U.S.-Canadian coalition to check border crossings

The Washington Times ^ | June 17,2005 | Jerry Seper

[youngtory]

A coalition of civilian volunteers in the United States and Canada yesterday said it has begun the first stages in developing internationally supported citizen patrols along the U.S.-Canada border patterned after the Minuteman Project in April in Arizona. The American-Canadian Conservative Coalition, in concert with Minuteman Project organizer Chris Simcox, said it is preparing for its first vigil along the border in Michigan, south of Ontario, and is actively working to expand the watch to every state and province along the northern U.S. border.

-snip-

[youngtory]

Canada ping please.

[usurper]

I think the Border Patrol should get in front of this and embrace the concept. There is no difference between this operation and others such as the civil air patrol.

To be most effective they need to coordinate with the Border Patrol on our side and the RCMP in Canada.

Additional government involvement could provide screening (as does the civil air patrol) to ensure that the organization in not infiltrated by smugglers or people with questionable backgrounds.

[youngtory]

But politics is in the way.

[usurper]

But politics is in the way.

Perhaps not in this case, the situation on the US Canadian border is not encumbered by the usual rhetoric with see on the southern border. There are no special interests groups demanding that there be an open border, other than trade groups but they come through the ports of entry anyway.

The only opposition will come from the BC Bud growers and transporters. Their ability to organize opposition is somewhat limited due to their diminished capacity from using too much of their own product.

[Lord Nelson]

Would the purpose be to stop would be terrorists from migrating from one side to the other? If so, it's a great idea.

[fanfan]

Thanks for the ping, Youngtory. I heard radio interviews tonight on the way home, with the Canadian and US head of this project, and I think it's a wonderful idea.

However, the American spokesman said something completely misleading...."and it has been reported that 11 of the 13, 9/11 hijackers came through Canada".

That is plain WRONG.

All the hijackers lived in the US, and had not arrived through Canada. Also, 11 of the 13? Try 19!

This guy ( can't remember his name, sorry) has his heart in the right place, but loses credibility when his facts are so wrong.

[cake_crumb]

Gosh, obviously this is another neoconservative, globalist conspiracy. Wait until the libertarians get here, they'll tell you.

Where was I? Oh yes, another thumbs up to the Minutemen. It DOES seem to be working at the moment. It will continue to do so, until ya'll start thinking like bureaucrats. Then it'll fail. Remember that.

Wishing this new group the same success the Minuteman project has thus far enjoyed...CHEERS!

[cake_crumb]

"But politics is in the way."

As far as the original Minuteman Project is concerned, not anymore.

Hoping for the same success here.

[Owl558]

"This guy ( can't remember his name, sorry) has his heart in the right place, but loses credibility when his facts are so wrong."

Hey, at least he knew there was one of those hijacking-thingees a while back. That's better than a fair number of folks.

[fanfan]

To be most effective they need to coordinate with the Border Patrol on our side and the RCMP in Canada.

It's more like Miniute Men, but on both sides of the border.

We conservatives up here understand what it would mean to our relationship if Canada is allows itself to be used to hurt you folks.

[fanfan]

LOL

[Owl558]

Seriously, we ARE neighbors and that ain't changing. Neighbors should look out for one another.

[familyop]

LOL! ...gonna get those descendents of Brits as they swim/dogsled/skate across Lake Huron, eh?

That offense was not meant toward the many Canadian friends and relatives of Freepers.

[familyop]

BTW, that was in reference to where the posted piece said, "...Minuteman Project organizer Chris Simcox, said it is preparing for its first vigil along the border in Michigan, south of Ontario..."

[rasblue]

The thing about US immigration that I find sad is that if you are a Canadian and want to immigrate to the US you either have to move to the US on a "non-resident workers visa" (available only to university grads) and then use "dual-intent" to get a Green Care reliant upon your employers good graces (quit and you have to leave the US in 10 days). You can also start or invest in a business using at least $250,000-$1m of your own capital (rich only need apply) or you can marry an American.

If you are Mexican or from the 3rd world fleeing whatever you are fleeing from you have a much easier time getting a Green Card. You apply for a family class visa. You claim your cousin from your flea bitten village is your brother and you get a Green Card. Its a chain and you can eventually bring over an unlimited number of people. Of course there is also the Green Card lottery but Canadians can't apply for it.
Of course you can also start up a half-a$$ed business to get a small business class visa and the sell it to your cousins in the old country so they can come too once you get your green card.

Basically what I am saying is that the US immigration policies need to be looked at closely as long as stepping up patrols. (many conservative Canadians want to move to the US but can't)

[Ashamed Canadian]

Oh yes, that's more like it!!!! Where do I sign up???

[IsKevinFobbsADope]

The interviewee in question was one Kevin Fobbs, on CBC radio no less (Canada's national, public-service broadcaster). It was broadcast about 7pm EDT, Fri June 17, 2005.

Kevin stated (and I quote):
"There was proof that 11 of the 13 individuals that came through, who were part of the 9-11, individuals who brought down those planes, 11 of those came through Canada to the United States."

Clearly Kevin is a misinformed dope since in fact none of the 9-11 ne'er-do-wells came to the USA via Canada. Still, it didn't stop him from using the word "proof" and even when confronted by the interviewer about the veracity of this statement his fall-back was "Actually, that's been reported." Where? On FreeRepublic.com, or that other not-at-all-esteemed place "WorldNetDaily.com". Ba ha!

You can hear (RealAudio) his whole interview at:
http://cbc.ca/asithappens/media/dailyshow/2005-06-17-aih1.ram

(His interview begins at timecode 21:32. He demonstrated his gross ignorance at timecode 23:39.)

Myself, I'd like to thank Kevin for having personally sacrificed his reputation in order to have provided ongoing evidence that:
"Americans are the best entertained and the least informed people in the world."
-- Neil Postman

A slight correction to what fanfan said, Kevin was not identified as a spokesmen for the "American-Canadian Conservative Coalition" (AC3), he was identified as a member. AC3 does not yet seem to have reached the stage of having a website so we can't tell too much about them.

Though Kevin was identified as 'merely' a member of AC3 he is not your average, dumb-arsed, Joe-SixPack American. Why he's all of [1, 2]:
---- President of National Urban Policy Action Council
---- Chairman of NuPac News and Views Network
---- Second Vice Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party
---- daily host of a talk show in Detroit
---- co-founder of the Jackson, MI-based American Conservative Values Television Network
---- Director for Government and Civic Affairs for Soul Source
---- a National Political Columnist for the RNC
---- a provider of national radio & print commentary on behalf of the RNC

Notice all the instances of RNC/Republican? Kevin's a junior ringleader and mouthpiece for them. Which gives some indication of the level of ignorance within the Repub leadership.

Which also might explain why so many Repub-leaning folks are as ignorant as Kevin demonstrated.

(Or maybe we ought pity poor Kevin, too busy with all his little organs to do necessary fact-checking, or even keep abreast of current events [Newt made a similar gaffe on April 18 of this year; Canada's ambassador to the USA sent him a written, public rebuke on April 19 and on April 20 Newt replied with a public and comprehensive mea culpa ... this made national headlines, even in the USA]).

Martin Luther King, Jr. said:
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
which goes a fair way to explaining why such a large portion of the inhabitants of this planet think that the USA is dangerous.

scott; canada

---

[1]: Program Guide
http://www.wdtkam.com/pgguide.html

[2]: Kevin Fobbs' Bio
http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/kfobbs/bio.shtml

[IsKevinFobbsADope]

<> The interviewee in question was one Kevin Fobbs, on CBC radio no less (Canada's national, public-service broadcaster). It was broadcast about 7pm EDT, Fri June 17, 2005. Kevin stated (and I am quoting him verbatim): "There was proof that 11 of the 13 individuals that came through, who were part of the 9-11, individuals who brought down those planes, 11 of those came through Canada to the United States." Clearly Kevin is a misinformed dope since in fact none of the 9-11 ne'er-do-wells came to the USA via Canada. Still, it didn't stop him from using the word "proof" and even when confronted by the interviewer about the veracity of this statement his fall-back was "Actually, that's been reported." Where? On FreeRepublic.com or that other, not-so-esteemed place "WorldNetDaily.com". Ba ha! You can hear (RealAudio) his whole interview at: http://cbc.ca/asithappens/media/dailyshow/2005-06-17-aih1.ram (Kevin's interview begins at timecode 21:32. He demonstrated his gross ignorance at timecode 23:39.) Myself, I'd like to thank Kevin for having personally sacrificed his reputation in order to have provided ongoing evidence (of at least the latter half) of: "Americans are the best entertained and the least informed people in the world." -- Neil Postman A slight correction to what fanfan said, Kevin was not identified as a spokesmen for the "American-Canadian Conservative Coalition" (AC3), he was identified as a member. AC3 does not yet seem to have reached the stage of having a website so we can't tell too much about them. Though Kevin was identified as 'merely' a member of AC3 he is not your average, dough-headed, Joe-SixPack American. Why he's all of [1, 2]: ---- President of National Urban Policy Action Council ---- Chairman of NuPac News and Views Network ---- Second Vice Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party ---- daily host of a talk show in Detroit ---- co-founder of the Jackson, MI-based American Conservative Values Television Network ---- Director for Government and Civic Affairs for Soul Source ---- a National Political Columnist for the RNC ---- a provider of national radio & print commentary on behalf of the RNC Notice all the instances of RNC/Republican? Kevin's a junior ringleader and mouthpiece for them. Which gives some indication of the level of ignorance within the Repub leadership, eh? Which also might explain why so many Repub-leaning folks are as ignorant as Kevin has kindly demonstrated. (Or maybe we ought pity poor Kevin, too busy with all his little organs to do necessary fact-checking, or even keep abreast of current events. {It was on Fox's Hannity & Colmes that Newt made a similar gaffe on April 18 of this year [3, 4]; Canada's ambassador to the USA sent him a written, public rebuke on April 19 [5] and on April 20 Newt replied with a public and comprehensive mea culpa [6]}). Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ... which goes a fair way to explaining why such a large number of people in this world think that the USA is dangerous. scott; canada =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [1]: Program Guide http://www.wdtkam.com/pgguide.html [2]: Kevin Fobbs' Bio http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/kfobbs/bio.shtml [3]: Hannity & Colmes; Guests and Topics: April 18 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,153905,00.html [4]: "Newt Gingrich sorry for comments about Canada" http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/04/21/gingrich-mckenna050421.html [5]: "[...] the text of a letter sent today to Speaker Newt Gingrich, in response to comments made last night by Mr. Gingrich on Hannity & Colmes." http://www.canadianembassy.org/ambassador/050419-en.asp [6]: Newt's "retract[ion]" http://www.canadianembassy.org/ambassador/ngingrich050420-en.asp

[IsKevinFobbsADope]

Okay, take 3. My prior attempt at posting had all new_line's removed, making it as intelligible as an impromptu speech by Bush Jr...

---

{{Take 2: CORRECTION - I inadvertently submitted a draft version of my reply instead of my finalized one; please disregard the former and refer to this one. Thanks!}}

---

The interviewee in question was one Kevin Fobbs, on CBC radio no less (Canada's national, public-service broadcaster). It was broadcast about 7pm EDT, Fri June 17, 2005.

Kevin stated (and I am quoting him verbatim):
"There was proof that 11 of the 13 individuals that came through, who were part of the 9-11, individuals who brought down those planes, 11 of those came through Canada to the United States."

Clearly Kevin is a misinformed dope since in fact none of the 9-11 ne'er-do-wells came to the USA via Canada. Still, it didn't stop him from using the word "proof" and even when confronted by the interviewer about the veracity of this statement his fall-back was "Actually, that's been reported." Where? On FreeRepublic.com or that other, not-so-esteemed place "WorldNetDaily.com". Ba ha!

You can hear (RealAudio) his whole interview at:
http://cbc.ca/asithappens/media/dailyshow/2005-06-17-aih1.ram

(Kevin's interview begins at timecode 21:32. He demonstrated his gross ignorance at timecode 23:39.)

Myself, I'd like to thank Kevin for having personally sacrificed his reputation in order to have provided ongoing evidence (of at least the latter half) of:
"Americans are the best entertained and the least informed people in the world."
-- Neil Postman

A slight correction to what fanfan said, Kevin was not identified as a spokesmen for the "American-Canadian Conservative Coalition" (AC3), he was identified as a member. AC3 does not yet seem to have reached the stage of having a website so we can't tell too much about them.

Though Kevin was identified as 'merely' a member of AC3 he is not your average, dough-headed, Joe-SixPack American. Why he's all of [1, 2]:
---- President of National Urban Policy Action Council
---- Chairman of NuPac News and Views Network
---- Second Vice Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party
---- daily host of a talk show in Detroit
---- co-founder of the Jackson, MI-based American Conservative Values Television Network
---- Director for Government and Civic Affairs for Soul Source
---- a National Political Columnist for the RNC
---- a provider of national radio & print commentary on behalf of the RNC

Notice all the instances of RNC/Republican? Kevin's a junior ringleader and mouthpiece for them. Which gives some indication of the level of ignorance within the Repub leadership, eh?

Which also might explain why so many Repub-leaning folks are as ignorant as Kevin has kindly demonstrated.

(Or maybe we ought pity poor Kevin, too busy with all his little organs to do necessary fact-checking, or even keep abreast of current events. {It was on Fox's Hannity & Colmes that Newt made a similar gaffe on April 18 of this year [3, 4]; Canada's ambassador to the USA sent him a written, public rebuke on April 19 [5] and on April 20 Newt replied with a public and comprehensive mea culpa [6]}).

Martin Luther King, Jr. said:
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

... which goes a fair way to explaining why such a large number of people in this world think that the USA is dangerous.

scott; canada

---

[1]: Program Guide
http://www.wdtkam.com/pgguide.html

[2]: Kevin Fobbs' Bio
http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/kfobbs/bio.shtml

[3]: Hannity & Colmes; Guests and Topics: April 18
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,153905,00.html

[4]: "Newt Gingrich sorry for comments about Canada"
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/04/21/gingrich-mckenna050421.html

[5]: "[...] the text of a letter sent today to Speaker Newt Gingrich, in response to comments made last night by Mr. Gingrich on Hannity & Colmes."
http://www.canadianembassy.org/ambassador/050419-en.asp

[6]: Newt's "retract[ion]"
http://www.canadianembassy.org/ambassador/ngingrich050420-en.asp