Jim Moreno - Poet

Oppose the Border Triple Fence - $21 Million per mile while San Diego gives 918 teachers pink slips.

"We could care less about friendship." (Security officer quote on 5/18/08 at Friendship Park on the San Diego border with Tijuana, Mexico when asked why friendship was not used to secure the border instead of a fence.)

Boundary Marker in Friendship Park,

San Ysidro, California,

The inscription in italics below was placed on a red marker 20 feet from the International Border. It was erected after a visit from First Lady Pat Nixon. She directed holes be cut in the fence so the children of Mexico observing her speech could cross the border and hug her.

She stated that one day there would be no need for the fence so citizens of both countries, adults and children, would be able to cross freely in friendship and visit unimpeded by bureaucracy, fences, or (the present day) political posturing (for misused, pirated tax dollars – your tax dollars).

Today corporate cronies of the Bush Administration and the lackey administration are breaking environmental laws, alienating our friends in Mexico, and wasting our tax dollars to build an unneeded, untenable triple fence. The feds are spending $21,000,000,.00 per mile for three miles of your tax money. The Bush Administration will leave a legacy of waste, cronyism, peculation, piracy, and mendacity of such obscene proportions that the founding fathers must be weeping in their tombs.

Near this site the initial point of the boundary between the USA and the Republic of Mexico was established, October 10, 1849.

Today the flag of the United States of America is again raised to symbolize friendship between the peoples of the United States and Mexico and to commemorate the establishment of a state park adjacent to this point on the international border.

September 27, 1974

Boundary Marker # 258 was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places,

September 6, 1974

what has happened to my country?

we have come here, to this land by mexico, this land of many cultures, this land of brown tribe, this land of red tribe, this land of black tribe, this land of white tribe to build sacred inipi, to honor spirit inside, to gather, to work in harmony.

looking up from willow branch bending, bending not breaking, bending angry bee sounds buzzing air, bees coming here, big angry bees coming here, raging bees buzzing now, buzzing power growing stronger, louder, now closer still, giant bee pointing, stinging monster chain saw, giant buzz saw, sound pounding, air roaring…

first angry bee coming into view, red bee buzzing machine, four-wheeled red buzzing machine, 1,000 pound green warrior riding, jelly-bellied green warrior, jiggling black gun fascist fat back riding his border patrol, seams bursting, great green bogus bear hunting, four-wheeled buzzing red machine following, desert machine, off-road machine, 5,000 pound fascist fat dripping on land of the free― for some―motor screaming, hot air buzzing, two more angry red buzzing bee machines following, riding two green 10,000 pound warriors, guns jiggling, cracker hunters hunting,

hunting for momma from san salvador, momma bleeding, momma lungs bleeding, momma terror-eyed, momma running from fat cracker green bees hunting guatemala mama, come to el norte to feed baby boy riding belly-wrapped hammock cloth, riding , starving, wondering, “when momma, when will belly stop hurting, belly stop screaming, belly stop grabbing, momma? when momma when?”

what has happened to my country? why does my land of the free hunt nicaragua momma, push mexican poppa, down dirty roads in dirty droves, hungry, tired droves chased by angry red bees? why does your land of the brave need big fat, black guns hugging fat cracker bully bellies, hunting mamas and papas beckoned north to work by power masters of green frog skins?

what has happened to my country? sacramento spin doctors, egregious priests of secret government, profit pounding politicos, framing road signs of latino families running in the sun, blinding brown children, nicaraguan children, el salvadoran children, mexican children, american children, with bright lights, spot lights, hunting lights in the night, hunting children in the night, hunting mommas in the night, hunting poppas in the night,

what has happened (imagine all of us voting)? what has happened (all of us voting!)?

what has happened (for least qualified politico)? what has happened (driving out incumbents)?

what has happened (who chase children in the night)? what has happened (changing fascist industry of misery)? what has happened (whose spin doctor, image-makers, build berlin walls)?

what has happened ( in the land of the free)? what has happened (when white tribe woman)? what has happened (tells tv reporter)? what has happened (she is afraid)? what has happened (of starving immigrants)? what has happened (asking her for food)? what has happened (when in brown american culture)? what has happened (if you ask for food when you are hungry)? what has happened (you get food)? what has happened (you get food not fascists, you get bread not bees, you get fed and not feds)?what has happened to my country? what has happened to your country? what has happened to my country?

fall 1994

Dan Watman Harrassed at Border Fence for Accepting a Business Card Through the Fence

Further Harrassment: Dan made to sit on ground with hands on head.

Subject: harrasment inside friendship circle at the border this morning
> > >
> > >
> > > Funny thing happened at the border fence today. This is the best I
> > > can recollect what happened. There was someone video taping at least
> > > part of it from the Mexican side. I'm not sure how much she got.
> > >
> > > I went to Friendship park this morning for a binational press
> > > conference to promote the beach cleanup and festival this weekend at
> > > the border. On the Mexican side there were some 30 people
> > > representing about 10 different community orgs with a few newspapers
> > > and radio reporters and on the US side, just me and BP. I was inside
> > > friendship circle talking to people through the fence and someone
> > > passed me a business card through the fence. As this happend a BP
> > > Jeep pulled right up to the fence (he was already pulling up before
> > > the card was passed through). I just kept talking and he got out and
> > > came up to me and asked me to show him what had been passed through
> > > the fence and then told me to return it. I did as he said and then he
> > > asked me to step away from the fence. i asked him why and he told me
> > > to just step away and stay away from the fence (he said I could sit at
> > > the picnic tables in the park). I asked if it was illegal for me to
> > > be next to the fence and he said yes. I told him that was quite
> > > contradictory to anything I've ever observed or been told before. He
> > > said I was impeding the law and that it was illegal to pass things
> > > through the fence. I told him that since getting close to the fence
> > > and talking with people through it insdide friendship circle being
> > > illegal was so contradictory to what I've experienced, I'd like to
> > > talk to a supervisor to clarify the law. he told me I can go to
> > > imperial beach station and to talk to a supervisor there. I told him
> > > I want to talk to a supervisor before I step away from the fence. He
> > > told me that if I didn't step away from the fence that he would have
> > > to arrest me. I asked why and he said because I passed something
> > > through the fence and cited some code that I can't remember. I told
> > > him that he could arrest me right where I was for passing something
> > > through the fence, why if I stepped away would I no longer be
> > > arrested. After going back and forth for several minutes of him
> > > telling me to step away trying to trick me into doing by telling me to
> > > remove my bicycle and then step on the other side of it and me
> > > continuing to refuse to move away from the fence, he then proceeded to
> > > tell me to put my hands on my head and turn around and sit down. I
> > > obeyed. When I tried to talk (either to him or others watching from
> > > the Mexican side) he told me I wasn't allowed to speak. An agent on a
> > > quad came up and asked me if I had permission from the PIO to be
> > > there. I told him this was to promote a State Parks event as I had
> > > told Agent Aleman. He said this is federal land and that I needed to
> > > talk to PIO with BP. Somehow that conversation was dropped and I was
> > > ordered to be silent again. After a good 10 min sitting down being
> > > told not to speak or move my arms, a supervisor and 2-3 other BP
> > > vehicles drove up. The supervisor stood about 30 ft. away from the
> > > fence and said "I'm a supervisor, you wanted to talk to me, come over
> > > here and we can talk". I told him I didn't want to come away from the
> > > fence and that he should come to me instead. He said he didn't want
> > > others to hear the conversation so i yelled that I wanted to get
> > > clarification on what the law is on wether it's ok for me to be next
> > > to the fence and talk to people through it or not. He said I can't
> > > pass things through the fence. i said ok i won't pass things through
> > > the fence, why do I have to step away from the fence? He then came
> > > over and said "You are right, you have a right to be here you just
> > > can't pass things through the fence". i said "fair enough". At this
> > > point i had already stood back up and so I turned and went back to
> > > talking to my friends. he emphasized again that i can't pass anything
> > > through the fence and i told him I wouldn't. All the bp agents and
> > > vehicles (four vehicles and I estimate around 8-12 agents) pulled away
> > > and left me alone. As the last one left (the original guy Agent
> > > Aleman) he said "step a little further away from the fence about right
> > > here" pointing to about 5 feet away. I told him I'm going to stand at
> > > a normal conversational distance and went on with the press
> > > conference.
> > >
> > >
> > > Dan
> > >

Dan cooperating with orders from border officers.

Amigos on the Mexican side who definitely don't look like terrorists but friends.

Enter content here

Enter supporting content here