Border Patrol

I don't understand how we can have so much regulation and security at an airport (i.e. Body Scanners, limited access areas, etc), and still have a completely open boarder. Shouldn't our border's be just as secure as a trip to the airport? It seems to me that we should take caution and keep terrorist, criminals, and smugglers out of the airports as well as the country. I don't know, maybe I'm crazy.

Well, how are we going to do that? Do you know the resources that would take, or, how about the costs to the taxpayer? Sure, it would be pricey. Maybe our esteemed lawmakers could think outside the box. Maybe we can make a decision that would reduce the size and costs of the U.S. Border Patrol, while increasing national security? Why can't we move some of our military assets to the borders rather than the country's interior? We have the National Guard units for the country's interior. The only two states that don't have a federal Army facility are New Hampshire and Rhode Island. So why not move some of the assets of these underutilized military facilities down to the border? This is a perfect opportunity to put the expertise of our troops to work while at home. Not to mention, I've met plenty of National Guard members who have been layed off, or underemployed. If you want to help job growth, how about freeing up some money for these patriots to patrol the border. The exposure of dealing with illegal aliens and defending against armed drug dealers, seems like a much better training environment than somewhere in Tennessee or Kentucky. These units also come with radar squadrons that could assist in the tracking of drug running airplanes, and some utilizing UAV's. The temperature and landscape is similiar to what is experienced in the Middle East. It seems like an all around better deal to me. This is, of course, assuming that the Federal government pulls their heads out of the ground, and allows engagement of trespassers, rather than passing out medals for doing absolutely nothing besides writing a report about the incident.

People often bring up the possibility of a wall, or a fence. Sure this could be done. It seems like the same static thinking and ideas that come out of Washington. I would much rather decrease taxes, while at the same time improving our nations security.

Testing... testing.. check one two... testing.

So, what's the purpose of this blog? I've asked myself the same thing. Don't I have anything better to do with my time? No, not really. Let me see: I'm deployed to the Middle East, my roommate is sleeping less than 5 feet away from me, and it's over a hundred degrees at night. No, I really don't have anything to do. This is the most comfortable thing for me to do right now. Why not couple the enjoyment of sitting next to an air conditioner and writing about politics and world affairs? I'm sure no one is reading this right now. It was just created a couple of minutes ago, and frankly I'll be surprised if anyone decides to read it at any point in the future.

So, how about an introduction? I'm currently deployed to the Middle East and I have six weeks left until I come home. I'm married to a wonderful woman, and I have 2 children with another on the way. I'm a member of the Utah Air National Guard, and work in an electronics lab in Salt Lake City, while not deployed. So why choose "Conservative Utah" to post under? Well, that's an easy question. I believe in the conservative values that have made this country the super power it is today. When working with, and for the government, you have an opportunity to see firsthand how taxpayer money is spent. For as much as we pay in taxes, we should be demanding one of two things. Either the government needs to give us a heck of a lot more bang for our buck, or (and my preferred school of thinking) we need a lot of our money back. You wouldn't pay $5,000,000 for a BMW, just for the sake of owning a BMW. So why do we do it with the government? Don't get me wrong. We do have a functional government. But functional and efficient are two completely different things. Anyone that has worked with some type of process engineering should know that there is always a way to increase productivity while decreasing costs and turnaround time. There's a lot of fat on this government, and it needs to be trimmed. On that note, I've worked 78 hours this week and I think I'll enjoy the rest of my day off.

-Gary