# George, just admit it. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 16, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903 "2006-05-16T00:13:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/21 "2006-05-16T02:44:55Z")
Guess we should be careful not to protest or rise up, then. what? ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/22 "2006-05-16T02:55:48Z")
[QUOTE=Darth Nader] Guess we should be careful not to protest or rise up, then. what? [/QUOTE] Or talk about it on the internet…(/shifty eyes) ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/23 "2006-05-16T03:03:22Z")
Where’s he going to come up with enough National Guard troops to man this operation? I may be mistaken, but I though a good portion of them were in Iraq and Afghanistan, which was one of the reasons why Katrina rescue efforts were so slow. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/24 "2006-05-16T03:09:01Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] Where’s he going to come up with enough National Guard troops to man this operation? I may be mistaken, but I though a good portion of them were in Iraq and Afghanistan, which was one of the reasons why Katrina rescue efforts were so slow. [/QUOTE] Maybe he thinks he has some authority to post trooops from the Salvation Army. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/25 "2006-05-16T03:13:05Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] Maybe he thinks he has some authority to post trooops from the Salvation Army. [/QUOTE] Those ringing bells will surely scare away all the illegals. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/26 "2006-05-16T03:14:21Z")
Really, this is about people who would like to live here, and those who are prepared to have them killed for it. Cause we’re losing a war we started. “Send me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free… unless they need a job.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/27 "2006-05-16T03:20:35Z")
[QUOTE=Darth Nader] “Send me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free… unless they need a job.” [/QUOTE] But…but…but…they’re brown! And Catholic. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/28 "2006-05-16T03:24:54Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] Maybe he thinks he has some authority to post trooops from the Salvation Army. [/QUOTE] I hear they’re also planning on contacting the Kiss Army for any rock’n’roll needs the border might have. ---
**Author:** ![Sequent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Sequent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sequent)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/29 "2006-05-16T03:25:33Z")
From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > There are a number of situations in which the Act does not apply. These include: National Guard units while under the authority of the governor of a state My guess is the governors of said states are already under pressure to apply more troops… > **[Posse Comitatus Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act)** > > The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1385, original at 20 Stat. 152 signed into law on June 18, 1878, by President Rutherford B. Hayes) which makes it a felony for any person to use the federal military to enforce federal law unless authorized to do so by law. Congress passed the act as an amendment to an army appropriations bill following the end of Reconstruction and updated it in 1956, 1981 and 2021. The act originally applied only to the United States Army, bu... ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/30 "2006-05-16T03:31:10Z")
I love how all of a sudden this becomes an important issue for Bush after six years of being President and ignoring the border. Does anybody believe that this is anything other than a publicity stunt? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/31 "2006-05-16T03:33:33Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] Where’s he going to come up with enough National Guard troops to man this operation? [/QUOTE] He’ll take them from non-border states like Lousiana, and pray for a ‘light’ hurricane season. With the Guard already [underequipped for hurricane season](http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/14725/), there’s no reason to waste troops getting ready for it when they could be put to political use elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/32 "2006-05-16T03:53:17Z")
[QUOTE=Blalron] I love how all of a sudden this becomes an important issue for Bush after six years of being President and ignoring the border. Does anybody believe that this is anything other than a publicity stunt? [/QUOTE] I don’t know about up in Oregon, but here in my little California town there have been several protests that have shut down damn near the entire town. Thousands have risen up across the country and the issue grows larger each day. So, I’m aware that it’s popular to hate Bush around these parts, but isn’t it a bit silly to say that this is nontopical? I mean, this IS a big issue right now. Yes, we’re in a war. Yes, there are a million other Administration-related scandals. But how the fuck was this an off topic, untimely speech? ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/33 "2006-05-16T03:58:10Z")
[QUOTE=SteveG1] It’s a diversionary tactic. [/QUOTE] It is also so that before the next election George can “recall” the National Guard from the border and say “hey, look, I did it, _some_ troops _are_ coming home.” ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/34 "2006-05-16T05:28:45Z")
Curious George is about to make State Defense Forces alot more popular. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/35 "2006-05-16T05:41:25Z")
The whole policy statement he did was straight out of the new “Dale Brown” military thriller "Edge of Battle"©2006 … Hummmmm ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/36 "2006-05-16T08:06:47Z")
[QUOTE=SteveG1] Didn’t I predict in one of the threads, that the key hot button issues would be queers and wetbacks? [/QUOTE] The worst of the worst are the queer wetbacks. They steal our jobs _and_ our men! :mad: What a lovely handbasket I find myself in! … ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/37 "2006-05-16T13:23:55Z")
[QUOTE=Blalron] I love how all of a sudden this becomes an important issue for Bush after six years of being President and ignoring the border. Does anybody believe that this is anything other than a publicity stunt? [/QUOTE] No shit. The question is, what other “issues” will we get between now and October? Obviously, this one is going to be the biggie. However, we’ve still got The Pink Menace. Tax cuts, of course. Need enough chaff to keep anyone from figuring out the actual amount of bullshit in the mix… -Joe ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/38 "2006-05-16T13:27:54Z")
[QUOTE=Frostillicus] How about a “War on Flag-Day”? You know, them rotten lib’ruls won’t let us fly our American flags anymore. (Based entirely on one misunderstood incident that may or may not have happened several years ago.) Bill O’Reilly and John Gibson can easily crank out a month’s worth of episodes between now and June 14th. 😃 [/QUOTE] Flag burning is a First amendment issue. Freedom of the Press is a First Amendment issue. Those damn libruls are against throwing all the reporters that report anything untoward about this administration in jail. Therefore, they are all a bunch of flag burners. [/O’Reilly logic] ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/39 "2006-05-16T13:45:21Z")
“The United States is not going to militarize the southern border. Mexico is our neighbor, and our friend.” That’s a quote from the speech which is reprinted at the [White House Site](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/05/20060515-8.html) We’re not going to militarize it. We’ll just use the military to “protect it” from our neighbor and friend. IMO it’s bad enough that he expects us to believe what he says. What’s even worse, though, is the possibility that **he** actually believes it himself. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903/40 "2006-05-16T15:28:17Z")
I’m loathe to inject substance into a fine Bush basher, but [this](http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/articles/Trebilcock.htm) caught my interest a few days ago when I had the same question. A salient quote: > [@](#): > > One of the most controversial uses of the military during the past 20 years has been to involve the Navy and Air Force in the “war on drugs.” Recognizing the inability of civilian law enforcement agencies to interdict the smuggling of drugs into the United States by air and sea, the Reagan Administration directed the Department of Defense to use naval and air assets to reach out beyond the borders of the United States to preempt drug smuggling. This use of the military in antidrug law enforcement was approved by Congress in 10 U.S.C., sections 371–381. This same legislation permitted the use of military forces in other traditionally civilian areas—immigration control and tariff enforcement. > > The use of the military in opposing drug smuggling and illegal immigration was a significant step away from the act’s central tenet that there was no proper role for the military in the direct enforcement of the laws. The legislative history explains that this new policy is consistent with the Posse Comitatus Act, as the military involvement still amounted to an indirect and logistical support of civilian law enforcement and not direct enforcement.[9] As **John Mace** rightly stated, from a legal standpoint, this is old news, and not in any way prohibited, so long as the Guard acts in what could loosely be described as a support role. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-just-admit-it/356903.md?page=3)