# Pete Stark is a frickin' idiot **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 6, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709 "2010-07-06T13:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/1 "2010-07-06T13:47:11Z")
This pompous jackass is a walking, talking argument in favor of term limits. I hope the citizens of California remember [this piece of idiocy](http://indyposted.com/30024/california-congressman-pete-stark-sneers-at-constituents-video/) when his next election comes around. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/2 "2010-07-06T14:14:47Z")
Sneering at the “Minutemen” yahoos is more polite treatment than they deserve. Bravo to Stark for not trying to make nice to every troglodyte in his district, and instead standing up for truer and more noble American values. **Clothy** , you would do well to do the same. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/3 "2010-07-06T14:24:00Z")
If, as the video title asserts, Pete Stark says the borders are secure, he’s deluding himself. Baghdad Bob couldn’t say that with a straight face. Also, while I’m not too keen on the “Minutemen”, he went right after them, immediately poisoning the well for the rest of the discussion (which I didn’t see, I’m not sitting through 10 minutes of childishness). That’s not appropriate, in my opinion. What ever happened to decorum? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/4 "2010-07-06T14:28:15Z")
The problem with videos like this, as usual, is that they’re edited. We join this discussion in the middle of a conversation and have no idea what took place BEFORE the video commences. For all we know a self-proclaimed Minuteman had been the previous speaker and had said he wanted to kill illegal immigrants, or had demanded the U.S. government provide Minutemen with weapons. (and isn’t Fremont kind of far from the border?) Absent an unedited version of the video, it’s hard to ascertain the context, and therefore appropriateness, of Stark’s comments. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/5 "2010-07-06T14:40:51Z")
And frankly, his point about ladders is entirely valid. Like, seriously, the man thinks building a wall is going to help? You don’t think they have ladders and ropes in Mexico? Or what the announcement that a giant wall was being built wouldn’t cause a HUGE onetime influx of immigrants? Perhaps Stark should have been more patient, and no matter what he should not have insulted the one questioner, but he’s not an “idiot.” He looks like a man who’s dealing with idiots - almost every question he gets is absurd - and is just a bit short of patience. It’s a hard job and he’s gotta do it, but it’s not “idiotic.” Even the makers of the video make idiotic comments. Here’s the wording on the screen at 6:40: “San Francisco, Oakland, and most Bay Area cities do not deport illegals.” Gosh, really? You mean San Francisco doesn’t have a fucking Department of State or its own DHS to… of course the CITIES don’t deport illegals. When has a municipal government ever been responsible for deporting anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/6 "2010-07-06T14:43:39Z")
Cloth, Here’s a bit of math for you to brighten up this pit thread. Total Miles of US-Mexico border: 1,969. Total feet: 10,396,320 Minuteman’s suggestion of a wall at $500 per foot (going up however high you feel like it should go): $5.2 billion Minuteman’s suggestion of 25,000 troops (in shifts of 5 because they can’t work 7 days a week): 1 guard every 2,079 feet. Cost for 25,000 troops at $35,000 per troop: $875 million. So what have we learned here: giving a ridiculously conservative estimate on the cost of a wall and assuming NO upkeep to it, assuming a pretty low salary per soldier, and completely ignoring things like materials, supplies and transportation to get these soldiers to the middle of nowhere to guard nothing…you still have a $5 billion startup cost and $1 billion annual expenditure. All of that on something that may or may not work anyway so that anti-government people can ironically force the government to solve a problem that isn’t nearly as dire as the solutions would have you believe. Or the TLDR version: nutty Mcnuttertons are nuts and a Congressman gave them about as much of a response as they deserved. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/7 "2010-07-06T14:59:58Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Total Miles of US-Mexico border: 1,969. > Total feet: 10,396,320 > > Minuteman’s suggestion of a wall at $500 per foot (going up however high you feel like it should go): $5.2 billion > > Minuteman’s suggestion of 25,000 troops (in shifts of 5 because they can’t work 7 days a week): 1 guard every 2,079 feet. > Cost for 25,000 troops at $35,000 per troop: $875 million. One Mexican shovel? Priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/8 "2010-07-06T16:07:11Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Cloth, > > Here’s a bit of math for you to brighten up this pit thread. > > Total Miles of US-Mexico border: 1,969. > Total feet: 10,396,320 > > Minuteman’s suggestion of a wall at $500 per foot (going up however high you feel like it should go): $5.2 billion > > Minuteman’s suggestion of 25,000 troops (in shifts of 5 because they can’t work 7 days a week): 1 guard every 2,079 feet. > Cost for 25,000 troops at $35,000 per troop: $875 million. > So what have we learned here: giving a ridiculously conservative estimate on the cost of a wall and assuming NO upkeep to it, assuming a pretty low salary per soldier, and completely ignoring things like materials, supplies and transportation to get these soldiers to the middle of nowhere to guard nothing…you still have a $5 billion startup cost and $1 billion annual expenditure. That’s still cheaper than the cost of having illegals flood across the border. This is an old study from 2003. I can only imagine that the costs have gone higher. Your estimate is a bargain compared to the existing costs. > [@](#): > > This study is one of the first to estimate the total impact of illegal immigration on the federal budget. Most previous studies have focused on the state and local level and have examined only costs or tax payments, but not both. Based on Census Bureau data, this study finds that, when all taxes paid (direct and indirect) and all costs are considered, illegal households created a net fiscal deficit at the federal level of more than $10 billion in 2002. [http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html](http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html) And the [Border Fence Project](http://www.borderfenceproject.com/) is currently building new fencing at $5 per foot. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/9 "2010-07-06T16:08:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Sneering at the “Minutemen” yahoos is more polite treatment than they deserve. Bravo to Stark for not trying to make nice to every troglodyte in his district, and instead standing up for truer and more noble American values. > > **Clothy** , you would do well to do the same. Letting illegals flood across the border is a “truer and more noble American value”? You’re delusional, dude. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/10 "2010-07-06T16:14:50Z")
You have no idea who these trigger-happy yahoos even are, do you? BTW, where did your ancestors (or you) come from? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/11 "2010-07-06T16:16:05Z")
Ah, my congressman. Interesting district. It’s liberal, but far from the most liberal district in California. One intersting thing is that has one of the highest percentage of Asians of any district outside of Hawaii. The city I live in is over 40% Asian. There are far more Asians than Latinos around here. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/12 "2010-07-06T16:26:07Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Letting illegals flood across the border is a “truer and more noble American value”? I can’t think of anything more American, considering how this country was populated in the first place… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/13 "2010-07-06T16:38:08Z")
And I’m surprised - his brother Tony is quite clever. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/14 "2010-07-06T16:39:59Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > That’s still cheaper than the cost of having illegals flood across the border. > > This is an old study from 2003. I can only imagine that the costs have gone higher. Your estimate is a bargain compared to the existing costs. > > [http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html](http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html) > > And the [Border Fence Project](http://www.borderfenceproject.com/) is currently building new fencing at $5 per foot. Holy crap! OVER FIVE MILES OF FENCE ALREADY BUILT! And in colourful fonts! Why, that will stop… nobody! And in the year 2617, when they’ve finished the fence, I’m sure nobody in Mexico will have a ladder. Or a saw. Or be able to climb what appears to be a pretty rudimentary fence. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/15 "2010-07-06T16:41:51Z")
It’s only Mexican illegals we need to worry about, hmmm? Not you moosejockeys? ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/16 "2010-07-06T17:00:10Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > That’s still cheaper than the cost of having illegals flood across the border. > > This is an old study from 2003. I can only imagine that the costs have gone higher. Your estimate is a bargain compared to the existing costs. > > [http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html](http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html) > > And the [Border Fence Project](http://www.borderfenceproject.com/) is currently building new fencing at $5 per foot. My estimates were ridiculously, purposely undercosted on all fronts to prove just how expensive it would be even at those bargain basement rates. Even with ALL my suggestions in place, there’s no guarantee it’s actually going to work to stop illegals from coming into the country. And like rock to paper, your $5 fence falls to wireclippers. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/17 "2010-07-06T17:34:56Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > It’s only Mexican illegals we need to worry about, hmmm? Not you moosejockeys? The Minutemen tried building a fence on the border here, but they drowned in Lake Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/18 "2010-07-06T17:38:50Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s still cheaper than the cost of having illegals flood across the border. Heck, no. Here’s the great thing about illegal immigrants - we get them for free! They’re like kittens or zucchini. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/19 "2010-07-06T18:12:08Z")
“Illegal” is an adjective. Our language has no plural form for adjectives. “Illegals” is not a valid word in our language. Q.E.D. Knock it off. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709/20 "2010-07-06T18:19:12Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Letting illegals flood across the border is a “truer and more noble American value”? > > You’re delusional, dude. The Haudenosaunee and the Tsalagi would agree with you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-stark-is-a-frickin-idiot/545709.md?page=2)