune to operate.

If this happens too low to autorotate but too high to put down without
energy, the pilot and passenger(s) will be injured or killed. Why is
it barbaric for the pilot to shoot back?

But what is so wrong with stopping illegal immigration?

It would make servants something only the very rich could afford.

Actually, what illegal immigration does is distort our economy and
stifle progress.

Let me give you an example. Most of the pilots at my home field don't
cut their own grass. They have someone come out to do it. It's
miserable work - riding a mower in the hot sun, loading and unloading
equipment - but the price is quite reasonable. It works out to
something like $15-$20 hr on a contract basis. The guy shows up in a
truck with an old gas-powered tractor (that spews lots of hydrocarbon
into the atmosphere) and does all the work. I suspect that he clears
maybe $10/hr at best, with no benefits, when you figure in travel time
and his expenses, and it's seasonal work at that.

This (like most of the jobs illegals do) could be automated - but not
trivially. What's necessary is a mower with some intelligence. It
would know where the boundaries of the property are, and what parts of
it are to be mowed, and it would have some simple sensors to keep from
running over the neighbor's kid (or cat). It would peobably be
electric - which would mean a limited operation time, as it would have
to go back to its station and recharge every 30 minutes - but since it
would never forget what it already did, that would be no big deal. All
the pieces are there - this would be no more complicated than
industrial automation - but there's no incentive. It would cost about
$3 million to design and test the thing, and the first batch you sold
would have bugs that would need to be worked out. Since most people
wouldn't buy one (they would just hire the illegals) you would never
recoup the R&D cost - you would need to sell 50,000 of them in the
first two or three years to make it work, and the first batch would
probably cost $1000 each in such low volumes

Of course it would be a lot different if you had to pay someone a
living wage to do the job. Then the cost would be more like $60/hr,
and people would buy the thing even at $800. Of course as the volume
increased and the patents ran out, the price would fall to where there
it was cheaper than a gasoline riding mower.

This is just one example, but it's fairly typical. Cheap labor is
always the enemy of automation, and certain segments of our economy are
addicted to cheap labor. In the long run, of course, automation is
cheaper than even the cheapest labor (unless you're willing to have
people working and STILL living in a squalor most of us would find
deplorable) but the industries that develop automation can't afford to
think in the long term. If it doesn't have a 3 year payback and a 15%
ROI, it won't happen.

Michael

On 26 Aug 2005 11:15:19 -0700, "Michael"
wrote:


This (like most of the jobs illegals do) could be automated - but not
trivially. What's necessary is a mower with some intelligence. It
would know where the boundaries of the property are, and what parts of
it are to be mowed, and it would have some simple sensors to keep from
running over the neighbor's kid (or cat). It would peobably be
electric - which would mean a limited operation time, as it would have
to go back to its station and recharge every 30 minutes - but since it
would never forget what it already did, that would be no big deal. All
the pieces are there - this would be no more complicated than

google search for automatic lawn mower comes up with 162,000 hits,
including production electric robotic lawn mowers already for sale...

Michael wrote:

the first batch you sold
would have bugs that would need to be worked out

So much for the cat or kid, eh?

Laugh

- Andrew

Jay Honeck wrote:

Perhaps we should arm the copter with machine guns and fire back?


No, that would be barbaric.

However, I am continually amazed at the vociferous opposition to actually
controlling our borders. For some reason the ACLU and a host of other
do-gooder organizations find it anathema for America to actually restrict
immigration to legal immigrants only -- a fact that baffles me.

We are friends with a family from Columbia. They came to America the hard
way -- legally -- and have struggled over the last decade with obtaining
green cards for their family members, and with becoming American citizens.
It has been a tough row to hoe, and they are rightfully proud of their
efforts and status.

They are also the most vocally anti-Mexican group of people I have EVER
known. Their attitude toward illegal immigrants borders on Fascist -- they
simply despise them for cheating and taking the easy way -- at what they see
as their expense -- and I am sure they would advocate following this
poster's (I hope) tongue-in-cheek suggestion to arm the border patrol
helicopters with machine guns.

But what is so wrong with stopping illegal immigration? Why is it okay to
fly helicopters up and down the Rio Grande 24/7 -- at huge expense -- but
building a fence is seen as some sort of "Berlin Wall"-type of deal?


In the interst of balance...

History being what it is, how can Americans justify keeping
"illegals" out? Every single one of the old immigrants was treading
on Indian toes, killing them, drugging them, using starvation and
biological warfare against them to steal their land, only to turn
around and claim squatter's rights?

It's hypocrisy.

All Americans are already illegals, or the children of illegals, or
of those who have written laws to legalise their occupation of
Indian lands themselves. If it wasn't so disgusting, it would be
almost as funny as the guy who got a hard time entering at
Australian customs when asked if he had a criminal record, when he
replied "Is that still a requirement?"

What's that on the statue of liberty? "Send me your poor, your
downtrodden,..." Yes, them French got a funny sense of humour, all
right.

Some people got no sense at all.

Of course, no one should expect anything better from those who sign
international trade agreements and then ignore them, or who invade
foreign countries on any manufactured excuse at all, as governmental
policy dictated by commercial lobbies. I expect that right thinking
Americans would protest this chicanery in their governmental affairs.

Share the wealth or have it stolen. We are all in this together.

Tolerating illegals, even employing them because it lowers the wage
expectations of legal Mexican workers? Disgusting!

The only option left to the oppressed is surrender, infiltration and
sabotage. It's called homing chickens, or something, isn't it?

What was he doing, flying so low and close to desperate, hostiles,
economic refugees? Where the vigilantees so lazy they didn't want to
run the extra few feet to beat up some wetbacks? Is he so totally
unused to thinking that basic common sense is alien to him?

A starving man has a right to steal food from the fat. If he has
starving children, it becomes his duty, if there are no other options.

How about you? Think much? Ever heard of the golden rule?

Strange, how it all reminds me of a line from "The Worst of the
Jefferson Airplane" : "Let's not register him."

Must all Americans now wear numbers?

JWB is hundreds of years behind the Scriptures, as are some others,
it seems. What will it mean to you when your world is ending?

It is not illegal to be poor.

There is no need for a government to control every aspect of life.

Excessive taxes are wasted on war chasing the wrong fuel?

Why did the levee break? How many companies are now relieved of
their lagoon contents? Who gained from this?

Why are people in New Orleans not all driving hydrogen dirigibles
fuelled with cheap solar cell derived hydrogen? Why do their
concrete basements not float?

Could it be lack of foresight?

When will the next "hundred year storm" strike?

Could a manufacturing industry based on petroleum make do with
hydrogen from solar cell shingles in lieu of some feedstocks?

Should plastic stuff be repairable?

Are you aware it is possible to recycle sewage, electrolyzing the
water to make hydrogen from sunshine, and that dry killed dung is
good fertilizer, odourless, especially for animal feedstocks,
ethelene corn, commonly called cow corn, is used to make another
fuel, corn oil.

Some areas of New Orleans should be cropland. It is sad, I know, and
I am sorry to speak so soon, but plans must go forward.

Some vehicles should be really fuel efficient, cheap, and not taxed
like personal transport guzzler tanks. I personally would like a
backwards tricycle "bike" with two lawn chairs, rain canvas, and a
single rear mounted battery powered "Wheel motor / regenerative
brake", like on the Eliica car. These motors are easy to make,
efficient, and are made and used by the "End of the road" people,
somewhere, from old brake disks and glued on magnets to make
windmills. The automotive motor adapter, electronic controllers,
are really simple, actually. Many "boomer" car stereos use more
power transistors and magnets.

What new industries?

Terry K -SofDevCo- Communications is our most valuable resource.

I am sorry to jump on this bandwagon so quick, but some things have
got to be done soon, and plans must look forward.

Terry Spragg wrote:

In the interst of balance...

History being what it is, how can Americans justify keeping
"illegals" out? Every single one of the old immigrants was treading
on Indian toes, killing them, drugging them, using starvation and
biological warfare against them to steal their land, only to turn
around and claim squatter's rights?

Kennewick Man was here before them...
http://www.friendsofpast.org

History being what it is, how can Americans justify keeping
"illegals" out? Every single one of the old immigrants was treading
on Indian toes, killing them, drugging them, using starvation and
biological warfare against them to steal their land, only to turn
around and claim squatter's rights?

I seriously doubt those who say this, really believe it.

You're condeming Americans as bad people who have no right to a civilized
society, while justifying anarchy.

Your comparison disregards historical context and completely ignores
America's (legal) immigrant past. Colonization and our westward expansion
are history now, and since then we've established the most successful
country in the world.

If you really feel this way, human history must look pretty bleak to you -
and it must very difficult to get up every morning.

What's that on the statue of liberty? "Send me your poor, your
downtrodden,..." Yes, them French got a funny sense of humour, all
right.

It's a monument to legal immigration - not chaos. The joke's on you.

Frankie

On 2005-08-31, Frankie wrote:
If you really feel this way, human history must look pretty bleak to you -
and it must very difficult to get up every morning.

Much of human history IS pretty bleak. As a species, we generally are
extremely unpleasant to each other for often the most flimsy of
justifications (which really boil down to greed at the end of the day)

However, having a bleak history doesn't mean it's difficult to get up in
the morning. It is still possible to make a better future!

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"