FROM NOTACOMMIE

The Senate is working on a bill to help make immigration less of a mess: it pushes stronger borders as a nod to the right while it also encourages a whole lot of amnesties as a nod to the left:

Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, who teaches immigration law at Cornell University, said: “The legislation taking shape in the Senate represents a major philosophical shift. It tells the world that we are emphasizing characteristics that will enhance our global competitiveness, like education and job skills. We would not rely as much on family background as we have in the past.”

Under the proposal, Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “foreign-born spouses and minor children of United States citizens could still get green cards, but foreign-born siblings and adult children of citizens would be hurt.”

Most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now in the United States would be offered legal status under the bill, but they would not automatically qualify for citizenship. Rather, they would have to “touch back” in their home countries and apply for green cards, like other immigrants seeking permanent residence in the United States.

Some conservatives still dislike the idea of a large legalization program. But Mr. Graham said the bill struck a realistic balance.

“We are not going to put 12 million people in jail,” Mr. Graham said. “Nor should we give them an advantage over those who played by the rules to become citizens.”

FROM NOTACOMMIE

He got a friendly write-up in the Economist last year that might have been a bit wrong, but the guy is consistent on Africa. More than can be said for a lot of liberals, I bet.

FROM NOTACOMMIE

I think Kristof’s stuff in the NYReview of Books is much better than his columns in the Times. His analysis here is excellent, optimistic enough to encourage further work to fight poverty yet realistic enough to shoo away the vast naivete of inexperienced do-gooders.

FROM NOTACOMMIE

So, because we’re all being very nice and trying not to speak ill of the dead regarding Rev. Falwell over at the real BustedHalo, I thought I’d post a piece by Alan Wolfe and perhaps one of the meanest, yet also one of the smartest, men in America, Chistopher Hitchens.

FROM NOTACOMMIE

This guy sort of creeps me out. What’s the difference between religious leader and conman?

FROM NOTACOMMIE

It’s not a bad article. I’m just saying.

FROM NOTACOMMIE

It’s ba-aaaack!

I’m not sure about excommunication for anything, and I’m also not sure about the centrality of abortion in the pro-life world…

FROM NOTACOMMIE

I’ve got a problem with this stuff. Sure, I know it would be hard to have a child with down syndrome, and who doesn’t want their kid to be perfect? And of course, politically correct as we all are, most people (myself included) would pause before they said a down sydrome child is as perfect as any other.

Of course, once you have the child, she is. But in theory, our children are very different, and then we’re scared by other possibilities–for her own good we say, or maybe, to be honest, for ours.

It’s not so bad to have down syndrome (or to have children with DS).

FROM NOTACOMMIE

He’s totally right about his insistence, in Detroit no less, that the USA’s big autos need to be cleaner and more full efficient. But how much of that market is driven by peculiarly US demands from consumers? While culture can be affected by big business, can it be changed?

FROM NOTACOMMIE

I only watch two hours of TV a week, and those two hours are HEROES and LOST. They’re both comic books of sorts, but so entertaining–they’re well-crafted, well-designed escapism.

Here’s the deal: I think that most TV is a bit tired–it’s just not usually that funny or dramatic or clever. So why not do the supernatural and the weird and the crazy?