Congress has made a start at securing our borders, according to an article at Richmond Times-Dispatch. The House of Representatives voted on Friday to erect 700 miles of fencing in five areas along the 2,000-mile border with Mexico.

“Will this wall, will this fence make America absolutely safe, absolutely secure, and will it stop every illegal alien?” [Republican Virgil H. Goode Jr.] asked during floor debate.

“No, it will not, but it will make us more secure. It will make us safer, and it will surely cut down the horrific numbers that flood into this country.”

The provision also would direct a study of erecting barriers along the border with Canada….

This article from UPI has more details:

The amended plan calls for five fences to block the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States.

The measure would require construction of the fences along stretches of land in California, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona deemed among the most porous corridors of the border, the New York Times said.
…
Construction of the barriers is to include two layers of reinforced fencing, cameras, lighting and sensors near Tecate and Calexico on the California border; Columbus, N.M.; and El Paso, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Laredo and Brownsville in Texas.

It’s very likely that such a wall along our southern border will greatly reduce illegal immigration. Israel has been building a similar security fence along its eastern and western borders, and as a result, the number of terrorist attacks emanating from the protected areas has fallen 90%.

So why do we need a wall?

• Patrolling our southern border is increasingly hazardous

• Illegal immigration may provide cheap labor, but we all pay for it in bankrupt hospitals, school systems that have to teach the children of illegals, and other drains on our welfare system

• Violent gang-related crime has risen greatly in recent years, thanks largely to illegal aliens

• A porous border is an open invitation to terrorists attempting to enter the United States

Read more!

From ABC News International:

Brazil City Council Votes to Require Separate Bathrooms for Transvestites

For most, it’s a choice of the men’s room or the women’s. A Brazilian city is trying to give an option to those who don’t fit easily into either category.

A bill passed by the Nova Iguacu city council on Tuesday would require night clubs, shopping malls, movie theaters and large restaurants to provide a third type of bathroom for transvestites. Mayor Lindberg Farias will decide whether to make it a law.

“A lot of lawmakers didn’t want to deal with this issue, but it’s a serious problem in society,” said city Councilman Carlos Eduardo Moreira. “It’s a way to put an end to prejudice.”

Moreira, a 32-year-old policeman on leave from the force, said he got the idea when dozens of transvestites showed up for a local samba show.

“It was a real problem. The women didn’t feel comfortable having them in the ladies’ room, and the men didn’t want them in their bathroom either,” said Moreira, who is married and the father of two children. “I’m not doing this for my own benefit.”

He said the “alternative bathrooms” could also be used by men or women who didn’t mind sharing space with transvestites.

Moreira said there are nearly 28,000 transvestites in Nova Iguacu, a poor city of about 800,000 on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Moreira said many transvestites are reluctant to go out because there’s no bathroom for them….

I just want to see what they come up with for the sign to the transvestite’s restroom.

Read the whole article.

From the Daily Mail:

You can use the f-word in class (but only five times)

A secondary school is to allow pupils to swear at teachers - as long as they don’t do so more than five times in a lesson. A running tally of how many times the f-word has been used will be kept on the board. If a class goes over the limit, they will be ’spoken’ to at the end of the lesson.
…
Assistant headmaster Richard White said the policy was aimed at 15 and 16-year-olds in two classes which are considered troublesome.
…
“Within each lesson the teacher will initially tolerate (although not condone) the use of the f-word (or derivatives) five times and these will be tallied on the board so all students can see the running score,” he wrote in the letter.
…
The 1,130-pupil school, which was criticised as ‘not effective’ by Ofsted inspectors last November, also plans to send ‘praise postcards’ to the parents of children who do not swear and who turn up on time for lessons.

There’s an old saying: Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. And those who can’t teach, become Assistant Headmasters!

Read the whole article (if you can stand it).

The recent terrorist bombings in London, carried out by naturalized British citizens, have made England aware of what a dangerous thing multiculturalism can be. Dangerous because it encourages immigrants to hold onto the customs of their native homeland rather than assimilating, so they feel no loyalty to their new home.

Yet despite what happened in London and many other examples of the folly of multiculturalism, what is Denver's library system about to do? How about setting up several libraries in which Spanish will be the dominant language!

Read more!

From the Rocky Mountain News:

Diversity worries set off alarms

In the past six years, Denver has hired 272 firefighters. Fifty were Hispanic, two were American Indians, two were Asian, 10 were women and 203 were white males. Five black firefighters were hired in 1999 and 2000, but none since.

Thank goodness there's a task force working on the problem! It seems they've determined where the problem is:

Read more!