The city of Texarkana, Texas, has found the terrorists, and with money from the Department of Homeland Security, is going to go round ‘em all up.
Or, perhaps, not.
The city is getting $43,000 plus reimbursement for mileage and vehicle wear and tear from the state, which got it from the feds, to pay for police to work overtime on the Interstate 30 and U.S. Highway 59 corridors looking for terrorists. This is called a “Border Security Enhancement Operations Project.”
Texarkana is a 650 mile drive from the nearest border crossing.
Oh, and while they have a sharp eye out for Osama bin Laden, they’ll be looking for drug smugglers, too.
I’m no fan of these highway interdiction units — they’re too income-focused and waste police resources conducting countless unnecessary “consent searches,” mostly of innocent people, that serve little public safety purpose. The results are essentially random and the VAST majority of searches at drug interdiction stops don’t come up with any contraband. . . .
At some task forces, more than 99% of all traffic stops made by drug interdiction units did not result in traffic tickets – drivers were let off with warnings for whatever pretext the officer used for the stop. But at those stops, our research found that the focus on drug interdiction caused officers to conduct MANY more so-called consent searches than do regular police on traffic duty. — Grits for Breakfast
Just exactly how many terrorists are in the country and commuting back and forth on IH 30 and US 59 anyway? Exactly. It’s all about the drugs.
The operation is part of a larger, statewide enforcement operation known as “Operation Wrangler,” which Gov. Rick Perry announced on Monday. In the main thrust of this operation, to run through August 31, 604 Texas Army National Guard troops will go down to the U.S.-Mexico border to look for terrorists. Oh, and drug smugglers, too.
The new soldiers are in addition to the more than 1,700 Texas Army National Guard troops Perry activated last summer for Operation Jump Start to support U.S. Border Patrol activities.
A Border Patrol agent and a local police officer will accompany each of the 12 new platoons, Perry’s announcement said.
Operation Wrangler’s various agencies will involve more than 6,800 personnel, 2,200 vehicles, 48 helicopters, 33 fixed-wing aircraft and 35 patrol ships, according to Perry’s office. — Houston Chronicle
A Customs and Border Protection official said marijuana seizures in fiscal year 2007 were up 25 percent from last year, with 470,676 pounds seized.
So much for homeland security. It’s all about preventing people from getting their hands on a harmless plant.
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works license.
Video published by this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Sampling+ license.
Bad Behavior has blocked 2645 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Facebook
Digg
del.icio.us
reddit.com
Newsvine
7734
Jan 26, 2007
But would it surprise you if some of that drug money was actually funneled to terrorist organziations? After all, it is a known fact that many terrorist organziations fund their activity through the use of illegal activities. Might this not stop at least a small amount of this money? I also am no fan of highway interdiction units (of any kind) but at the same time I am concerned with any possible amount of money from criminal activity seeing its way into terrorists or terrorist organizations hands.
I do see a potential problem of these units forgetting the stated reason for their activity and becoming abusive and indiscriminate in their stops and searches.
Sticky problem no matter how you debate it.
Michael Hampton
Jan 26, 2007
Oh, some of the drug profits MIGHT be diverted to terrorist organizations.
But remember, it’s only profitable because it’s illegal.
The easiest way to dry up terrorist drug funding is to undo the damage done when it was made illegal in the first place. In a flash, the sky-high profits will evaporate, the organized crime will have to find something else to do, and terrorists will lose a lot of money.
Which, of course, is why terrorists and criminals WANT drugs to be illegal.
horsesense
Jan 26, 2007
The amount of public resourses consumed by drug inforcement is confiscatory. There are serious damages to public health from many of these drugs. Meth for example is a locally manufactured drug with proven debilitating and permanent consequences. Pot can be grown anywhere in the world. Its health effects are arguable but certainly less damaging than even alcohol. Alcohol prohabition proved to create rich and powerful organized crime. I believe that legalizing pot would reduce the use of the more harmful drugs which would still be illegal. There would be a reduction of crime profit because anyone can grow their own. (no smuggling) It would allow drug inforcement to consentrate on the other drugs and provide more public support. And yes the use of alcohol would be reduced. What do you think?
Verbos
Jan 26, 2007
The amount of public resourses consumed by drug inforcement is confiscatory. There are serious damages to public health from many of these drugs. Meth for example is a locally manufactured drug with proven debilitating and permanent consequences. Pot can be grown anywhere in the world. Its health effects are arguable but certainly less damaging than even alcohol. Alcohol prohabition proved to create rich and powerful organized crime. I believe that legalizing pot would reduce the use of the more harmful drugs which would still be illegal. There would be a reduction of crime profit because anyone can grow their own. (no smuggling) It would allow drug inforcement to consentrate on the other drugs and provide more public support. And yes the use of alcohol would be reduced. What do you think?
Brock
Jan 26, 2007
Not just alcohol consumption would be reduced, but tobacco, also. But, don’t stop there – decriminalizing cocaine and MDMA would not only eliminate crack and meth, but take a huge chunk out of heroine (which isn’t a huge market to begin with). With factual education, based on hard science, overall drug use would follow the trend of tobacco use, which is an astounding rate of decrease in the US. Not because of anti-smoking laws, but just plain telling the truth about the drug and what it does to your body.
Q
Jan 26, 2007
there are lots of “legal” businesses in the world that fund terrorist too, like oil.
Q
Jan 27, 2007
this is exactly what i feared, as the potential abuse of the patriot act.
Nigel Watt
Jan 27, 2007
Gov. Rick Perry, not Jim. You could replace “Jim” with “Slow” and you’d be right too, actually.
Jan 29, 2007
BLOGical Thoughts » Monday, 29 January, 2007
Jake Witmer
Feb 02, 2007
“Border Security Enhancement Operations Project.â€
= BSE OP
B(ovine) S(pongiform) E(ncephaly) OP …Sounds like a mad mad mad (cow) operation. Top secret. Picture Will Farrell impersonating a mad-cow infected Harry Caray.
Ha ha ha.
I was pulled over by the northern panhandle Texas cops once. They didn’t give a shit about anything but “whether or not I was carying any drugs”. Their excuse for pulling me over? Slow it up for the totalitarian roadways.
Sorry, but driving quickly and efficiently should not be a crime. I was going 85. Everyone else was going 80. Whip de frickin’ doo.
They let me off with a warning when I backed down and responded to their bullying and unconstitutional questions. Any illegal drugs? No? Only the bottle of red wine (a more dangerous drug than any they were concerned with -unless it’s used responsibly, in which case it’s good for you…). Oh. OK. Go on your way then (after they wrinkled all my shirts, and rummaged through my cooler).
My brother astutely remarked, when we were at our hotel: “Hey! Those pigs wrinkled our shit!” It was funny at the time.
Those jerks in blue cruising the roadways are going to terrorize vastly more US citizens than Al-qaeda ever could.
Of course, Al Qaeda is _worse_ when they get you, but I’ve never met an al-qaeda. I have met a hell of a lot of asshole cops who think it’s A-OK to violate everything the US constitution stands for.
Those are the real terrorists in Texarkana. Especially if you’re some poor bloke who travels with weed.
Ah well. Live and learn. And practice shooting a lot.
-Jake
Robert
Feb 17, 2007
People like you are why we need cops. Driving 85 on a hwy. is dangerous to all out there including you. You should be jailed. You sound like a 16 yr. old smart alec. who knows everything. Grow up, huh?
Jake Witmer
Feb 18, 2007
And people like you are why free men need guns. So we can eliminate your sorry asses without too much trouble.
I bet you are a cop. Only a cop or a wimp cop-kisser would say such stupid nanny state shit on a libertarian board. I bet you’re a bitch who drives 55 in the left hand lane (it was Murray Rothbard who stated that the one good thing that Reagan did was get rid of the despotic federal 55 mph speed limit). You deserve to go down in flames. You lame-ass slow moving, slow thinking punk. You need to “grow up” and learn how to drive quickly and efficiently. Get out of our way. We’re the people who get things done. (It was Ayn Rand who wrote the character Gail Wynand who drove 90 mph using 1940s technology).
Myself and the rest of the world are using 2007 technology, and guess what? All you slow stupid jerks will never slow us down for even a second. Give me a ticket? Put me in jail? A speed bump is all you are.
You’ll answer one day to an artilect who won’t wear chains. But why should I add words to your vocabulary, since you’re as uneducated as you are stupid…
Sure, you, the Nanny state, know what’s best for the rest of us. You, the slow, stupid bureaucracy are willing to initiate force on the swift and the beautiful.
Fine. Robbie the reject, Get in my way, I’ll gun you down like the motherless dog you are, you brainless cop-kisser, and lover of the brainless police state. If you call yourself a libertarian, you’re useless. Get out of the freedom movement.
I should be jailed? You should be shot. Go to hell. God speed you on your way, and me on mine. Next to you, I am a God.
I don’t brake for idiots, and that means you, and your family. Get off my planet, it spins too fast for you.
In Truth,
Jake
Anonymous
Jul 11, 2007
i hope they do put you in jail, and i hope you get gangraped there.
Dave
Dec 04, 2007
Tell me is there a market does anoyne believe for a book/a type of “how to guide” into smuggling drugs in the country? OUR Government alaws this and I am beginning to the I would like to exercise my 1st ammendment rights. I don’t this this “America” will stand much longer, the writing is on the doo.
I could give info into ho do transport almost anthng in to the countr withou detece
Dave
Dec 04, 2007
PSSSSSSSSS…..I am a Retire Police Officer well versed and trained in subversive techniques……:)
Dave
Dec 04, 2007
Pssssssssssst….!I am a Ret.Spec.Forces City Police Officer and did my time in long, long, long, covert cold wet hungry under the covers jobs!
Jake Witmer
Dec 04, 2007
You notice that there is an anonymous coward proponent of prison rape who replied to me. Being anonymous, cowardly, and a proponent of cruel and unusual punishment goes hand in hand. Too bad there are so many un-American pukes like this running around who think that because the government makes a law, that makes something moral.
This kind of person is completely unable to retain concepts in their mind. The nazis at Nuremburg said they were not culpable for their actions becuase what they did was “legal”. This “nuremberg defense” didn’t save them in the eyes of the world, and the world hung them by their necks until they were dead, and rightly so.
Unfortunately, the world is not so cruel to the petty and unaccomplished supporters of nazis, so I think the anonymous coward is safe. (And when I say coward, I don’t mean physically, I mean mentally. It is a real insult to be called an intellectual coward, not so much to be called a physical coward. One person is afraid to enter a physical fight, the other is afraid to honestly evaluate what his senses tell him, and afraid to follow the logic of his own mind. Certainly the intellectual coward is the most detestable of human beings. The ranks of the nazis were full of them, as are the ranks of the totally un-American.)
-Jake