July 29, 2009, - 6:16 pm

OUTRAGE: U.S. Removes “United States” Border Sign b/c It Might Offend Terrorists

By Debbie Schlussel

Hmmm . . . maybe Lee Greenwood needs to sing a new song in honor of our bone-headed friends in the federal government, who are dismantling a “United States” sign at the border:  “Embarrassed to be American.”

unitedstatesbordersignUS Border Sign Being Dismantled, so We Won’t Offend Terrorists

I’ve written before about how the wimps running the New York/New Jersey Port Authority dumped the name “Freedom Tower” from the planned new World Trade Center building because they felt the name would make it a target for terrorists.  But apparently, the “Embarrassed to be American” movement has stepped it up a notch.  Authorities are removing a large “United States” sign at a northern New York border crossing because it might be a target for terrorists.

Talk about cowering to terrorists:

MASSENA, N.Y. – It has been nearly eight years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but the fears and anxieties they gave rise to continue to take a toll on the design of public buildings. Even the words “United States,” it seems — when spelled out in the wrong size and color — can be an unacceptable security risk.

Four years ago, when the federal General Services Administration unveiled its plans for a new border-crossing station here in northeastern New York State, the design was presented as part of the agency’s campaign to raise the dismal standards of government architecture. Even many in the famously fractious architectural community celebrated the complex — particularly its main building, emblazoned with glossy yellow, 21-foot-high letters spelling “United States” — as a rare project the government could point to with pride.

The Customs and Border Protection agency of the Department of Homeland Security seemed to like it too. After years of working closely with the architects, the New York firm of Smith-Miller & Hawkinson, the agency signed off on the final version of the project in 2007.

Yet three weeks ago, less than a month after the station opened, workers began prying the big yellow letters off the building’s facade on orders from Customs and Border Protection. The plan is to dismantle the rest of the sign this week.

“At the end of the day, I think they were somewhat surprised at how bold and how bright it was,” said Les Shepherd, the chief architect of the General Services Administration, referring to the customs agency’s sudden turnaround.

“There were security concerns,” said Kelly Ivahnenko, a spokeswoman for the customs agency. “The sign could be a huge target and attract undue attention. Anything that would place our officers at risk we need to avoid.”

Disgusting.

Even more disgusting is this New York Times anti-American apologism:

Unlike the Freedom Tower, whose name could be interpreted as a jingoistic expression of America’s post-Sept. 11 arrogance, Smith-Miller & Hawkinson’s “United States” sign is politically neutral. Its meaning is constantly changing for the viewer. It communicates openness and possibility, not aggression.

Yes, us ugly, jingoistic, arrogant Americans.  We must bow down and bend over backward . . . and forward to show that we are open, not “aggressive.”

Sadly, one day these idiotic peaceniks will see that giving our enemies the impression of “aggressiveness” is what keeps them at bay, not the opposite approach.

Nah, they’ll never get it.




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35 Responses

I hate to see us make it easy for them to take us over. Your severed head on a stick is their ONLY mission.

goldenmike4393 on July 29, 2009 at 6:34 pm

We Americans no longer deserve liberty, since we are afraid to be known as Americans. We are scared to be attacked so it’s better to hide who we are. George Washington would be ashamed of what we have become. 200 years ago, our forefathers use to make Monster sized American flags so that our enemies knew where we were. We didn’t hide from anyone back then. To some people being a “girlyman” is preferable to being attacked.

jonyjoe on July 29, 2009 at 7:39 pm

    Jonyjoe you are so right. Taking down the sign is ridiculous and a waist of taxpayer dollars. Remember, we vote for President this year. Every vote counts.

    God Bless the USA.

    TonyaM on January 4, 2012 at 7:25 pm

Americans keep electing and re-electing corrupt and timid traitors like George H W Bush, Billy, Dubya and now Mobarak “God D**n America” Obama.
What did they expect?

Alert on July 29, 2009 at 7:45 pm

They also allow the CIA to get away with murder!

Bob Porrazzo on July 29, 2009 at 8:37 pm

Debbie, America is like the new Jew in the world community. Nothing was ever the same after 9-11.

A1 on July 29, 2009 at 8:40 pm

Well whatever the reasons, “Freedom Tower” has got to be the absolute dumbest name they could have come up with.

Rob on July 29, 2009 at 9:52 pm

As anyone who has traveled abroad in the past couple of years knows, Customs has banned the word “America” and “Americans” from the Customs forms because it could offend Central and South Americans. Our country is no longer America or the United States of America but the “United States,” and we are no longer Americans but “United States citizens.”

They also now make us on the forms write dates the European way: DD/MM/YYYY instead of the American way: MM/DD/YYYY because the American way might offend Europeans.

Now even the politically correct “United States” is offensive because it offends terrorists.

This is insane. We won’t even have a country much longer, thanks to liberals.

Gabe on July 29, 2009 at 10:16 pm

I wonder who at the top ordered this revolting show of weak kneeded, spineless, unpatriotic, politically correct nonsense? Had to be a liberal POS. Well, New York did have a liberal world apologist Senator named Hillary Clinton. I wouldn’t doubt if she was part of this. Maybe she was on her way back from Canada apologizing to them for something the United States did 200 years ago.

Jarhead on July 29, 2009 at 10:26 pm

We can’t have the United States be identified as it might offend Canada. LOL!

NormanF on July 29, 2009 at 11:38 pm

Unf–king believable.

Joe on July 29, 2009 at 11:48 pm

Good grief. Why don’t we just take down our American flags, too. This is truly embarrassing for me and should be for all Americans.

JimS on July 30, 2009 at 12:14 am

“No people in history have ever survived who thought they could protect their freedom by making themselves inoffensive to their enemies.” – Dean Acheson

“Those who expect to reap the blessing of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” – Thomas Paine.

harry flashman on July 30, 2009 at 12:16 am

It is sad to see the great loss of pride in our nation. Michelle Obama may be proud of her country for the first time in her life, but I have always been proud of my homeland. We are now so timid as a nation that we dare not stand against Iran and the rabid mullahs to prevent them from obtaining nuclear weapons. I wonder when they will get around to tearing down the Statue of Liberty or smelting the Liberty Bell because it ticks off the Islamist nut jobs.

William Stout on July 30, 2009 at 3:06 am

It’s getting to be a “Planet of the Apes” moment every time the liberal apologists do something like this-

“Finally, really did it! YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP!! DAMN YOU! G*D DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!!'”

Mistress_Dee on July 30, 2009 at 6:55 am

I was saddened, as much as anything else, by the loss of the UNITED STATES sign on the front of the Customs administratrion building. It was big, bold and friendly, yet tasteful – a perfect advertisement for the US to visitors from Canada. With passport restrictions now in place for Canadian visitors, the last thing they need is another dull, lugubrious border installation. What are US Customs and Border Protection afraid of? That terrorists might start attacking billboards? The NYT editorial you quoted sums up the mentality of the people responsible for this vandalism perfectly. It is no coincidence that it occurrred early in the Obama administration.

Nof49 on July 30, 2009 at 7:17 am

Bulls–t, the reason they are removing it is because the controllers of this country want to establish an AMALGAMATE with CANADA and MEXICO – THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION.

Michael on July 30, 2009 at 11:53 am

    Boy, did you hit the nail on the head!

    Anyone who thinks this was done for any other reason either has their head in the sand, or can’t stand to admit the painful truth.

    As Dr. Phil would say, “You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge”.

    melena29 on July 30, 2009 at 4:08 pm

I have advanced degrees in history and I must say this is all part of the revisionist history nonsense. Let’s change everything and appease (Chamberlain would be proud). The sovereignty of the USA is under attack and this is just part of that agenda. ILLEGAL ALENS just by being in the USA do that daily; La Raza is an assault on American freedoms and sovereignty. And now we have Sotomayor the Nyorican racist/bigot/affirmative action token (who is not bright) to destroy the USA even further. I feel so safe.

BTW, thanks for pointing out that Palin is not a true conservative and that her childrens’ names are totally stupid and ugly. At least you had the courage to say so. I have a Catholic sanist name that is also Biblical and that suits me fine too. My sons’ names are also very Catholic. That’s my rule.

And please don’t offend the Muslim terrorists, so not pc or revisionist history. I am offended at the murder of Christians and Jews and other non-muslims for 1400 hundred years but I realize that is just a minor fact in history. The very liberals that protect them will be th first to feel the steel of the blade.

Vegan conservative on July 30, 2009 at 1:38 pm

“sanist”= saints’

Vegan conservative on July 30, 2009 at 1:40 pm

Very nice site!

John1172 on July 30, 2009 at 3:02 pm

Rush Limbaugh picked up the story today (crediting it to the website Boing Boing).

Barry Popik on July 30, 2009 at 3:09 pm

It’s just another slap in the face to those of us who served in the Border Patrol, INS Investigations, et al, diligently protecting the borders; apprehending and prosecuting those who violated the sanctity and laws of this nation.

DHS, ICE, CBP and the new generation have flushed the integrity and pride of the defense of our country down the tank. DHS should now stand for “Department of Hispanic Services”.

ICEnomore on July 30, 2009 at 4:51 pm

At the rate Obama and his cronies at DHS are moving , every illegal from Tijuana to Tierra Del Fuego (at the southern tip of South America) will soon be able to walk across our border with Mexico unchallenged and un-impeded .

The United States of America will cease to exist as we know it – we will simply be the northern tip of South America.

If this willfull and conscious lack of enforcement doesn’t constitute “Constructive Fraud”, I don’t know what does.

NowImARepublican on July 30, 2009 at 5:43 pm

— BONUS: Obama doing everything opposite of Bush! Turning off the 2006 democracy tool news ticker/electronic billboard on the American diplomatic mission building in Havana, Cuba. Fidel hated it. Instead of informing the public of communism evils and being the only news outlet not subject to communist censorship, instead of a blackout couldn’t Obama put up some choice quotes in praise of communism from his Chavez provided copy of “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent”? What else grows in the dark? 7/27/09
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56Q2P020090727

FeFe on July 31, 2009 at 1:33 pm

Debbie, well-written piece on a truly appalling development. Virtually all the responses so far acknowledge the craven, inverted, truly bizarre self-loathing of the quisling officials who countenance such shenanigans. But I am buoyed and hopeful! I pray that Americans everywhere are seeing through the America-hatred of Obama and his bands of devils, and will rise up in the election of 2010 in such overwhelming unanimity and numbers as to disgorge him, vomit him out, end his tenure with unprecedented decisiveness, and reconstitute our nation. Please G-d.

Dernon Ruton on August 1, 2009 at 11:00 pm

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John872 on August 1, 2009 at 11:18 pm

This doesn’t suprise me at all, right after 9-11 a school here in VA removed the American flag because they didn’t want to offend muslims who had children that went there. Every year there is more and more actions that diminish the Christmas Holiday because it might offend people who aren’t christian if they are told “Merry Christmas”. In England a school play change the 3 little pigs story to 3 little dogs because Muslims don’t like pigs. We seem to be bending over backwards everywhere to appease the feelings of immigrants. We are told that we have to change our ways so we don’t cause trouble. This is terrorism. We change our ways so that we don’t end up becoming victims of these people. What should be done is we tell these people that we have our own culture, language, traditions and that they should learn to respect them instead of the other way around. We are told to learn their ways. Why? we didn’t move to their country. They came here. If they don’t like it they don’t have to live here. Are we supposed to be ashamed of being Americans now? If we are, then we shouldn’t asked to provide for immigrants who come here and want to be a part of what this country can provide. We also shouldn’t be granting citizenship to immigrants if it is so shameful to be American. It would be wrong to allow that right? The Native Americans saw their land taken over and were forces to learn the ways of the colonists and everyone feels that it was to worst thing in the world and like to point out that everyone in the US now who isn’t Native American is an illegal alien, There is no difference in what is going on now. We are expected to learn other languages and provide for them, learn other cultures at the cost of our own. We have to do something now. We have to take our country back and put expectations on immigrants who wish to come here instead of making us change for them. If their lands were so great that we have to assimmilate to them, then why the heck did they come here???? Oh, to get what the government of the US will grant them. All of this on our dime. We are also expected to send our youth out to wars defending the rights of these people to complain, insult and endanger our citizens because the constitution that was meant for the citizens protection is being used by these people whenever they do something that we feel is risky. We are told that we have to censor ourselves because it might offend others, but they can say whatever they want especially if the play the race card.

joeyindc on August 3, 2009 at 9:10 am

Obviously Obamaland will be the new name and sign. Where? Well, since we will lack sovreigntry it’s tough to figure out where to put the “You are entering ” sign…

Mary on August 3, 2009 at 6:43 pm

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wxfdqvpulm on November 25, 2011 at 9:21 am

Who cares what the terrorist morons think.. Welcome to the stupid upside down world of Obamanation!

Rafael on January 7, 2012 at 6:15 pm

F**king liberals. I hate them and that usurping idiot In the WH that they call their leader.

diane on January 8, 2012 at 12:19 am

Last time I saw a sign come down over an establishment, it was to make way for its replacement. They may as well take down the flag while they’re at it because they’ve just announced to the entire world that we’re relinquishing our claim on our country.

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