The Texan Navy

[Pontifex Maximus]

So, Texas is getting a navy.



"It sends a message: Don't mess with Texas," Jose Rodriguez, a regional commander of the Texas Department of Safety, told WFAA."

The thing is, this might not be as crazy a move as it sounds. The presence of these incredibly scary looking boats might actually do some good. The Rio Grande river is one of the most unsafe (yet not as frequently patrolled) border crossing points. Texas is just behind California as the second destination for illegal immigrants. The river is deep and fast flowing in areas, even though the surface of the water appears smooth. People see it as an easy way to cross, but it isn't. So while the boats are there to stem the flow of drug smuggling, they may also actively take part in either rescuing or deterring migrants from trying to enter in the Rio Grande area.

Of course, the more political side to this story is Texas' response to the drug smugglers that have been using the river to transport their product from Mexico to the US. Will these (first?) six gunboats neutralize the smugglers on the river?

My answer is no, it will do absolutely nothing. The river-border is hundreds of miles long. These boats will have minimal impact by themselves and will only be effective if they are part of some rapid response team that could be dispatched by some early warning device, either cameras, or gridded helicopter patrols. They already have several police boats that patrol the river, obviously to minimal effect. Adding more boats to this fleet will make it marginally more effective, but it will take a lot more than a dozen boats to shut down the drug trade across the Rio Grande.

[HissingNewt]

I doubt six boats is enough to be effective, but they'll still improve border security a bit.

[Strattios]

It is part of a team. They already have a bunch of smaller boats and while they do patrol, they are commonly used in support of helicopter based patrol teams.

Alone they would have limited use, but as part of the existing fleet of boats and helicopters they are able.to add some heavier fire power and more men for landings.

[Magicman2051]

Six boats may well be enough depending on response times.

[Adar]

I think it looks a bit too light when coming up against Mexican drug smugglers. They will essentially be forced to shoot first or not shoot at all.

The American equivalent of this would be more fitting to give a good compromise between protection and manouverability.

[molonthegreat]

They should just release hundreds of American crocodiles into the Rio Grandee, it would be great for the species and it would keep most sane illegals away.

[Admiral Piett]

They should just release hundreds of American crocodiles into the Rio Grandee, it would be great for the species and it would keep most sane illegals away.

Too dry unfortunately. They'd die off for lack of food and suitable breeding ground.

[Matthias]

Or we could save a lot of money and blood and just legalize drugs and regulate them, even tax them. But I guess that's too logical.

[Sir Winston Churchill]

Or we could save a lot of money and blood and just legalize drugs and regulate them, even tax them. But I guess that's too logical.

Pfft, what heresy do you speak of? Legalizing drugs so that there is no black market? Decent regulation for health? The promotion of libertarianism by allowing one to decide what to do to themselves, AND improve the economy?

You sir, are under the influence.

[molonthegreat]

Or we could save a lot of money and blood and just legalize drugs and regulate them, even tax them. But I guess that's too logical.

It's more likely that they will implement my idea about rio grandee crocodiles than legalizing drugs.

How about anacondas and importing some pythons from Florida.

That might work but snakes aren't as violent and scary as crocodiles but maybe hippos?

[HissingNewt]

Or we could save a lot of money and blood and just legalize drugs and regulate them, even tax them. But I guess that's too logical.

I think most people would rather see harmful drugs be illegal (and no, that's not referring to marijuana). The truly addictive and destructive stuff should never be legalized. But another reason for this is so that we can actually guard our borders. Since it seems like the federal government doesn't really care, apparently it's falling to the states to do that now.

[Matthias]

I think most people would rather see harmful drugs be illegal (and no, that's not referring to marijuana). The truly addictive and destructive stuff should never be legalized. But another reason for this is so that we can actually guard our borders. Since it seems like the federal government doesn't really care, apparently it's falling to the states to do that now.

I don't know what most people would want, but the truly addictive and destructive stuff won't be taken any more frequently than now if it's legalized, considering it hasn't been in other countries that have legalized all drugs. Might as well regulate it heavily and treat it for what it is, a medical issue, not a criminal issue.

As for guarding our borders, it is impossible to do so to any great extent without spending a lot of money. Personally, I think the cost would be far more than any possible benefit to actually guard the entire border. It's overkill and is not needed. It's the wrong way to address the problem of illegal immigration, or terrorism, or drugs.

Texas has benefitted quite a lot from having a large illegal immigration population and a border with Mexico, so it's not all bad. Lots of cheap labor helps keep Texas cheap, grow their population which is generally good for any economy, and helped spur economic growth. Sure, the jobs from American citizens the illegal labor overtook were the losers in this situation, but the business interests on the right don't seem to mind this too much. Look at Alabama conservative farmers pulling their hair out when all the illegal labor went away, then wondering why American workers won't work for peanuts in crappy conditions. It's hilarious.

[molonthegreat]

Too dry unfortunately. They'd die off for lack of food and suitable breeding ground.

Lack of food? I think they would do just fine on a diet only consisting of crossing Mexicans and the great state of Texas should be able to fix a nice breeding ground for those crocodiles.

[Matthias]

They should just release hundreds of American crocodiles into the Rio Grandee, it would be great for the species and it would keep most sane illegals away.

Not sure if there are any such thing as American crocodiles. They're alligators over here, and Texas has quite a few of them along the Gulf, but they don't generally go very far upriver, and the Rio Grande is awfully dry for alligators. They also aren't quite as big or dangerous on average as crocodiles.

There's a whole lots less illegal immigration nowadays as well, thanks to the poor American economy and the relatively healthy Mexican economy.

[molonthegreat]

Not sure if there are any such thing as American crocodiles. They're alligators over here, and Texas has quite a few of them along the Gulf, but they don't generally go very far upriver, and the Rio Grande is awfully dry for alligators. They also aren't quite as big or dangerous on average as crocodiles.

There's a whole lots less illegal immigration nowadays as well, thanks to the poor American economy and the relatively healthy Mexican economy.

This was the species I was talking about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_crocodile and I am sure that the great state of Texas should be able to build some grazing grounds for crocodiles that would guard their state.

[Admiral Piett]

There's endangered ocelot there though.

[Treize]

Doesn't the USMC operate 2 or 3 CB90's?

[Condottiere 40K]

How about anacondas and importing some pythons from Florida.

[s.rwitt]

Are those dual 240's on the back? Wtf's up now cartels?

[Oswald von Wolkenstein]

The industry that profits most from illegal immigration is law enforcement. The for-profit criminal justice system in the U.S. profits immensely from this situation - do not look to them to solve it any time soon. (and it is a justice system that is criminal, so appropriately named.)