05/26/10

From NBC

Arizona Gets Border Soldiers; None for Texas

Perry's request goes ignored for more than a year

By OMAR VILLAFRANCA
Updated 10:43 AM CDT, Wed, May 26, 2010



After repeated requests for help, President Barack Obama has agreed to send 1,200 National Guard troops to Arizona's border with Mexico. But so far, the president hasn't responded to Texas' request for assistance.

Gov. Rick Perry has sent letters to Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano requesting National Guard troops for the Texas-Mexico border.

Almost a year and a half after the first letter was sent, Perry hasn't received an answer.


"We've not received approval (or denial) regarding Gov. Perry's request," said Perry's spokesperson, Katherine Cesinger, in an e-mail. "But we remain hopeful that the federal government will provide the resources we've requested, including 1,000 Title 32 National Guardsmen, to secure the Texas-Mexico border."

A spokesperson at the Department of Defense said he couldn't give more information on the status of Perry's request.

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Just for the record: You hear a lot of whining from the liberal enclave around Austin. The rest of Texas has a proud history of self-reliance. In 1836, we decided we wanted to be independent of Mexico, and we had to thump them good to make them let go. In 1845, the Republic of Texas chose to become a state of the United States, and the government of Mexico got pissy about that, so we had to thump them again. In the process, they lost the land that became New Mexico, Arizona and California.

Some of our best Texans are of legal immigrant Mexican heritage. Some of them trace their roots back to before Texas was established. But too much of our crime and our public expenses are caused by illegal border crossers from Mexico and every other country that you can imagine. Hiding in that flow are terrorists from the Middle East and whatever "enemy of the day" country that wants to infiltrate agents undetected.

As I said, Texans are a self-reliant lot. They grow up competitive, playing football, rough-housing, hunting. Texas may be one of the prime recruiting areas for the U.S.Marines. They also learn loyalty to their friends, family, neighbors, their school, their unit, their country. Patriotism. As the Marines say: "No better Friend, No Worse Enemy".

So I don't think we need any of obama's National Guard troops. We could raise a real nice regiment of volunteer light infantry, maybe two, right here in Texas. I don't think you'd have to offer any pay, maybe just cover their transportation and food. A lot of these guy will be veterans from the jungles and the deserts who fought to protect someone else's lousy country in a shitty war. Give them a chance to protect their own country and they'll do it for free.