“Um, the Fat Lady isn’t even in costume and makeup yet,” or a Follow Up on the Big Immigration Compromise: The employers who helped write it are saying “maybe this isn’t such a great idea. Cnet of all places points out that this would create a giant “Green List” of eligible American workers. If you somehow aren’t on the right list, you don’t get legal work. And we all know that federal databases are not necessarily as accurate as we might desire *cough*no-fly-list*cough*. For that matter, there have been enough data breaches that such databases are not as secure as we might like. Alternet has done us the favor of reprinting this editorial from the New York Times about how nobody likes it, no registration required. The IHT brings us details of a bipartisan fight against it — who says the two parties can’t work together. As always, the Washington Post can be counted on for good political coverage, and they too signal that now that a compromise has been reached, negotiations for a compromise compromise can begin. Oh, and at least one Senator wants to scrap the guest worker part, which is a good idea because it will be abused and is not a citizenship path, but that’s the President’s favorite part. Here’s yet more commentary from MaxSpeak.
And they’d have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling Iraqis! (pop culture reference) Would it surprise you to know that there have been multiple homegrown Iraqi plans for internal peace that were widely supported by the major internal factions? Please don’t forget to read the supporting links — and the links in the links — on this one! “Last year, a comprehensive, 28-point proposal for stabilizing Iraq was offered by the nascent Iraqi government itself after long meetings with different Iraqi groups. According to local polls and political leaders, most Iraqis believed it was the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel — the plan was attractive to the vast majority of the public, even those Iraqis affiliated with violent resistance groups. But the plan wasn’t acceptable to Washington….” That’s right: Iraq is still a problem because the Bush Administration wants it that way. The short version of why is control of oil. As for this other item, I am not sure whether it is a breathtakingly stupid manifestation of hubris, or merely a way to keep things unstable for the forseeable future. There was a plot by the Americans to kill widely revered and politically important cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr. At a peace conference! Now, even if you think he’s a Bad Guy, he is a political force to be reckoned with. Making a peace deal without him and his supporters is like building a highway that won’t allow Fords. Oh yeah, and now commanders have testified before Congress that they don’t even have a plan for withdrawing troops. At all. Never mind that Kansas would really like their trucks back. And the National Guardsmen who drive them too.
Must read article on crime in the United States: Crime is up dramatically over the last 10 years. The violent kind that hurts people:
Criminologists are worried. Federal Bureau of Investigation data shows murders and shootings hitting smaller cities and states with little experience of serious urban violence. The last similar period of volatility was right before the big crime wave of the 1980s and 1990s.
Explanations vary — from softer gun laws to budget cuts, fewer police on the beat, more people in poverty, expanding gang violence and simple complacency. But many blame a national preoccupation with potential threats from overseas since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The article goes on to point out that all of the above are probably to blame, but the biggest culprits are a lousy economy for anybody who is not wealthy and fewer cops on the beat (figures on federal spending for local police are included). Furthermore, the things experts use as leading indicators of future crime don’t look good either. So no, it’s not your imagination, the streets are more dangerous, things are tough all over, and honest jobs for people near the bottom of the economic spectrum prevent crimes against all of us. But don’t forget, non-violent crimes by clever and soon-to-be wealthy con-men are up too. Here’s a story about some ladies who were tired of the things that real estate fraud were doing to their expensive neighborhood, so they decided to do something about it.
Sister Sister Sister: First, This is what a real feminist looks like. She is — was — a legislator in a country where rape is an acceptable political payback. She was suspended from the legislature for suggesting that her fellow legislators were behaving more like animals than humans. Meanwhile, in this country, Neil the Ethical Wereworf asks If certain “pro-life” factions want to prevent abortions, why are they actively working measures that would prevent unwanted pregnancies? Oh wait, it’s because they are really “anti-sex.” And to finish out ladies nite, Mrs. Kucinich. She sounds like a very interesting lady.
In closing, Political Troika: the most comprehensive item I’ve seen on the various healthcare reform ideas currently in play; problems at NASA; and any sufficient disaster will insure a dictatorship.