The Minuteman Project

[Patriot]

As I'm sure many of you have heard, several hundred citizens have gathered in Tombstone, Arizona, under the leadership of an ex-Marine (Vietnam), James Gilchrist, to commence a roving, citizen patrol on the border of Mexico. It is to begin today, on April 1, and last one month. It is comprised entirely of citizens who have chosen to take the issue of stopping illegal immigration, into their own hands. Praise God.

The goal of the project is to photograph illegal aliens streaming across the borders. Many of the citizens are ex-military and have chosen to ignore the threats from a Latin-American gang, known to the FBI as "MS-13". Gilchrist remarked that "nearly half of our people are combat trained soldiers and those guys are just a bunch of punks". Nonetheless, this Latino gang has threatened to "teach a lesson" to all who are involved in the Minuteman Project on the Arizona/Mexican border.

Many of the citizens are of retirement age. One retired Marine sergeant is 82 years old! He marched into Tombstone with his .38 Special, under Arizona law, and signed up for the project.

I got to tell you, this episode sends chills down my spine because it hearkens back to the good ole days-- the days of Pancho Villa and the old army patrols of the early 1900s.

If I had the time, I'd sign up for this project myself just for the hell of it. Unfortunately, however, it looks like I'll have to make my mark from the armchair. But I'm with ya'll in spirit, and if anyone needs an extra sniper under the most dire of circumstances, I suppose I'll drop what I'm doing and respond to a serious PM.

Praise the Lord for this display of stalwart patriotism on the part of the better half of this nation's conservatives. My prayers will be with you guys, and rest assured, I'll be pouring over the maps myself from where I'm at!

[scrap]

I'd have to pump some grease in my knees but I'd be right with you if they really needed me.

Of course if an older Marine (83 ) can do it I should be able to.

I guess I'd have to drive tho just to get a weapon there.

I got goose bumps reading that post.

I heard about them doing it already but not about the latin gang threats.

May the good lord look down on all these citizens and Patriots and keep them safe and if the shit hits the fan here's hoping the fan is blowing in the right direction.

[TNRighty]

I heard about that on the radio the other day, and I think its a great idea. Illegal immigration is a drain on our economy and a threat to our security. More than any other president I can remember, Bush is more willing than most to take a solid stand on a controversial issue. I'm surprised, and very disappointed he hasn't addressed this problem.

[Patriot]

Here's a link to an article by the Washington Times with more information on gang-related threats against Gilchrist and his group:

www.washtimes.com/national/20050328-125306-7868r.htm

[TNRighty]

Here's a hypothetical for you.

What if America's economy was so bassackwards that the only hope for our citizens well being was for our government to teach and encourage its citizens to illegally gain entry into a neighboring country so that they could find a job? Wouldn't we raise hell about that...

...Which brings me to my point; the real enemy isn't the illegal immigration itself. Illegal immigration is just a symptom of a much larger problem, Mexico's unwillingness to develop its own economy. As long as we allow Mexicans to come to this country illegally, there will never be any incentive for the Mexican government to develop the economic capabilities of their own country. They have a wealth of natural resources, and an enormous and obviously dedicated work force. There's no reason Mexicans should have to come to America to find work. The problem is Vincente Fox and Mexico's leadership.

[Patriot]

Here's a map of the general border area between the US and Mexico covering the Arizona/Sonora area.
www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/transborder/tbe_f2.jpg [/img]

[Patriot]

Just an update on the Project. Gilchrist's people spent the past weekened camped on the border directly north of Naco, and on Monday, started fanning out southeast along the border. See my map, above. Their current position is north of Pozo Seco, moving eastward.

They are moving into raw, open territory, away from towns. There are three roads which run north from Mexico which they might try intercepting. Those roads all start at Juntion 2, see green icon.

The Border Patrol and local sherrif's departments haven't taken the time to count the number of volunteers. So, that basically means that these individuals are on their own.

They have deployed in teams of four, every quarter of a mile. (In other words, if we put this in military terms, Gilchrist has about one platoon per mile. That adds up to one company every three or four miles; one battalion every twelve miles; one brigade every fifty miles or so). With some 200 volunteers (who are flying their state flags by their positions), Gilchrist has the equivalent of a single, small brigade.

Some of these people-- not all of them are ex military-- are sitting in parked SUVs, others have positioned themselves in lawnchairs for a long-term picnic. More are armed than was initially expected; those that are armed have strapped on pistols (no reports of rifles or shotguns yet, though I'm sure there's a few).

So far, everything's been peaceful, but a few of the volunteers have mistakenly stumbled on trip-wires set up by the Border Patrol for illegal aliens.

These trip wires and electronic sensors are used by the BP in and around 50 feet of the borderland; so that gives you some idea as to how close Gilchrist's people have moved toward Mexico.

So far, no illegal aliens have tried crossing.

[Patriot]

:PIt's April 9, 2005. For those who know their history books, you are aware that today marks the 140th Anniversary of the Surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse, thus bringing an end to the American Civil War.

On such a day, we are reminded again of the faithful citizens who, for the past week, have demonstrated remarkable patriotism on the US/Mexican border.

What's the situation down there today? Well, James Gilchrist received positive feedback from Border Patrol agents who said that, since the onset of the Project, BP apprehension of illegal aliens have dropped from 1,000 per day to 20 per day. Amazing. What's so encouraging about this is that, as we can now see, it doesn't take much to put an end to the rampant problems which are plaguing our country. All it takes is a a little time and dedication by regular citizens.

The Project is to last, officially, for another 3 weeks. In that time, we'll see if the MS-13 gang makes good on its threats to cause trouble. If they do, it will create even worse problems for the Mexican and Latin-American migrants, as the US government will be forced to acknowledge the real danger posed by loose border control.

[Patriot]

UPDATE:

The number of volunteers on the border has risen from the initial 200 to over twice that size. Current number is 531.

[Patriot]

Well, for those who don't know, the Minuteman project has been cut short prematurely. This surprised me. But little action was occurring. The illegal immigration dropped enormously in the targeted area; there was no gang activity aimed at the volunteers. The folks just got "bored" to death, in the words of James Gilchrist. So, the Project only lasted 2 weeks instead of a month as was originally planned. Those who are staying down there are currently joining another group run by a guy named Chris Simcox, who plans to continue his efforts to work for legislative reform in Arizona.

Meanwhile, Gilchrist came here to Washington DC to meet with lobbyists to attempt influencing policy up on the Hill.

Well, it was fun to monitor while it lasted. Got some of us bulldogs exited with visions of Pancho Villa from the old days. Retired Marines strapping on pistols and hauling state flags to the border. Yep, it was a rush for those of us observing the maps from an armchair.

But it died out. Probably a good thing. Thank God our people are still safe and MS-13 didn't try messing with them.

We need more of this stuff just for the thrill of it. Why hunt deer when you can hunt illegals.

[cowtown]

God bless the Minute Men! I'm glad to see the people doing something that needs to be done, but our government refuses to do!

[Drea]

Well here is what I received after signing a petition for border reform.


www.reformus.org.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

DEAR BORDER-PETITION SIGNER,

Thanks for signing the petition to President Bush yesterday.

We promised to keep you updated on the progress of our very ambitious goal to deliver 1 million petitions to the President before Memorial Day. The outpouring of support has been astounding!

We put the petition on the web Monday morning. Bill O'Reilly put the web address on the screen of his TV show at 8:05 p.m., and our internet servers nearly crashed. By Monday midnight, 28,589 had signed the petition along with you.

Just before noon today, the 50,000th person had signed. Just a few minutes ago, the 90,000th person signed! Truly, you are part of a grassroots citizen phenomenon. We've never seen anything like this in our eight years of working on this issue. We believe this illustrates just how hungry the American public is for bold leadership from the President to secure our borders from the threats of illegal immigration.

If you haven't done so, please send the link to the petition (www.ReformUS.org) to all your friends and relatives and help achieve the million-person goal.

TAKE A SECOND STEP AND SEND
A MESSAGE TO CONGRESS TODAY

You may also want to make sure that your U.S. Representative and two Senators are fully aware of how you feel about immigration issues.

Send FREE FAX messages to them over the internet by using this link: www.NumbersUSA.com/fax

You will find a number of fax messages about different aspects of the nation's out-of-control immigration policies. Right now is a particularly important time to contact your Members of Congress. The House and Senate have passed Iraq Spending Bills with very different immigration provisions. Right now, official negotiators from House and Senate are trying to figure out which to keep and which to delete for a final bill for Pres. Bush to sign.

The congressional negotiators are trying to decide whether to retain major new funding for more Border Patrol and interior enforcement agents against illegal immigration. They are also trying to decide whether to retain a provision to import hundreds of thousands of additional foreign workers.

Hearing from you could make a big difference in how your Members of Congress act on these matters.

Thanks again for expressing your concerns,

ROY BECK
President, NumbersUSA

[jimmywhofan]

I signed the petition. Perhaps Bush might end up doing something...he should! This is out of control!

[Richard]

I heard something interesting on the radio, this morning.
A man, somewhere in Southwestern Arizona along the Mexican border, had parked his gasoline tanker truck for a roadside rest. He noticed a Mexican military helicopter land near his truck. Mexican military personnel got out of the helicopter and proceded in the direction of the tanker truck. It was obvious they most likely wanted to steal the gasoline tanker and drive it across the border.
The truck driver knew Spanish, and somehow persuaded them to not do so. The FBI were alerted and came onto the scene, after the Mexican helicopter flew away. The FBI instructed the truck driver to keep his mouth shut..under no circumstance to disclose what had happened. The truck driver ignored this and related the incident to the news media. I guess having Mexican military personnel cross our border for suspicious reasons happens quite often, but it looks like this sort of thing is something governmental aurthorities do not want to have widely known.
So much for our "home security" government.

[jimmywhofan]

Seriously, thats messed up.

Its about time our country started taking its borders seriously.

Something tells me that the govt really does and is not telling everyone what it really does, but lets only hope this is true.