Trump's border wall looks more like a fence

[Innula Zenovka]

Useful and accessible demolition of some of the main talking points in favour of the wall.

A conservative challenged liberal Facebook friends to “make a case, not based on emotion” against Trump’s wall. Conservative buddies flooded his post with snide remarks about how this would be impossible for “deluded libs.”

“Okay, I’ll play,” I responded. And in order to avoid being accused of bias, I explained that I would use only conservative sources to prove my point. My primary source was a policy paper by the Cato Institute, a conservative, rightwing think tank, along with other conservative voices (listed at the end of the piece).

What Happened When A Trump Supporter Challenged Me About the Wall

 

[Cindy Claveau]

It should be disconcerting every time I hear our President talk like he's taking LSD, but I can't help but laugh at his complete disconnect from what you and I call "reality". The man could start a comedy tour if he wasn't such an odious prick.

Donald Trump says Mexico border wall must be see-through to stop 'sacks of drugs' landing on people's heads

"One of the things with the wall is you need transparency. You have to be able to see through it," he said.


"So it could be a steel wall with openings, but you have to have openings because you have to see what's on the other side of the wall.


"As horrible as it sounds, when they throw the large sacks of drugs over, and if you have people on the other side of the wall, you don't see them. They hit you on the head with 60 pounds of stuff? It's over."


The President added "violent and vicious" rivers provided a natural barrier along parts of the border.


The winding Rio Grande defines the frontier in most of Texas, though in parts it is little more than a trickle of water, while the Colorado River marks the boundary along 24 miles in Arizona.


Mr Trump said: "You have mountains. You have some rivers that are violent and vicious. You have some areas that are so far away that you don't really have people crossing.

 

[Free]

Donald Trump says Mexico border wall must be see-through to stop 'sacks of drugs' landing on people's heads

Someone get the transparent aluminum!

 

[Tigar]

It’s already here:

 

[Free]

I know, that's why I asked for it.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Good news for border residents: No one is throwing 60-pound bags of drugs over a 50-foot wall

Though they may, of course, use ballistae or something.

I don't really understand the logic here. I mean, if you've got federal agents patrolling the wall, and thus at risk of being brained by a 60 lb bag of drugs coming over (quite a slim chance, I would have thought, given the odds against the agent being exactly where the bag lands) then why do you need a wall at all? Without a wall, the federal agents provide a visible deterrent to the smugglers.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

It should be disconcerting every time I hear our President talk like he's taking LSD, but I can't help but laugh at his complete disconnect from what you and I call "reality". The man could start a comedy tour if he wasn't such an odious prick.

It's working for Louis CK! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Kara Spengler]

It should be disconcerting every time I hear our President talk like he's taking LSD, but I can't help but laugh at his complete disconnect from what you and I call "reality". The man could start a comedy tour if he wasn't such an odious prick.

Donald Trump says Mexico border wall must be see-through to stop 'sacks of drugs' landing on people's heads

If he were not so dangerous to the whole planet some interesting experiments could happen. For example, what would happen if he could get something he really really wanted but to do so he never could have been more than 5' tall?

 

[Tigar]

I know, that's why I asked for it.

That’s ok, I got it on back order for ya. Should be delivered sometime around Friday, June 21st.

 

[Kara Spengler]

Good news for border residents: No one is throwing 60-pound bags of drugs over a 50-foot wall

Though they may, of course, use ballistae or something.

I don't really understand the logic here. I mean, if you've got federal agents patrolling the wall, and thus at risk of being brained by a 60 lb bag of drugs coming over (quite a slim chance, I would have thought, given the odds against the agent being exactly where the bag lands) then why do you need a wall at all? Without a wall, the federal agents provide a visible deterrent to the smugglers.

It is a brain twister for sure! Let us assume someone could make the throw in the first place .... how many drug smugglers do you think just would throw that much in drugs away since there is a chance it might not be retrieved?

 

[Tigar]

It is a brain twister for sure! Let us assume someone could make the throw in the first place .... how many drug smugglers do you think just would throw that much in drugs away since there is a chance it might not be retrieved?

How much drugs could a drug smuggler chuck, if a drug smuggler could chuck drugs?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

It is a brain twister for sure! Let us assume someone could make the throw in the first place .... how many drug smugglers do you think just would throw that much in drugs away since there is a chance it might not be retrieved?

Yes, that's the other half of the story, of course. The smuggler isn't going to want to leave 60lb of valuable merchandise sitting there waiting to be collected. He'll want to be sure he has a confederate in place to receive it, who will presumably have some way of telling the guy on the Mexican side of the wall whether the coast is clear or not.

Whichever way you look at it, the wall/fence isn't going to stop smugglers throwing things over it. The deterrent is the presence of law enforcement, regardless of whether the wall is there or not.

I'd have thought that the most cost-effective method of border security would probably be to have a network of border patrols stationed along the border, capable of deploying rapidly to wherever they were needed, and keep the border area under surveillance using drones.

 

[Kaimi Kyomoon]

As long as the market for black market drugs is huge in the US producers in Latin America will find a way to get their wares to their customers.

 

[Myficals]

As long as the market for black market drugs is huge in the US producers in Latin America will find a way to get their wares to their customers.

I don't have numbers on hand, but I seem to recall seeing data showing that drugs mostly enter the US via shipping and that midnight border dashes, while great cinema, are pretty rare.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Them furloughed border guys still gotta pay rent, yo.

Just saying.

 

[Kara Spengler]

Yes, that's the other half of the story, of course. The smuggler isn't going to want to leave 60lb of valuable merchandise sitting there waiting to be collected. He'll want to be sure he has a confederate in place to receive it, who will presumably have some way of telling the guy on the Mexican side of the wall whether the coast is clear or not.

Whichever way you look at it, the wall/fence isn't going to stop smugglers throwing things over it. The deterrent is the presence of law enforcement, regardless of whether the wall is there or not.

I'd have thought that the most cost-effective method of border security would probably be to have a network of border patrols stationed along the border, capable of deploying rapidly to wherever they were needed, and keep the border area under surveillance using drones.

I posted a vid in one thread or other (I think the main donnie thread but it is the upper vid below as well). It was made by a comedian but his idea sounded pretty plausible. Nobody seriously thinks this will solve the issue he says it will address (it is low but actually it will make it worse and yes, we already know that from when it was tried on a smaller scale). Anyway, his theory was donnie just wants something big with his name on it.

 

[Kaimi Kyomoon]

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Wrong Thread. Brexit.

 

[Free]

Gee, if only someone could track down these "some" former presidents and find out why they chose not to build the wall they now know they should have... Unless! He's been talking to the dead ones?

 

[Myficals]

[Unless! He's been talking to the dead ones?