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Mayor Villaraigosa's Very Own Border Fence: Whatever Happened to 'Bridges Not Walls'?

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This land: na'cho land
News of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's application for a six-foot security fence around his Windsor Square mansion took off quicker than a border coyote on the desert hustle last Friday, riling outrage from most and a "Who cares?" from few.

In the LA Weekly's comment thread, there were the obvious jokes about Villaraigosa trying to hide his "booty calls" from reporters, to more jaded expressions of disgust that a politician who once advocated for the poor and disenfranchised flipped so "limousine liberal" when handed a position of real power.

But commenter Pang441-banks was the first to point out Villaraigosa's craziest point of hypocrisy in calling for a wall between him and Los Angeles:

This is from the same guy who said fences along the border weren't needed and weren't the answer..LMAO What a wuss.

Let's take a little trip back to 2007, when U.S. immigration officials were calling for beefed-up border fencing to keep out all the undocumented workers trying to break their way into America. In May of that year, Villaraigosa traveled to Mexico to deliver a speech called "Borders Not Walls" to the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce.

Read the full text here. But the real dirt is in this excerpt:

"As everyone knows, there is an intense debate taking place in my country over the issue of immigration. There are those who believe that we North Americans can only hope to resolve this issue by building a wall. I came to Mexico to say, that we don't need to build walls, we need to build bridges. ...

The bridge we must build is not just a bridge between two countries. It is a bridge between the rich and the poor, who are imprisoned by walls of economic injustice. It is a bridge between the Indian, the Mestizo, the black, the Asian and the white, who are separated by walls of prejudice. It is a bridge between the Christian, the Muslim and the Jew, who are divided by walls of tragic misunderstanding."

His speech is actually quite gorgeous, if cheese-laden, and ends with the chilling: "And I hope one day we will be able to tell the tale that ... whenever our insecurities advised us to protect ourselves with a wall, we had the courage to build a bridge instead."

If a six-foot wall around a city-paid palace isn't insecurity over courage, we don't know what is.

The mayor's need for a divider between him and the common cityfolk with whom he always claims to identify (the "kid from East LA" line never dies) is a direct contradiction to the spirit of empathy in "Borders Not Walls." Villaraigosa's got a $220,000 salary, a security entourage worthy of a Mexican drug lord and vacation/ballgame perks the size of Sinaloa -- all while Los Angeles goes broke and jobless, and City Hall continues to waste millions on constituent-polarizing sweetheart deals and salaries.

We'll keep trying to get Villaraigosa on the phone today, but until we do, we'll offer him a small reminder: The only politicians in real, royal danger are those who treat themselves like kings. Hunker down, dude. It's about that time.

[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]

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5 comments
Timber Fencing Sydney
Timber Fencing Sydney

Hey, I also believe that fencing is must as far as security is concerned. You had shared nice information. Liked reading it.

Kenneth Howell
Kenneth Howell

You mean the ex mayor of Tijuana is getting a fence.

Lord_DOOM
Lord_DOOM

I love it... This is exactly what the world is all about. True government is hypocracy.

DerailAmnesty.com
DerailAmnesty.com

Would it make everyone feel better if it was made clear that the wall is not intended to separate the mayor from illegal aliens, only outraged taxpaying citizens of Los Angeles?

Dave Francis
Dave Francis

THE UNDECLARED THIRD WAR

Every American who has not been brainwashed needs to harass their politicians, Governors, Mayors and elected city managers, telling them your a voter and you want all foreign nationals deported, especially while this recession drags on? It is said that over 8 million illegal aliens are gainfully employed in the US, by unscrupulous employers.Your Telephone book generally has a listing of both your local State and US government lawmakers who supposedly represents your rights? FOR THAT FIVE MINUTES YOU SPEND CONTACTING YOUR STATE OR LOCAL POLITICIAN, COULD SAVE AMERICA FROM ESCALATING THE ILLEGAL ALIEN INVASION? YOUR ONE VOTE ADDED TO MILLIONS IS A VERY VALUABLE COMMODITY TO THE SPINELESS CREATURES IN WASHINGTON OR YOUR STATE CAPITOL.

California--has been a haven for illegal aliens since the early 1960's, and now believed that 50 percent of the population came from South of the border. In 2010 the amount spent on illegal migrants according to Health and Human Services amount issued to illegal aliens cost in 2010, is well over $600 million Los Angeles Supervisor Antonovich told reporters: Then remember this is not just Los Angeles that is catering to illegal aliens in Sunny California, but the rest of the State, which is in a serious deficit situation. The illegal alien subsidizing has the "Sanctuary State"--not just one city, abusing taxpayers with a estimated $26 billion dollar red ink blob on the Sacramento books. However this is the voters fault, because they keep seating the same, old tired Liberal-Dems every election. My guess like Nevada rampant voter fraud took place as the absentee ballot method, is so easy to manipulate.

States should are striving to set-up their own immigration laws now, when it became more discernible that the Federal government was not living up to its own policies or completing the border fence amongst other things. Arizona was the first to distinguish this, as their great State was first to be overrun by non-English speaking aliens scrambling for support from Public services. In Contrast is the Sanctuary State of California; while the Grand Canyon State never had the financial resources to honor the unfunded federal mandates. Foreign nationals slipped through the border bringing their unborn babies with them, to become a major burden on frontier States, because the courts had said we must monetary pander to anybody who steps on our soil. That's why the Border States schools are heavily populated with the offspring of illegal aliens, relieving their own countries from educating them; bringing even more poverty to America.

In border States and throughout the country these unfunded mandate laws, establishing that emergency rooms must give health treatment to anybody who walks through the doors regardless whether they can pay or not. over these years 60 hospitals and clinics closed their doors, because of insufficient funds to cover the enormous costs in California and Nevada. Judges in the last decade have warned the California prison system that they needed to alleviate overcrowding, which is full of illegal alien gangs and some of the most dangerous criminals spawned from the Hispanic countries. Southwestern States have been crippled by the unparalleled migration costing legal citizens and permanent residents hundreds of billions of dollars every year. The new arrivals are nothing like 20th century immigrants coming through Ellis Island, NY or Galveston, Texas as no Social Services existed back then.

Today--impoverished illegal aliens are gutting the welfare system; bringing record numbers of deadly criminals and terrorist from further afield. Business interests in many States have purchased their own politicians, so the border still remains open to some extent. This is predominately indicated with silent corruption of underfunding the 2006 Secure Fencing Act within months of being enacted. Many radical organizations have been successful in keeping the border open and over-stretching the limited resources of US agents patrolling this war zone, has become an incessant nightmare. Continually harassed by rock throwing thugs or guns aimed at our relentless border protectors; now have been overrun by drug cartels that kill without conscience. The border region once a place of desolate enjoyment, with the sound of high winging birds is now no place for American environmentalist or outdoors persons as large areas of territory are covered with the remnants of human waste, garbage heaps, the dregs left by illegal nationals slipping through barriers in open places; barricaded with just a few strands of rusty barbed wire or in locations where no fence exists.

There is no quick fixes to this silent invasion that has taken at least two decades, to bring millions of foreigners across our borders or arriving by jet with no intentions of returning to Europe, Asia other continents. Now we must go the distance by joining the TEA Party. We can hold both the Democrats-Liberals and Republicans accountable for the years of abandonment, spending taxpayers money on millions of foreign nationals instead of our infrastructure and the well being of real Americans of every color, race or religion. Arizona's political leadership finally devoured enough rhetoric from the powers in Washington, stating that the destitute, uneducated was for the greater good of each States economies; except that illegal aliens was just eroding the safety-net and prospective retirement for senior Americans.We will always need degreed profession people, but we are not here to satisfy the indigent of other countries with our dollars.

Finally, one decent State not mired in political regression or union interference has seen the light. The fact that unions have quietly been catering to illegal immigrants in our midst, so to fortify their dwindling numbers have allowed membership. Assessing their rising financial damage Arizona State Senator Pierce and his Republican retinue authored their own immigration laws, as the federal government just refused to do so. Now undaunted by being sued by Obama's Department of Justice Czar in the Washington, has shown other States that the DOJ is a lost cause. Arizona has been a mentor for all States who have been less aggressive. As the political statesman in Washington mull over their own paramount issues, like funding two foreign wars and the satellite military bases, along with the monolithic spending to satisfy the industrial base and bailouts financial institutions. As for the Church--they should keep their nose out of politics or lose their very lucrative tax exemptions. I believe in God, Jesus--but not congregational religion, but that's a persons choice. More bloody wars have been fought over religion forever, as we have seen in the Middle East and still destroying people's life. Cardinal Mohoney needs to get a life, as the child molesting problem has never been truly resolved? Mohony and the Catholic church better spend some of their accumulated wealth held in the Vatican and aid in assisting foreign countries across borders, instead of attributing to illegal aliens coming to disrupt the United States?

States less qualified to handle large flows of illegal immigrants, have tested their leadership by enacting its own enforcement laws, such as Florida, New Mexico, Utah, Georgia, Texas Rhode Island and many other States in far corners of the US. If New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez stays strong and repeals Drivers Licenses for illegal aliens, they will not become another Sanctuary State where the politicians pedal the taxpayers money. In fact many will leave heading for another (What they think) is welfare Garden of Eden. Those States that remains indifferent to The People's need for relief from supporting illegal foreign families, will be doomed to higher taxes, spiraling crime and the attenuate of their states treasuries. Every State that wants to defend and protect its legal inhabitants needs to mandate nationwide policing laws E-Verify, 287 (G) and Secure Communities (Fingerprint check for illegal alien criminals and re-entries) to safeguard America's people. The only answer to businesses hiring illegal alien labor, is to lock the employers-up and throw away the key?

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