THU brief 6.30.22
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Today’s Stories
BORDER SECURITY, or lack thereof, is back in the news after discovering a tractor-trailer with more than 40 deceased illegal immigrants.
The gruesome find is the deadliest human smuggling case in modern history. Awful.
For their part, the politicians are reverting to form:
Abbott, not necessarily wrongly, is attacking Biden. Nevertheless, he’s…not exactly Churchill after Dunkirk.
Biden’s a doddering fool.
Not surprising, but neither does it inspire.
This is supposed to be a federal responsibility. Article I, Section 8:
[T]o establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization.
Inherent in the Federal government’s naturalization powers is the ability to police violations. Human smuggling, of the type seen in San Antonio, is a (particularly gruesome) subcategory of those violations.
Biden’s abdication is duly noted and condemned.
But let’s not kid ourselves. While Biden’s failures are glaring, the underlying policy represents a widespread consensus in official Washington. Biden’s just a(nother) puppet.
And that’s what makes the words of an incumbent governor, who’s been in office through two presidential transitions, ring hollow.
Others have done the legwork on how border states can take the security initiative. Governors in border states (e.g., Texas) have a considerable authority they’re not using.
Furthermore, Abbott has demonstrated a willingness to devote state resources to border security when he deems it politically advantageous. Or, at least, to the border security theater.
A recently extended chat with a (former, as of February) Texas Guard member who served on the “border mission” last year confirmed media reports are mainly correct.
One under-discussed point our source made: Drug use among Guard members is skyrocketing. That’s not surprising. But we were surprised when our source said that’s due to boredom more than any other factor.
All of which is to say, the tractor-trailer tragedy is on Abbott as much as it’s on Biden. Even if he’s not technically “wrong,” Abbott’s deflection remains tawdry.
Is it asking too much, maybe once in our lives, to hear an elected official accept responsibility?
See the next item for additional context on that part of the world.
STARR COUNTY, in the Rio Grande Valley, has failed to maintain campaign finance records as required by state law. This could mean any number of things, none of them good.
A reminder that lawlessness in this region long predates the present border anxieties.
Citizens in THE WOODLANDS scored a win against the Groomer caucus. It’s nevertheless astonishing that some of these conversations need to happen at all.
Hit the Links
McLennan County bans fireworks ahead of the July Fourth holiday.
Harris County to Explore Taxpayer-Funded Options for Promoting Abortion
Judge removed from former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean's case.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek Gets Contract Extension
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