Gov. Perry Mum On Texas Ranger Double Secret Probation...Er, Missions

I always love stumbling on a story involving Texas Governor Rick Perry. I already told you about his showdown with the the coyote from hell. Now he's at the center of some super secret missions involving the Texas Rangers facing off with drug dealers trying to cross into Texas. How super secret? Apparently the governor refuses to tell anyone more than they kick Mexican druglord ass (I may be paraphrasing here).

Asked to quantify the progress made by the Rangers, Texas' Department of Public Safety refuses to give any details on the basis of preserving "operational security." So you can't even give us numbers of arrests amount of drugs seized? I'm pretty sure the guys who recently found themselves in jail and without their drugs are aware of your operations guys.

And don't think I'm saying that it's a bad idea to have your state's elite units fighting the the drug smugglers at the border. Illegal immigrants who are just trying to find a better life for themselves are one thing. But make no mistake, the drug cartels who run their wares across the borders are really just not good guys, and every step should be taken to keep them out of the country.

I just think it's really goofy that Gov. Perry is bragging his ass off about these secret Ranger missions but he won't lay out any detail to show more to show the cause and effect of his work. No, all we seem to get are small leaks, such as one given by public safety director Steve McCraw, who claimed that "the program doesn't want to brag." He then "grabbed the most recent mission report and read that in one day, a team arrested 22 people and seized 1,739 pounds of marijuana. He offered no other details." OK, so you're giving a random bunch of numbers with no context and no corroborating evidence. That doesn't sound like bragging at all.

Now for all I know these missions could be doubtless successes. They may be single-handedly squashing the drug trade along the border. But neither I nor anyone else will know about it if you don't tell us. And no, simply saying they're doing awesome and forbidding any follow up questions is not the same thing. The AP ponders whether or not this whole thing is just a political ploy meant to beef up his image as being tough on border defense, and maybe that's what's going on. Or, he may just really believe that super secrecy is the only way to keep these missions successfully. I just like to think he's apeshit crazy, and I really long for the day when he just gets on stage and let's his freak flag truly fly: