The president and the far right apparently don’t like facts.
The recent letter to the editor “Wall has made left insane” is ignoring the facts. From reading letters to the WHT editor from those who support the wall, they aren’t getting educated, they’re just listening to Trump’s lies and the right wing media’s misinformation and passing it on.
The wall is and will be creating havoc and will cost an incredible amount of money.
Ask anyone living along the U.S.-Mexico line, and they’ll tell you: We already have fences and walls, drones and helicopters, surveillance towers, checkpoints, and border patrol agents speeding their ATVs across the fragile biotic crust of the desert. Today’s walls and fences already cover 700 of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, dividing towns and families, and causing damage to the environment and border communities, many of which are low-income, tribal, or on the Mexican side of the line.
No thanks to the 2005 REAL ID Act, a total of 48 federal laws have been waived, including the Clear Air Act, Clean Water Act, Migratory Bird Treaty, Endangered Species Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
“Structurally and civil engineering-wise, the border wall is not a feasible project,” one expert said. “Trump did not hire engineers to design the thing. He solicited bids from contractors, not engineers. This means it’s not been designed by professionals. It’s a disaster of numerous types waiting to happen.”
GAO argues that the Department of Homeland Security may end up paying way more than anticipated, potentially wasting billions without anything to show for it. CBP also did not follow required DHS planning and acquisition protocols. It is clear the president and the administration did not read the report.
I’m also so happy to see far more press coverage about climate change. It’s a climate change health emergency.
The powerful documentary “The Human Element” (Matthew Testa and James Balog) is available now on iTunes, Xbox, Google Play, Play Station, Amazon and many other streaming platforms.
Other excellent youtube videos include Sea Secrets 2018 James Balog, and Nikon Live at CES 2019: James Balog. Coverage of “Climate Change Health Emergency” is on NPR On Point and the New England Journal of Medicine.
Gail Jackson is a resident of Waikoloa
