The Border Patrol already has surveillance cameras installed along the border, but they don’t make the images public because most people already have Univision.Our friend Eileen, the Pink Lady herself, reacted drolly to her co-blogger's missive, "I know what I'm watching on Saturday nights. As long as it's not on too late."
I've been trying to figure out what to post about this webcam oddity - it's like the Governor turned over border security to Joe Trippi. Normally I like to make arguments on Grits, not make fun, but this is a pointlessly silly idea. There's sure no evidence it'll reduce crime along the border. Note to Governor Perry: There are too many ways to defeat this technology. Wires to cameras out in the boondocks will be cut. If the cameras don't have wires, they can be shot or smashed, and expect all coyotes and drug runners to soon own one of these (via Bruce Schneier). Cameras could even be used against law enforcement if drug runners use decoys to draw forces away from their transport routes. Plus, as JCBT points out, the Border Patrol already has cameras on the border, for all the good it does, so why spend $5 million on a redundant system?
The word for such a pointless expense is "Boondoggle": Everyone please repeat it aloud.
Webcams on the border won't stop anybody: It's just another $5 million from the taxpayers' collective hip pocket flushed down the commode. What else is there to say about it? All that's left is to point and laugh.
I totally agree; it is nothing if not a waste of $5 million. Anyone determined to cross the border will figure out a way to circumvent this protective measure whether by destroying the cameras, using decoys, or what have you. Surely there are better ways to spend this money.
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