Flight Club

Posted by: Suitably Flip
on April 21, 2005 @ 11:01 AM EST

The recent emergence of copycat Minuteman franchises in the American Southwest would be enough to make Tyler Durden proud. Then again, the fight clubs were more on the supply side of terrorism than these civilian defenders, so hopefully Tyler would also see the irony.



Having been invited to Washington this week by the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, Jim Gilchrist and his Minutemen may have finally succeeded in lending critical mass to the as yet inexplicably and woefully under-adressed threat of America's unsecured borders. Collective national and legislative consciousness finally seems to be developing some focus on the issue. Moreover, in the latest pirouette in her long sashay toward center, Senator Clinton has become an increasingly vocal member of a growing chorus of Senators looking to the north as well.

The 21st century minutemen are no strangers to denigration and protest, but love 'em or hate 'em, it goes to show that appreciable success and old-fashioned fevered controversy mingle for a powerful combination. The group's pivotal role in the border security problem may have already sparked an overdue movement that it was beginning to appear might only be catalyzed by catastrophe.

As to Governor Schwarzenegger's unfortunate recent phraseology... MORE

(calling for "closing" the California-Mexico border, later attributed to a lingual mix-up), even as a native English speaker, I could certainly see using the word "close" in a casual and unscripted manner, in reference to sealing up procedural and physical gaps. Still, word choice can be crucial, particularly when under public scrutiny and in treatment of critical and contentious issues. So when a vocab gaffe belies your message, it's important to clarify. It seems to me that Arnold's done just that, and with a healthy dose of contrition.

Yet I still find myself wondering if there's an over-under on how many days until the first high-ranking Democrat calls for his resignation. I'd give it until Monday.

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