Another Minute with the Men

Given the generally positive response I got yesterday, I'm continuing to track the reports of the Minuteman Project, a boneheaded attempt by vigilantes with guns to "nonviolently" track the US-Mexico border.

This report from a local Tuscon station confirms expectations, that this whole thing is costing a lot of local taxpayer dollars:

Agent Andrea Zortman said the Minutemen have tripped dozens of sensors along well-traveled migrant trails. The sensors are buried underground.  Zortman said the minutemen are also leaving behind fresh footprints that border patrol agents mistake for migrant prints.

"With the citizen patrol, they're leaving behind footprints in washes, along paths," Zortman said.  "Our border patrol agents follow them, only to find they're from the citizen patrol. It's a total waste of time. That agent could be doing more."

Time isn't the only issue.  The Minuteman project is costing the Cochise County Sheriff's Department $100,000 in overtime for deputies.

"We had to develop a game plan to deal with this, and we're paying a pretty big chunk of change in overtime, so we didn't have to divert resources from other needful things," said Sheriff Larry Dever.

And here's where the Minutemen go completely nuts.

Minutemen say even if they are a distraction, they're doing more good than harm by calling attention to what they call a broken border.

Yes, you see, even if we're breaking the border more and costing taxpayers lots of money and threatening an international incident, we're calling attention to the problem! That we're creating!

Fortunately, there is almost universal opprobrium about these clowns. The Miami Herald, The North County Times, The Denver Post, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription), and a host of other editorial boards have lambasted the group's practices.

The North County TImes op/ed is my favorite, if only for making the following points: 1) NAFTA allows the free exchange of products and capital across the border, but not labor; 2) white supremacist groups like Aryan Nation have called this project a "white pride" event; 3) Chris Simcox, head of the Minuteman Project, was CONVICTED on federal weapons charges recently.

And here's another levelheaded member of the team:

Another key figure among the so-called Minutemen is Roger Barnett, who in March 2004 kicked a woman and shouted obscenities at her while holding her at gunpoint in a remote location along the Arizona-Mexico border. In October 2004, Barnett was accused of pointing an AR-15 assault-rifle at a group of two men and three children, all U.S. citizens, because apparently Barnett confused the group with "illegal aliens."

This story from the Kansas City Star has some priceless comedy. At one point, the Minutemen thought they were under attack from a Central American gang.

Chaos and a brief comedy of errors ensued. Suddenly, volunteers hopped into their cars and led one another on an aimless flight, seeking refuge at one of their posts that wasn't even manned. Then they realized they had no command station or even a commander. The radio operator at the Minuteman headquarters wasn't responding.

The panic subsided when volunteer Darrel Wood, 44, a former Army special forces member, urged calm in the early minutes of Tuesday.

"What do you guys make of all this? Are we making a statement or are we looking like idiots?" asked Wood, a Minuteman leader and phone company field technician from Price, Utah, addressing some of the dozen journalists trailing the team. "I just hope no one gets hurt. It would be a sad thing."

I can answer that one, Darrel. You look like idiots. Like these guys:

One panicked man, about 6-foot-2 and appearing in his 50s, entered the circle and interjected: "It's kind of hard to back away from an automatic weapon.

"It's not our job to confront the worst gang in the world! I'm not going to get involved in a military operation!" the man said. "We can't see more than 50 feet, and we got people crawling up in black camouflage!"

Another suggested return fire. "If anybody fires, it's a threat upon us," he said.

Donnelly added: "Should we have a word that means `Get out!' Like `Alamo?"...

"No brag, but I wasn't scared," said Buddy Watson, 60, a retired South Carolina prison guard who now lives in Springdale, Ark., following the MS-13 incident. "I believe this is the start of something."

Left without comment. Why bother?

Even though the Minutemen are exposing themselves in all their naked racism and stupisdity, that doesn't mean others of like minds are looking at it and not liking what they see. Two articles augure the expansion of the project, into New Mexico (courtesy the horrific WorldNetDaily):

Meanwhile, Albuquerque City Councilman David Pfeffer said he wants to bring the Minuteman Project to New Mexico. Pfeffer said he wants to be personally involved in the volunteer effort to patrol the border for illegal immigrants and smugglers.

"I would be willing to get involved with an effort along New Mexico's borders," Pfeffer said.

...and Texas:

"This is what homeland security should look like from the Gulf of Mexico to the shores of the Pacific Ocean," said Simcox, a newspaper owner from the nearby town of Tombstone, who was driving around inspecting the bases.

"I have been in contact with some Texans who are very interested in doing a Minuteman project there," he said. He did not identify the people or specify any dates for such a project.

And in case you're fooling yourself with the "noble cause" of these fools, read this:

Volunteer Chad Robinson, 50, of Phoenix, said he is worried about diseases that he says immigrants bring.

Finally, Media Matters informs us that Minuteman organizer James Gilchrist is upset about everybody "picking on" white supremacists:

COLMES: Recently, the white supremacy group Aryan Nation has recruited for the Minuteman Project, promoting the protest as a white pride event. This is who you're participating with here.

GILCHRIST: I have -- Alan, I have no control over someone posting an e-mail. I know what you're talking about. I've been to that Stormfront website. I have put a warning on our website -- you are not welcome here if you're a member of any supremacist group, whether it be of any color, race or creed.

Alan, there are supremacist groups out there of all races, colors and creeds. It's not just white supremacists. Why are you picking on them? There are brown. There are purple. There are red.

I know I pick on purple supremacists all the time. Jerks who think Grimace should rule the world.

OK, that's it for today. Enjoy.