From Gainesville:
The illegal aliens cross over at night through the mountains rather than the more direct route through the desert. This blimp has infrared detection so can see people at night in the dark – and radio down to troops on the ground their position. The blimp is unmanned and remote controlled, according to people here. Second picture I took using the zoom feature of my regular camera to get a more closeup view. This is from the hotel parking lot at 6:45 AM before I left for work. This blimp is a good 20 miles away from where I am.
Obviously this blimp is an example of your government at work. Blimps aren’t cheap. Our government is using all sort of technology to curtail illegal entry into the country. Millions of dollars are spent on this endeavor annually. Yet the sound byte remain the same: Do your job
The sound byte is an election tool. People that continue to believe the government is doing nothing are being duped by politicians who simply want their vote. Too many people have fallen for this trick already.
Sierra Vista?
No doubt there’s a lot of technology being used at the border. However, lots of people argue against putting in any more electronic technology at the border, claiming it isn’t working. I have no facts one way or the other on that, so can’t speak to it, but I’d personally be in favor of putting in more technology there. However, I confess I haven’t followed the controversy over some electronic systems in place that people claim don’t work at all.
This blimp can be seen every day here in Sierra Vista, AZ. Some of the mountains (although NOT the ones in this picture) that can be seen from here are actually on the Mexico side. These are on the US side of the border, however. There’s nothing between here and Mexico directly south except desert. These mountains are to the southeast – and are a longer way to get here from Mexico in terms of miles, and of course having to climb over the mountains, which I’m told they try to do at night. I assume they must be catching people with that blimp, or it wouldn’t be up there in the sky 24 hours a day (I see it all day long so I assume it is also up there after dark when you can’t see it).
Yes, Slowpoke, are you familiar with it? My first trip here – doing some work deploying a mobile satellite communications system I’m the software designer for. It’s just southeast of Ft. Huachuca.
My problem is, whatever the fed. gov’t is doing, they aren’t doing enough!! Why aren’t they going after employers and fining them, and putting them out of business for hiring illegals. They make a few raids a year but that’s just to make headlines. Why aren’t they forcing every employer to use eVerify?? I don’t care what anyone says they are doing, they aren’t doing nearly enough in my book, and they are the ones who are responsible for allowing this problem to grow and fester over the years. It’s been many years of them not doing enough, that got us into this mess. Now there’s no easy solution, but for starters they need to do the things I said at the top of this paragraph. I don’t think they are doing a very good job at all, not now, and not in the past 10 or 15 years! I’m not sure they are any more committed now to fixing the problem then they were 5 or 10 years ago, honestly.
Beautiful scenery!
It is indeed. I could see retiring out in a place like this! Beautiful weather too – no rain this time of the year, sunny and in the 70’s during the day, down in the low 50’s at night. Gets slightly cooler in winter but not down below 40 here in the valley. No traffic, and the town here is very nice, plus a huge amount of things to see and do. I’ve taken tons of pictures of sunrises/sunsets, plus scenery of the mountains and the desert. Never been here before but really like it. People at base told me that after I’m here 3 weeks I won’t want to leave, and I can sort of see what they are saying. Really beautiful area.
My mistake – those mountains are to the southwest of here – not the southeast as I had said. Picture taken this morning at sunrise, which obviously the sun is rising in the opposite direction.
First time I ever went to Sierra Vista, it snowed that night! I slipped down a flight of stairs at the hotel right into my boss who just told me to be careful. Snow is just a tad rare down there.
Watch ‘Border Wars’ on channel 109 at 9PM Wednesdays if you want to see what really goes on at the border. This is an unbiased look at the effort required to fight drug traffic, and illegal immigration every hour of the day. The one thing the show demonstrates is that it becomes a game to those trying to get into the country illegally in that if you keep trying eventually you will make it. On many shows they catch the same people again. It’s very educational, and frustrating, because you know its only a matter of time before this country is overrun. We definitely need a better strategy as eventually there won’t be anyone except the drug cartels left in Mexico. Coming down on employers will only work if the employer isn’t a drug cartel, and there are already too many of those ’employees’ in this country.
The drug cartels are a different issue than the little guy sneaking over for a job and must be treated very differently. Drug cartels must be met with force.
I didn’t think it snows too much out here – except up in the mountains. I know most of the rain comes in the summer in the form of thunderstorms. Can’t complain at all about the weather here this time of the year though. I could get real used to this kind of weather.
They did say that today actually is the anniversary of the shootout at the O.K. Corral and it was actually cloudy and in the 30’s that day back in 1881 – unlike how Hollywood portrays it of course. It did get down to 45 one night here but there’s only been one day so far in the afternoon it didn’t break 70 degrees.
The blimp is an interesting idea–similar to “speed monitored by aircraft.”
And how do you determine which is which? That same illegal immigrant that’s coming for a job, was used as a mule to carry drugs in order to pay the coyote. That same illegal immigrant could be selling drugs, etc. The sea of illegal immigrants allows the drug networks to flourish.
Heh. Forgot to add that when I first read the title, I thought about illegal immigrants using a blimp…….
Looks like a giant peeping Tom in the sky.
Looks to me like like those UFO photos History Channel shows all the time now, when they’re not showing truck drivers, junk dealers or whatever. How that channel has gone downhill.
Illegal space aliens?
You know, NTK, it really has gone down hill. I am glad you verbalized it.
Starry, I had never thought of it that way. I guess that is what is really is.
question for all the high tech folks….could a satellite do the same thing? How about a drone?
Yes, the drones can do that, but I’m sure they are all deployed over in Iraq/Afghanistan. Satellites – to look at one spot like that isn’t what satellites do – they typically make sweeps and only look at the same spot a few times a day.
Also, the drones are owned by the military. There’s a definite issue with the military flying equipment like that over US territory. It was talked about during Katrina – that’s why I know. Actually, a stationary camera from a drone was put on top a building in New Orleans, and within 24 hours taken down because of those legal issues. Unless the Border Patrol goes and buys drones – they aren’t going to be flying over US territory.
Finally, I bet the blimp is a far cheaper solution than the drones.
Blimps cost no fuel to stay up 24/7. Satellites are expensive to re-task and have a limited amount of fuel. Blimps stay up cheaply, are cheap to build, and can be re-positioned, and since visible, perhaps have a deterrent effect.
I need new glasses. I thought GR said chimp is far cheaper.
I think Cargosuid was agreeing with me there – as he kind of expanded on my point that blimps are far cheaper than drones. No question about that, in my mind.
Hadn’t thought about the deterrent effect, but that’s a great point! The drones are very high up and really can’t be seen. That blimp can be seen for miles and miles – I must be 20 or 30 miles away from it. I haven’t been anywhere near those mountains – and don’t have any intention to go near them, since they are closer to Mexico than I am and obviously a route the illegal border crossers choose to take.
Nevermind! Now I’m the one that needs glasses. I read that as MH saying she thought I said “BLIMP is far cheaper”. My eyes translated “chimp” to “blimp”. NOW I get it. Well, that would be an interesting solution to the problem but not quite sure how it would work….
By the way Slowpoke – in case you’re still following this thread which has more or less gone inactive – your German deli appears to be long gone – as I looked for it yesterday after work and it doesn’t exist anymore. Disappointing as I was thinking some German deli sounded good for dinner.
Is that the Democrats’ vision for the future of our military – cut costs by switching to blimps piloted by chimps? Interesting, certainly cheaper, but how will the chimps be able to tell the bad guys from the good guys?
Don’t know about how the chimps would separate bad from good guys.
On a more serious note – someone today told me that blimp has been up there for years, and really is to detect drug running operations. The bad guys fly the drug planes over the mountain at night, then go real low in the valley to evade radar detection. So supposedly that’s what the blimp is for. What the real truth is I don’t know – as I’ve now heard two different explanations. Or, maybe it is for both things. Guess the chimps wouldn’t be too good for detecting drug running planes unless you taught them how to fire weapons, or something….
Also, supposedly the blimp is there as a deterrent against the low flying airplanes.