To the editor:

I just have to respond to John Hearns letter to The Courier on July 23. He, like many others is a proponent of a fence along the border. But a fence will do little but temporarily obstruct the flow. Has Hearn ever been to the border in Arizona or New Mexico? The ground is soft sand. It would only take three healthy men with shovels a day to tunnel under any fence. Fences are meant to keep out honest people. Most houses in neighborhoods are fenced in and we still have home burglaries.

If you want to stop the flow you need to put up a wall. Since Hearn is concerned about the measly $4 billion dollars Obama requested, think about the $10 trillion it would take to build and maintain a wall. Israel has walled in their borders and has electronic sensors and armed guards at almost every point. Their entire border is less than a third of Texas border, and they spend a large part of their national budget on border security and they are still penetrated.

Capitalism and freedom is the cause of border migration. The economic pressure for cheap products and services it the root cause of the billion dollar human smuggling industry. In fact both human smuggling and the illegal drug trade separately generate more economic effects than Americas combined gold and silver mining industry. To stop the flow you need to address demand. Make a law that says if a person is caught having an illegal immigrant mow their lawn, clean their house or conduct repairs the government would take that persons house without compensation. But nobody wants to go there.

We can make illegal immigration virtually a thing of the past. All we have to do is turn the United States of America into East Germany. Wall in our borders, give people citizens papers, set up millions of government check points, have the government dictate who companies can and cannot hire and allow arrests for any reason the secret police believes is warranted. But nobody wants to go there either.

Hearn wrote We cannot long remain a country without secure borders In reality the borders have been porous for the last 170 years and during that time America has grown into a great power and premier country. And also in reality the border will be porous for the next 170 years and America will be just fine. Because nobody wants to turn the USA into East Germany just to stop the flow of people across the border.

Illegal immigration is just an unpleasant fact of life like tornados, hurricanes and floods. You can not stop it no matter how many ICE agents or national guardsman you throw at the problem. All you can do is put in policies and systems to mitigate the after effect. So the paranoid and frustrated, John Hearn and others like him are only engaging in petty politics.

Tim Doherty

Conroe

Originally posted here:
Fences and walls arent the answer

AAP Queensland Premier Campbell Newman will attempt to bury the hatchet with the judiciary on Thursday.

The Queensland premier is seeking to make amends with senior judges only nine months after describing legal critics as living in ivory towers.

Campbell Newman's government has clashed with the legal fraternity since late 2013, but on Thursday he is meeting judges and senior members of the profession.

Tensions began to rise in October when the premier said former Supreme Court justice Richard Chesterman and parts of the legal fraternity needed to "come out of your ivory towers" after they criticised now-invalid sex offender laws.

Mr Newman also said the critics were "apologists" for pedophiles.

Tensions flared again months later when Tim Carmody, who has never served on the Supreme Court, was announced as the government's pick for chief justice, only nine months after he became chief magistrate.

Mr Newman has been engaging in a mea culpa this week following a massive 18.6 per cent swing against the Liberal National Party in the Stafford by-election on Saturday.

"I'll be meeting some judges today, a few judges," Mr Newman told Triple M radio on Thursday morning.

"A bit of peace making."

But Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was disappointing an "unprecedented" meeting between the premier and the legal fraternity was needed.

Link:
Qld premier to mend fences with judiciary

Reading #39;s Fox clears the fences
7/20/14: Reading #39;s Jake Fox hits a two-run homer in the Fightin Phils #39; 6-5 loss to the New Britain Rock Cats Check out http://www.MiLB.com/video for more! MiLB.com is the official site of...

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Reading's Fox clears the fences - Video

109306Painted fences bring Austin togetherArtists and citizens in North Austin collaborate to paint fences with the phrase2014-07-22 11:18 amdisabledVfgd70dk_wAtrue

Rigel Thurston says he lives by a simple motto: Beauty will save the world. The 33-year-old realtor is now painting that sentiment taken from Fyodor Dostoevskys novel The Idiot on fences along Lamar Boulevard in north Austin, Texas.

Thurstons goal is to build community and help transform a troubled neighborhood. To do so, hes enlisted the help of dozens of artists, residents, children and anyone passing by. To transform our neighborhood we have to get to know each other and community art is a great way to get to know one another.

Photo by KLRU

The neighborhood is also very international, with more than 30 different languages spoken. Thurston said he thought the fence project would be a great way for people to come together, even if they dont speak the same language. I do think that if we can learn to see the beauty in the people and places around us, we can make positive changes, he said.

To highlight the diversity of the neighborhoods residents, Thurston is painting the phrase in numerous languages. So far there are fences in English, Croatian, Spanish and Vietnamese, with plans for more in Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and even Dzongkha the official language of Bhutan (to greet Bhutanese immigrants who live in an apartment across the street, Thurston said.)

Local Beat is a weekly series on Art Beat that features arts and culture stories from PBS member stations around the nation.

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Painted fences unite community in Austin neighborhood

PARKING ISSUES: Cumberbatch Avenue.

FAMILIES face losing gardens, hedges, and fences after a council embarked on a major project to increase off-street parking on a sprawling estate.

Now residents living in Fegg Hayes have hit out at Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

They claim the ambitious scheme which will affect 194 homes across 21 roads will wreck their privacy.

The authority maintains the programme, which is expected to continue for another six months, is being rolled out to help improve the area.

But households in Cumberbatch Avenue, one of the roads included in the project, have been left unhappy at seeing hedges and fences removed and some front gardens wiped out.

Families who signed up for the scheme to have a driveway installed say they feel misled after seeing the physical work being carried out.

Resident Sara Wright said: "I wish we had never agreed to it and kept it as it was. We've got no privacy it's a nightmare."

Neighbour Joan Proudlove, aged 69, is set to lose her front garden, hedges and fences as part of the works.

She said: "I did sign up to it at the time, but I was under the impression they were just going to work on just my front garden, not the hedges and everything else.

The rest is here:
Major Fegg Hayes council housing project slammed by residents for harming privacy and safety

DALLAS Coach Art Briles and Baylor arrived at Big 12 football media days as defending champions for the first time.

Briles has a slightly different take on the Bears newfound standing.

How can you defend and protect something that nobody can take? 2013 is gone forever. That title is ours, Briles said Monday. Were attacking 2014 just like everybody else. Thats our mindset with our players, and thats the way theyve been approaching everything.

The first of five coaches on the podium for the first day, Briles used a baseball analogy in that leadoff role.

The thing thats a little different is, I dont know what the commissioner expected, but were not going to try to bunt or get a single. I promise you that, he said. Were swinging for the fences. So maybe he should have put us fourth because thats just the way we approach the game.

Even with quarterback Bryce Petty and receiver Antwan Goodley back, Baylor was picked second in the Big 12 media preseason poll behind Oklahoma. The Bears won 11 games last season before losing 52-42 to UCF in the Fiesta Bowl.

Kansas State and Texas, who will join the Sooners for the second day at the Omni Dallas Hotel, were picked third and fourth, respectively.

Oklahoma State opens Aug. 30 against defending national champion Florida State and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston in Arlington, Texas.

The Cowboys will have less available practice time once school starts after falling below the NCAA minimum standard with their Academic Progress Rate score over a four-year period. They can work only 18 hours a week, instead of the standard 20 under NCAA rules, though coach Mike Gundy said that wont be too much of an issue.

We havent used the 20 hours in a number of years. And when you put it down on paper, we end up being about 45 minutes short, Gundy said. Well incorporate a few new things in two-a-days prior to school starting, when we dont have any limitations, and well move forward. Ive challenged the players with accepting responsibility to make up for that time during the week.

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FOOTBALL: Briles: Baylor swinging for the fences

Keep Chickens Out of your Garden without fences
Using the Havahart Spray Away motion activated lawn sprayer to keep your chickens out of your garden, off of your porch, or out of any part of your yard where they may dig up your garden, flowers...

By: Frederick Dunn

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Keep Chickens Out of your Garden without fences - Video

iron fences toronto | 416-535-1686 | dufferiniron.com
http://www.dufferiniron.com 12 Sable Street, Toronto, ON M6M 3K6 +1-416-535-1686 Dufferin Iron Railings has proudly served Greater Toronto over 40 years. ...

By: Dufferin Iron Railings

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iron fences toronto | 416-535-1686 | dufferiniron.com - Video

A company that sells electrified security fencing is asking Harmar supervisors to change the township's zoning laws to allow them.

Cindy Gsell, director of business development for South Carolina-based Electric Guard Dog, told supervisors Thursday that the township's laws are silent on allowing electric security fences.

The township's existing regulations cap the height of fencing at 8 feet; Gsell said the industry standard for electrified fencing is 10 feet.

Gsell said Ward Trucking, which is in Harmar, has an interest in installing such a fence.

The company could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

Solicitor Chuck Means said a zoning amendment would have to first go to the township's planning commission, with the ultimate decision being made by supervisors. Supervisors could vote on approving the changes in September, he said.

Gsell said the company would pay all costs associated with the requests, which include legal, engineering and advertising expenses. The changes being requested are generic and not tailored to Electric Guard Dog's product.

Gsell described the fencing as an effective deterrent against theft for outside storage. It's installed within the boundary of a non-electrified perimeter fence, so anyone who comes into contact with the electric fence would already be trespassing, she said.

She said it is a relatively new use for electric fencing, which she said is most commonly used for containing livestock.

The fence is low-voltage and battery powered, Gsell said.

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Company wants Harmar supervisors to allow electric security fences in township

Carina "White Picket Fences"- Empresso Poetry Slam

By: Becca Weissman

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Carina "White Picket Fences"- Empresso Poetry Slam - Video