Grab Your Binoculars
Jun 20th, 2007 | By Michel Marizco | Category: General News, Immigration, Politics
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THE BORDER REPORT
The Minuteman Project is making its return to the Arizona border (well, about 35 miles north of it) this week and surprisingly, one local newspaper is welcoming the group with a warm embrace.
"We think they can be part of the solution, with their presence serving as a wake-up call to politicians who continue to delay border reform," the editorial of the Green Valley News and Sun reads.
Now, there's a couple ways to look at this:
A) The newspaper is unafraid of voicing its support for a group willing to do the job your government won't do
B) The editorial board of the paper just jumped off the mother ship of rational thought (I wonder how the Green Valley Samaritans felt this morning)
C) Nobody has the slightest idea what to do about the border except the Sinaloans. At this point, the situation is such a mess, welcoming a group of men in camos and American flag baseball caps sounds like a good idea
I'm guessing C.
My own thoughts about the Minuteman Project is that it's simply irrelevant; a media stunt designed to draw mass attention without having to actually do anything.
The whole circus act smacks of some apocalyptic B movie where the government has lost control and the citizens turn to the local mob for help. The result is something akin to Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, where the local mob goes a little crazy every time they see someone in a white mask.
The farce of the "vigilantes" on the border has been rolling now for more than four years, and still newspapers dredge it up as either Menace or Saviour.
Meanwhile, nobody can seem to think up of a working solution for the border - except the Sinaloans. And the Oaxacans. And the Chiapenses. And the millions of landlords, car dealers, business owners and money-lenders who profit off the illegal immigrants living in the shadows.
But going back to the Minuteman Project for the moment, the media archives are crawling with stories lately about the financial mismanagement of the organization.
According to the Minuteman Project's 2005 budget, posted by the Houston Chronicle last year, $277,000 was spent on personnel services that were never specified.
A vaunted "Israeli-style" fence was supposed to be built on some Cochise County ranchland adjacent to the border. I've spent a lot of time running through the Naco and Douglas border roads, all I ever see is barb-wire fencing. That includes the Ladd property west of Naco and the Hodges' property in Bisbee Junction.
I also haven't seen anyone doing any fence-work out there since last winter.
Last month, a believer, Jim Campbell, filed a $1.2 million lawsuit against the Minuteman Project, charging that he mortgaged his house to pay $100,000 toward a barrier fence on the Ladd property.
Meanwhile, Simcox fired 14 of his 27 state chapter leaders last month after they tried to call him out in a meeting in Scottsdale.
“This movement is much too important to be lost over a question of finances,†Gary Cole, the Minutemen’s former national director of operations, told The Washington Times last year. “We can’t demand that the government be held accountable for failing to control the border if we can’t hold ourselves accountable for the people’s money.â€
Guilty or not, the organization is clearly a shambles right now and the best bet is to stay away for a while. Sooner or later, the IRS is going to come calling.
But you wouldn't know that from the Green Valley News and Sun editorial, glowing with warmth for the Minuteman Project: "They are well-intentioned men and women who abide by the law. They want illegals to stop disrupting your life."
-- Michael Marizco