How Border Residents are "From the Future."
And, Budget Pinch Looms for DHS, from Unexpected Quarter
Good Morning, Friends.
A strange thought to share this week, after some reflection on the border crisis and how long its been going on. In a sense— folks living and working in the Del Rio sector are “from the future.”
All of the border crisis news that is too much to seemingly conceal, deny, or handwave away, is starting to finally get a fair amount of consideration in the national press. Most journalists and news consumers are reacting more or less appropriately— but they’re so far behind the curve for most folks that have been living with this stuff for more than 2 years now, that it’s almost comical.
The rest of the country has 2 years worth of shock, alarm, and dismay to process and figure out how to respond to and resolve.
So, while folks around here are not actual time travelers— they might as well be, given the situation— given how far along they are in the mental journey.
In Austin, Governor Abbott seems to be fiddling with the dial— not quite ready to turn it up to 11 and declare an invasion— instead, he’s calling the cartels terrorist organizations. You can find reporter Bethany Blankley and the Center Square’s analysis of the designation and conservative reaction around the state at that link.
Just what does this designation mean anyway?
Well, one of the things some folks will latch onto when trying to dismiss talk about declaring a state of invasion, is the fact that there doesn’t appear to be any one particular nation-state involved in the invasion of Texas. Their poorly-constructed arguments then proceed to say in so many words, “How can you have an invasion, without a country and military invading you?”
What they try to hustle past in their ignorance, is the fact that the US and Texas Constitutions allow for such a declaration to be made in response to piracy and other organized criminal acts, like the illegal importation of dangerous chemical substances by organized crime, such as fentanyl. It’s a principle perhaps best illustrated historically, by the time the U.S. Navy and Marines fought against the Pirates of the Barbary Coast in the early 1800s.
The incident is all but glossed over now in High School history texts, but is well worth reading about, demonstrating the utility of U.S. Navy Frigates like the U.S.S. Constellation, and the heroism of Stephen Decatur, who slipped aboard the captured U.S.S. Philadelphia, and set it on fire while it rested at anchor in the harbor of Tripoli.
British Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson called it the most heroic act of the age.
One could also argue, it was perhaps the first time the U.S. Government decided not to negotiate with terrorists, even if it wasn’t adopted as a general principle until much later. Indeed, one of the reasons war was declared on the pirates, was the fact that over time, paying them off became not only humiliating, but ruinously expensive. And then there was the fact that the Pirates were kidnapping U.S. Citizens and selling them into slavery in the Ottoman Empire.
Getting back to the present, find the Texas Tribune’s take on things here. It’s a pretty objective look at what the Governor’s directing DPS to do, though it avoids mentioning the word invasion, even as it points out that Texas doesn’t really have any anti-terrorism statutes of its own.
What kind of analysis is one to make of this? Perhaps the most charitable examination of the Governor’s actions would be to say that he appears to be trying to exhaust every opportunity for the federal government to do the right thing and respond in some meaningful fashion, before going all the way with a declaration of invasion, and invoking the various associated constitutional clauses.
At first glance, that would seem like a reasonable thing to do. But for folks who’re “from the future,” and have been living with this out-of-control situation for more than 2 years now, it rather feels like it’s late to the party.
Faster, please, in other words.
New readers may be concerned about just what might happen in the wake of an invasion declaration. Would such a thing mean armed troops, shooting at anyone trying to cross the river? Almost certainly not.
What it would do, theoretically, is allow DPS or other law enforcement to act as Border Patrol and begin intervening in matters of immigration. Right now, they’re only arresting people who are trespassing on private property. All others are simply turned over to Border Patrol.
That may not sound like much, but it would actually be a big deal, and almost certainly have a near instant effect on border traffic.
In most discussion of the migrants and illegal aliens that are coming to the US, most people fall into two different camps. On one side of the debate, you have folks who seem to be of a paternal sort of disposition— speaking of the migrants and illegals as though they are poor, ignorant, helpless children— blown hither, tither and yon by the vicissitudes of fate and a cruel uncaring world.
On the other side of the debate, you have those who believe that the migrants and aliens are just as intelligent as anyone else, and are making rational and informed decisions about where they’re going and how to get there, and what is most advantageous to them.
Obviously, these are two polar, and somewhat exaggerated positions— but the occasional exceptions you find online or on TV tend to prove the rule. To some extent, there is probably truth in both positions.
What this means, is that if and when the State of Texas or the Federal Government are finally willing to change what’s enabling this uncontrolled migration, those who have no choice— no agency— will still come. They are perhaps, legitimate asylum seekers.
Those coming because they believe it is to their advantage to do so will change their minds and stay home, rightfully calculating that it is no longer advantageous. If it sounds simple, that’s because it is.
The complexities are ultimately all added-on distractions. Yes. There are bad situations out there in the world. But there always have been. And that is no good reason for the U.S. Government to expose its citizens to the kind of danger and chaos that we’re all seeing as a result of this uncontrolled border.
Present times are no more extreme than the past, and yet we are supposed to believe that circumstances in South and Central America justify the out-of-control criminality and the unrestrained immigration that has typified the border area and the highways leading into the rest of the state.
“Everything is fine,” says the White House.
Everything is not fine, and finally, it’s becoming obvious even to people who don’t live around here.
Sad that it seems a trip “back to the future” for Martha’s Vineyard is what it took to get here.
Keep your eyes on the Department of Homeland Security in the coming weeks. DHS and other federal agencies appear to be headed for something of a funding crisis.
Apparently, it all has to do with changes made as a result of the “STOP Act of 2018.”
If you go looking for more information, be sure to google that phrase in quotes. There’s a lot of ambiguity when you simply search for “federal stop act.”
It’s called the “Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention” act, and it was put in place to try and curb the shipment of Fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into the U.S. through the U.S. Mail.
Like many a program with seeming good intentions, critics say it’s basically been a fine vehicle for federal pork— and all kinds of swine have been at the trough, taking bulk shipments of mail, processing them, and then turning them over to U.S.P.S. for what’s called “the last mile.” They make a ton of money along the way.
Who are we talking about? Well, possibly Fedex, UPS, DHL and other much smaller carriers. Small or large, they’re all making beaucoup additional revenue thanks to this act, which allows them to move greater volume at new low low prices. And, don’t forget about retired CBP leaders who are making good money as “consultants” for these companies.
Weird.
What’s all this have to do with DHS funding anyway? Good question.
The law purports to have the Postal Service, and DHS apply what’s called “Advanced Electronic Data” to the flow of bulk mail— allowing the use of some sort of analysis and detection, to identify potential drug smuggling through the mail from overseas.
It also changes the way agencies are paid and reimbursed for dealing with mail and express shipments.
According to individuals the Dispatch has spoken with, these changes could lead to budget shortfalls, much the same way that Covid-19 regulations impacted user fees at U.S. airports, which DHS makes use of to fund certain operations.
The whole thing is reminiscent of the budget pinch many local governments and state agencies around the country are feeling, as consumers desert cable companies. No joke. Lots of folks are starting to talk about how they need to have a “Netflix tax” to make up for it.
Does this mean that DHS will have to curtail operations? Perhaps. More than likely, however, they’ll turn to Congress and ask for a budget supplement instead.
So far, this issue hasn’t landed at any major news organizations. If any are even aware of the matter, it may be that they’re waiting to see what the numbers look like, and what DHS leadership will actually tell the White House and Congress as the money dries up and budgets start to really pinch.
Don’t expect to hear much about the pork though. Can’t get between these companies, their consultants, and that good good.
And finally this morning— what appears to be a jaw-dropping piece in the New York Post about an FBI whistleblower. It’s by an Australian journalist named Miranda Devine, who is focusing attention on a veteran FBI agent who is in some trouble at the Bureau, for refusing to take part in FBI tactical raids targeting U.S. Citizens, related to the January 6th incident.
According to Devine, Agent Steve Friend is objecting on moral and constitutional grounds, while also calling out what looks like some very suspicious behavior from somewhere inside the Hoover building.
Among his several allegations— the one that jumped out at us this morning is that the Washington D.C. field office is farming out J6 cases to field offices across the country, to create the impression that right-wing domestic terrorism is a widespread national problem. He also says he and other agents are being asked to sign for cases they know nothing about and have done nothing to investigate— to reinforce this image of a widespread nationwide problem.
In at least one meeting with superiors, Friend says he was told that he was not being a team player. We’re just barely scratching the surface of his story and his allegations here— the whole thing deserves your consideration, so we’ll link it again here.
We’ve never heard of Devine before— it’s entirely possible that her reporting is garbage. A quick look at her information on Wikipedia suggests that she is a hardcore conservative commentator of some sort— something that will lead some folks to want to dismiss her and Agent Friend’s claims out of hand.
So far, it seems no one else has really picked up on Friend or his story— not even to attempt a thorough debunking. We’ll see if anything else comes of it.
For now, Friend is said to be suspended. His firearm and badge have been taken away, along with other administrative punishments.
And on that note, we’ll call it a morning. Hope you’re having a great one.
As always, this newsletter is produced independently of our association with the Kinney County Sheriff’s Office, and should not be mistaken for any kind of official communication by Kinney County. Indeed, any errors, mistakes, bias, or other misdeeds are entirely our own.
Edited, to replace the word violence with terrorism. Phrase should now read "widespread domestic terrorism," instead of "widespread domestic violence." And, edited once again, to correct the incorrect use of the word parentheses, when when "quotes" was what was meant. Corrected phrase should now read "...be sure to google the phrase in quotes..."