Ivory Tower

     And now a dedication to all smart friends in the U.S. government: “It’s Up to Me,” by Jethro Tull.

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     Did you hear about the case of Herbert and Shirley-Ann Leu? Seems they ran crossways with the feds when they built an 85-foot long concrete wall along their backyard, on their own property.

     The wall isn’t just for security, the couple made it solid and strong to guard against erosion; the yard slopes and they don’t want it washed away if rains get too heavy.

     But they received an order to tear it down, and if they don’t, the government will go onto their property and tear it down for them, then send them the bill for the trouble.

     Seems the wall interferes with a government project that is in the works — the border wall.

     Yup. The Leuses live along the U.S.-Canada border, and part of the planned border wall approved by Congress will run right alongside the Leus’ retaining wall. The border wall is set to run seven feet away, in fact.

     Now, if the feds want a wall there and the Leuses already built one there, one might think that it could easily be incorporated into the government’s plans. Just get an easement from the couple for the width of the wall, and connect to it.

     Things are never that easy in the world of bureaucracy, however. Government specs for the wall project prohibit any permanent structures within 10 feet on either side of the government wall. The Leus’ wall is three feet inside that buffer zone, even though it’s on their own property.

     As all government projects and edicts, however, this thing promises to take lots of time, and burn up lots of taxpayers’ money, to resolve. The Pacific Legal Foundation, which fights cases of excessive government regulation and environmental extremism, has filed suit against the government action.

     Here’s where it gets fun.

     Apparently, the Justice Department was talking about a settlement. But the guy who wrote the demolition order, Dennis Schornack of the International Boundary Commission, fought against giving in to the puny private landowners.

     And Schornack’s a Republican.

     He fought so vigorously, in fact, that he got himself fired. Ah, but he learned a few things from his GOP bosses, who have placed themselves above the law and Congress whenever they are asked to account for themselves. Schornack has filed his own lawsuit, claiming that since the commission he worked for is international in nature, it is above actions by the U.S. government alone — even though it was the Bush administration that hired him in the first place.

     And now the Leuses, who, it appeared, were going to get some kind of settlement, like getting to keep their wall, have to wait for Schornack’s case to be decided, since that will determine whether his authority on the matter trumps the federal government’s authority to settle out his order.

     So if you have property along the Rio Grande and you want to keep strangers off your property (or keep your pets from going astray), be forewarned: Don’t go around building any fences. The feds just might have to tear it down. so they can build their own fence.