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May 21, 2007
Musings on immigration
Despite the considerable bally-hoo surrounding last week's bi-partisan draft immigration "reform" bill, it's apparent the proposal is making plenty of people unhappy. In general, liberals seem to think that since some Republicans - including the reviled W - support it, it's not liberal enough. And vice versa, the Left's arch-enemy being, more or less, Ted Kennedy. All of which helps explain why advocates for the proposed bill want are moving quickly, a point John Fund makes in today's WSJ.
Immigration reform threatens to drive a stake through the conservative movement. As Terri Schivo split social conservatives and limited-government/federalist, immigration is opening a divide between big business and US nationalists, if that term is permitted anymore. Sadly, in many Republicans' view, the merits of the proposal hinge on whether legalized Hispanics -- there are 12 to 20 million of them -- will become Republicans, or instead another successful target of Democratic pandering. My guess is the latter, which is why even on this cynical level, I cannot convince myself to support the bill.
I am also surprised the H1-B provisions are not receiving more attention. If we're going to bring millions of low-skilled workers into the country, it may be some comfort to know the proposal would also allow tens of thousands of additional geeks under the H1-B program.
Posted by bill at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2007
Dream Team '08
Fred Thompson and John Bolton.
We can dream, aye?
Posted by bill at 04:47 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2007
Nothing to see here
There is nothing funny about a one-legged, armless man, even if he's involved with a high-speed pursuit (before you ask: yes, he was in a car). But I couldn't help but notice Michael Francis Wiley's rap sheet includes jailtime for "kicking a Florida Highway Patrol trooper after an accident." I guess he punching is out, and head-butts can do more harm than good. But someone will have to explain how this the kicking thing works.
Posted by bill at 01:46 PM | Comments (2)
Crickets chirping chirping
Reverend Sharpton? Reverend Sharpton?
Posted by bill at 10:06 AM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2007
East Germany's secrets
In 1989 and 1990, as East Germany swirled down history's toilet bowl, its secret police -- the Staatssicherheit ("Stasi") -- shredded truckloads of documents they hoped to later burn or destroy. But they never had the chance,m and the shreddings were preseved in storage. Now, the German government has committed funds needed for this brain-meltingly complicated jigsaw puzzle to be sorted out by a computer program.
Stay tuned. It is a bizarre fact of political life that Communism is now regarded by many on the left (or plain imbeciles) to be somehow chiq and progressive. The Stasi's files are likely to be a reminder of the stupidity of this.
Posted by bill at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
May 08, 2007
The significance of France's election results
Mark Steyn is somewhat unenthusiastic about Sarkozy, saying he's probably not a Ronald Reagan and more like Germany's Angela Merkel (he descibes Merkel's election: "the electorate was irritated with the incumbents but recoiled from any meaningful change, with the result that Frau Merkel found herself presiding over a nominally fresh government with no agenda and no mandate for reform"). He goes on: "Faced with a choice between Tweedleleft and Tweedleright, you couldn't blame French voters for choosing to make it a real race by voting for the one guy running on an openly stated, clearly defined manifesto."
Newt Gingrich thinks it's bigger, especially in the implications in the US in November 2008. "In the campaign, Sarkozy argued that the French have to work longer hours and, in order to give them an incentive to do so, that they shouldn't pay taxes if they work overtime. He called for tax cuts to encourage investment so the private sector can create jobs. And critically, Sarkozy has said that the people must obey the law, that the creation of law and respect for the law is a central part of any civilized society...As for the opposition in the French election, much like the American Democratic Party, it is trapped by its commitment to big labor, big bureaucracy, high taxes and social values people don't believe in. Every time French voters seriously looked at Ségolène Royal and the kind of politics she represents, she lost ground. She simply couldn't make the case that left-wing Socialist policies would work." He continues:
If Republicans hope to win the presidency next year, they better find a candidate who is prepared to stand for very bold, very dramatic and very systematic change in Washington. Not only that, but they had better make the case that the left-wing Democrat likely to be nominated represents the failed status quo: the bureaucracies that are failing, the social policies that are failing, the high tax policies that are failing, and the weakness around the world that has failed so badly in protecting America.
Posted by bill at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2007
Live Blogging the Republican Candidates Debate
...with all the gusto it deserves.
9:23 - Where is Fred Thompson?
9:57 - Yawn.
10:01 - I am going to bed.
Posted by bill at 09:57 PM | Comments (0)
