Posted on 01/06/2019 3:17:37 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Since first threatening a government shutdown last month in his battle with Congress over border wall funding, President Donald Trump has leaned heavily on Twitter to rally support among his followers.
So far, the strategy seems to be working. That, however, doesn’t bode well for a quick resolution to the standoff.
With a partial government shutdown now in its third week, the White House signaled on Sunday that talks to reopen the federal government could produce a deal that sees Trump moving away from his demand that a proposed barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico be a concrete wall.
The possible concession, which comes days after Trump had floated a barrier of steel rather than a concrete wall, came even as a White House official warned that the shutdown, could “drag on a lot longer.” The pledge to build a barrier has made the president a captive of a central campaign promise, which on Saturday The New York Times reported began in 2014 as a memory trick to help Trump remember his hard-line on immigration.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Sunday, Trump repeated his threat that if he is unhappy with negotiations in a few days, he could declare a national emergency and use the military to construct a wall, circumventing Congress.
The standoff has left about 800,000 federal employees are furloughed or working without pay. The House, now led by Democrats, passed legislation Thursday night to fund the agencies that have been caught in the border wall crossfire. But could still veto the measure even if the Senate acts to approve it.
Trump said on Sunday that he should not have to lower his demand for $5.6 billion in border security funding.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
·
1h
V.P. Mike Pence and group had a productive meeting with the Schumer/Pelosi representatives today. Many details of Border Security were discussed. We are now planning a Steel Barrier rather than concrete. It is both stronger & less obtrusive. Good solution, and made in the U.S.A.
What are these people talking about. Trump has been talking about a steel barrier for a long time with a desire to be able to see through it. The design is a detail. The dems are not opposed to a concrete wall -- they are opposed to a wall.
They are opposed to stopping illegals from entering this country - period.
They shouldn't be that silly. They know better. Trump doesn't care if it's a concrete wall, a steel fence or a moat filled with alligators. We don't either.
How many minutes would it take for a blow torch to cut through one picket so illegals could flood in?
I watched a video the other day, in which the YouTuber pointed out that many people, when they are wrong, choose to double down on being wrong. That is what the Democrat/socialists are doing right now, doubling down on their anti-American, anti-national security platform. They do not understand (or care) why they were elected—combo of vote fraud and voter frustration over Republicans who were too timid to do what was expected—and so, they are going full out, mocking and resisting the will of the people.
As long as it stops the flow of illegals we don’t care if it’s made of steel shipping crates... But it has to work...
Using American steel I hope!
Jobs!
My, that puts a lot of Democrats in a pickle...
I am perfectly FINE with a steel barrier, as long as the illegal aliens cant get through it than its all good with me!
I’ve wondered about that. And you can cut holes in concrete. Seems electrified barriers could add a valuable dimension. But I can hear the left screaming about the fried “migrants”.
All this focus on “wall’ is just idiotic. Wall does not necessarily connote a concrete structure. Any half-wit with a lick of common sense and a dictionary ought to be able figure that out.
In the long run - that would cost MORE and be less effective... (Costs based on repairs and excess patrolling to find the broken sections.) Then again, Trump's a builder - he'll know what will work - and the alternative costs involved.
“How many minutes would it take for a blow torch to cut through one picket so illegals could flood in?”
Not sure how thick the pickets will be...I prefer a concrete wall. Harder to defeat(climb or cut). The Border patrol can watch what’s going on on the other side with drones.
But i’ll take a pile of concertina wire at this point in the game. It’s getting ridiculous.
A simple chain link fence with a V top and barb wire should do the trick! I remember adds for such fences back in the 1950s showing Edmund Hillary trying to get over one using mountain climbing gear, and he could not do it.
But then, that was the 1950s.
How many minutes would it take for a blow torch to cut through one picket so illegals could flood in?
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The wall will still be monitored with people and electronically.
1. Oxygen cutting is a chemical reaction; the speed at which you can cut is not directly proportional to metalthickness. If you can cut steel 10-20 mm thick at a speed of 375 mm per minute, you can probably cut 50 mm steelat a rate of about 125 mm per minute.
https://www.esabna.com/euweb/oxy_handbook/589oxy21_18.htm
Guessing the lighter sections to be in the 10mm thickness area. 375mm ~15 inches... Aproxmaitatly a two-foot diameter hole for one at a time. that would be 75 inches circumference...FIVE MINUTES???
That said, the vertical elements could be tubes filled with concrete, that would slow the cutting to a near stop for a torch, but not an abrasive saw...
Also, I would expect gaps to minimize wind loading.
I read that Border Patrol prefers a steel barrier wall because they can see what is happening on other side.
If as President Trump suggests, this shutdown could last for years, what a great way to shrink government largess by attrition.
Maybe those government employees should start applying to American Steel Mills now.
We were in the construction business. You usually need water to cut through concrete - so if the tubes were filled with concrete it would definitely be more difficult.
With each passing day of the “shutdown” as doomsday fails to arrive, more and more people will come to realize there is a lot of government we really don’t need.
It is the Dems who need to end this early or their myths will be busted.
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