Commentary on TBTool in San Diego Union Tribune
The principle collaborators on the Transborder Immigrant Tool Project were invited to write an op-ed for the San Diego Union Tribune. Which we did.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/07/tooling-around-the-border/
I was surprised by Congressman Duncan D. Hunter’s response to our op-ed, which can be viewed at: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/07/taxpayers-should-be-outraged-use-funds/
Congressman Duncan D. Hunter (although there is some ambiguity in the UT, I think the writer is my current congressional representative in California 52, not his father who passed both the name and his seat down to him), comes from a proud family who have earned the respect of the voters of eastern San Diego County. Duncan Sr. was the chairman of the House Armed Services committee through most of the Bush presidency, and is a veteran of the Vietnam war. Duncan Jr. is a Marine reserve captain who served two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan before his election to the U.S. Congress. These Hunters are no chicken-hawks. They deserve a lot of recognition for walking the walk they talk, and thanks for their service.
Surprisingly to some, Duncan Senior’s brother (and uncle to Jr) is John Hunter, the founder Water Station Inc., one of the heroic humanitarian organizations that are part of the inspiration for the TBTool project in the first place. John’s service in setting up and supplying life-saving water caches is no surprise to me, even though I know him just a little bit. Many of those who help maintain water caches do so from a good Samaritan, faith-based perspective that simply abhors humanitarian disaster. And many are patriots who simply think our national complicity in a human-caused disaster is bad policy that reflects poorly on our national character.
The TBTool, at least to the informed, is very specifically designed provide “last-mile” navigation to the water cache sites established by Water Station and other groups like the Border Angels. It is not capable of facilitating long distance overland navigation. Rather, it functions only as a “emergency parachute cord” to provide navigational assistance to any nearby safety sites. The platform is nearing a level of useful technical functionality in the field that we hope will be followed by successful deployment to people who are traversing the dangerous terrain of U.S./Mexico border.
Yet, in Duncan D. Hunter’s response, he states:
“[T]he cell phone application under development would ultimately offer individuals, many of whom might never before have considered crossing the border, the guidance needed to circumvent our nation’s security procedures and immigration laws. For those who originate from countries other than Mexico, including countries of national security concern such as China or Yemen, an application of this type would provide the primary source of information needed to successfully navigate the land border.”
This post is getting a little long, nor am I known for carefully parsing my words, so I will just lay it out. I am surprised because Congressman Hunter is a U.S. Marine, thus I feel sure he is familiar with GPS generally and with the applications of GPS for overland navigation specifically. Congressman Hunter must know that a Yemeni or Chinese national (or a Canadian for that matter) could simply stop in at the Walmart or Best Buy in Tijuana and purchase a GPS device produced by Garmin or Magellan that is actually the kind of tool “needed to successfully navigate the land border.” Assuming he is not ignorant, (an assumption about my congressional representative that I will strongly defend), then we have to ask: Why would he perpetuate inaccurate information about the TBTool platform? Especially when those inaccuracies are mixed with references to nationalities that tend to inspire stress incontinence fear and loathing among the Congressman’s core voters? But I don’t really need to answer that, do I?
Congressman Hunter, on my honor, I will post your reply here should you wish to clarify the situation!
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