Chertoff in a tizzy.

Gallons of pixels have been spilled writing about the insanity of the President's and the Senate's duplicitous attempts to ramrod an excuse for an immigration control measure through Congress.

That aside, consider the following ludicrous statement by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff evidencing the flaccid nature of the Administration's approach to border enforcement:

Texas ranchers will continue to protest efforts to build fences on their land, and Arizonans will continue to try to block radar towers, he warned.

This is the number one guy in the nation responsible for guarding the borders but he acts like he's helpless . . . helpless to deal with these obstacles.

If it's true that Texas ranchers -- all Texas ranchers? -- are protesting efforts to build fences on their land, there is this thing called the power of eminent domain that all governments in the U.S. have at their disposal. If you can't deal with the protests by persuasion or easement purchase, then you get your government lawyers to condemn the land you need to build a fence or patrol. One special prosecutor proceeding against, oh, Scooter Libby, ought to pay for several feet of needed land.

As for attempts to block radar towers, we recommend that the federal government use, like, its arrest powers. Last time we checked 18 U.S.C. Section 372 proscribes conspiracy to impede a federal officer in the discharge of his or her duties, a felony. 18 U.S.C. Section 1114 punishes assaults on federal officers, and 18 U.S.C. Section 111 punishes interference with federal officers.

Possible protestor.

Essentially, the highest federal security official is acting like he's stalled, just stalled, mind you, when there are (some) rancher protests and citizen attempts to block radar towers. He acts like he only has the enforcement powers of the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors or the Lady Bird Johnson Potomac Beautification Commission. Would Eisenhower have called off D-Day because someone advised him that the German's would protest or try to block it?

What really frosts the Colonel on any one day is the federal government's willingness to intrude in all the areas so conveniently and mendaciously opened up for it by expansive Supreme Court decisions over the years. The federal government exercises powers in vast new areas never contemplated by the Founders. (Homework assignment: find place in Federal Constitution granting Congress power to create Dept. of Education or deny gun rights to perpetrators of domestic abuse.)

But here is an area where there's no question that the federal government has authority to act. Protection of the borders is the very essence of the duty of the federal government and yet here you have the most important official charged with that duty acting like petty pinprick pussy protests have the paralyzing power of a gallon injection of curare.

"Immigration Bill Dies in Senate." By Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post6/29/07 (emphasis added).