Illegal immigrant integration? How about no.
May 3, 2010 In The News, Politics
An article in yesterday’s Washington Post attempts to diffuse some of the myths surrounding the illegal immigration debate. It’s pretty straight-forward, if biased toward an opinion in a few spots, but one paragraph jumped out to me, in a section about immigrants’ integration into American life and society. The section overall points out that integration doesn’t happen overnight, and immigrants do work in large numbers to learn the English language and become educated. The paragraph below, however, stuck out like a sore thumb:
However, the unauthorized status of millions of foreign-born immigrants can slow integration in crucial ways. For example, illegal immigrants are ineligible for in-state tuition at most public colleges and universities, putting higher education effectively out of their reach. And laws prohibiting unauthorized immigrants from getting driver's licenses or various professional credentials can leave them stuck in jobs with a high density of other immigrants and unable to advance.
Ummm… isn’t that the point? If it’s illegal for them to be in the country, why should they be getting the benefits designated for residents of a state? Sorry, but I don’t have a lot of sympathy for illegal aliens complaining they don’t have the same privileges as legal residents. I have no problem extending such benefits once they’ve left the country and re-entered through legal processes, at which point I’d be happy to see (and help) them integrate.
Democrat and Chronicle interviews election inspectors
Nov 2, 2009 In The News, Politics, Rochester
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has a neat article about election inspectors working the polls this year. It’s a quick look into what goes on in the polling places each election, and the people who are working there to make sure voting goes smoothly.
I found it particularly interesting to see what inspectors had to say about their duties in part because I’m also an inspector. I’ll be traveling to a number of districts in east Webster this Tuesday. You can see a little bit about what we do in the article.
This year may not feature a presidential election, but voting is still important. Even more important than voting, though, is voting smart. Be sure to be educated about the races in your district before you go to the polls this Tuesday.
GOP 2006-08 = New Coke
Jul 22, 2009 Politics
Robin Ray brought us last weekend, writing for Rebuild The Party, an interesting comparison between the current goings-on of the Republican Party and the disaster that was New Coke:
I figured I was not the first person to come up with this comparison, & I wasn’t.
Most of us know the “New Coke” story;
Coca Cola was losing market share to Pepsi. In taste tests, people preferred the first taste of Pepsi to Coke. In order to get market share back, Coca-Cola came out with “New Coke,” which tasted much like Pepsi. The lost more market share & took a beating from their loyal customers for changing the formula. Coke drinkers drank more than just the first taste – the sweetness of Pepsi was not satisfying & the “bite” of Coke combined with just enough sweetness was satisfying & what they wanted. Coca-Cola heeded what their customers were saying, came out with Coca-Cola Classic & roared back, increasing market share & their lead on the competition.
The lessons from this for the Republican party, imho, are several & clear.
Click through for her comparison points. Cola-wise, I actually prefer Pepsi, but the Republicans aren’t going to get anywhere by trying to be just as good at being Democrats as the actual Democrats. Considering what the GOP has been doing the last few election cycles, and what it’s got them, methinks the party would be wise to serious consider this comparison and its implications.
Penn Jillette: Why I’m a Libertarian Nut
Jul 15, 2009 Politics
Back in May, Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame) wrote an article on why he believes in libertarianism for Glenn Beck’s magazine, Fusion. I may not be a member of the Libertarian Party, but the reasoning is very similar to my own. A snip:
There are historical reasons and pragmatic reasons to be a Libertarian, but there are historic and pragmatic reasons to be a Democrat, a Republican or a Socialist. I don’t know if everyone would be better off under a Libertarian government. I don’t know what would be best for anyone. I don’t even know what’s best for me. What makes me Libertarian is I don’t think anyone else really knows what’s best for anyone. My argument for Libertarianism is simple – personal morality.
Go read his entire column. I’m not sure a completely libertarian government is the best way to go, either, but the principle is solid: the government rarely knows what’s best for me better than I do, and is almost never the most efficient at anything it does. Better to let people be themselves and for government to stick to the few things it’s required to do, and as little else as possible.
Letterman apologizes for ‘beyond flawed’ joke
Jun 16, 2009 In The News, Politics, That's Hot
David Letterman put forth an apology on last night’s show for last week’s joke regarding Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter, giving, in part, a similar explanation to one I posited last week: he didn’t know either daughter was actually at the game.
“All right, here – I’ve been thinking about this situation with Governor Palin and her family now for about a week – it was a week ago tonight, and maybe you know about it, maybe you don’t know about it. But there was a joke that I told, and I thought I was telling it about the older daughter being at Yankee Stadium. And it was kind of a coarse joke. There’s no getting around it, but I never thought it was anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure in fact that she is of legal age, 18. Yeah. But the joke really, in and of itself, can’t be defended. The next day, people are outraged. They’re angry at me because they said, ‘How could you make a lousy joke like that about the 14-year-old girl who was at the ball game?’ And I had, honestly, no idea that the 14-year-old girl, I had no idea that anybody was at the ball game except the Governor and I was told at the time she was there with Rudy Giuliani…And I really should have made the joke about Rudy…” (audience applauds) “But I didn’t, and now people are getting angry and they’re saying, ‘Well, how can you say something like that about a 14-year-old girl, and does that make you feel good to make those horrible jokes about a kid who’s completely innocent, minding her own business,’ and, turns out, she was at the ball game. I had no idea she was there. So she’s now at the ball game and people think that I made the joke about her. And, but still, I’m wondering, ‘Well, what can I do to help people understand that I would never make a joke like this?’ I’ve never made jokes like this as long as we’ve been on the air, 30 long years, and you can’t really be doing jokes like that. And I understand, of course, why people are upset. I would be upset myself.
“And then I was watching the Jim Lehrer ‘Newshour’ – this commentator, the columnist Mark Shields, was talking about how I had made this indefensible joke about the 14-year-old girl, and I thought, ‘Oh, boy, now I’m beginning to understand what the problem is here. It’s the perception rather than the intent.’ It doesn’t make any difference what my intent was, it’s the perception. And, as they say about jokes, if you have to explain the joke, it’s not a very good joke. And I’m certainly – ” (audience applause) “- thank you. Well, my responsibility – I take full blame for that. I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception. And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke. It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault. That it was misunderstood.” (audience applauds) “Thank you. So I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the Governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke. I’m sorry about it and I’ll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much.” (audience applause)
That this is coming nearly a week after the original joke is a little concerning; I’d have liked to hear this sooner, rather than give the appearance that the statement was anything other than genuine. Nonetheless, I’m going to take Dave at his word and consider this a settled deal. (EDIT: So has Gov. Palin.)
Right, moving on, then.
(Hat tip: Allahpundit at Hot Air)
Letterman/Palin: An innocent mistake not yet admitted to?
Jun 12, 2009 In The News, Politics, That's Hot
One of the big dust-ups in the news lately has been between David Letterman and Sarah Palin regarding a joke he made about her daughter. I think it can be chalked up to an innocent mistake, if he’s willing to make the admission.
If you’ve been hiding under a rock this week, a line during his June 9 monologue referenced Governor Palin’s recent trip to New York City with her daughter. While in New York, they took in a New York Yankees game, about which Letterman joked, “an awkward moment occurred for Palin when during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.”
Dave’s defense has been that he was just making a joke about her 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, who made headlines last fall becoming an unwed teen mom, and since making jokes about people in the news is his job, he hasn’t done anything wrong.
The problem is that Bristol wasn’t in New York with her mom; Gov. Palin was accompanied by her 14-year-old daughter Willow. The outrage, therefore, isn’t the pregnancy, but at the implication of statutory rape.
Accusations and rebuttals are flying all over the blogosphere, some relevant, some not. Depending who you’re listening to, either Gov. Palin’s a bad mother who’s asking for it by having her kids out in public life with her, or Dave’s a perverted old man who gets his jollies making fun of abusing young girls.
A popular adage states, “never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” My own humble opinion (which could easily be flat out wrong) is that Letterman never intended the joke to be about Willow, and he and his writing staff just assumed that it was Bristol in New York without doing the appropriate research. Since that’s not the defense Dave’s using, we can’t be certain of that, but it seems to make more sense to me.
What’s your take? Comments are open as always, as long as you’re nice.
Two Videos
Feb 12, 2009 Cool Links, Politics, Videos
Two videos for you; a fun one and a political one.
First, via Caroline Martin, a fun music video, shot in stop motion with live actors.
Next, by way of Big Hollywood, Penn Jillette (Penn & Teller) comments on a Denver Post editorial by David Harsanyi entitled, “Is dissent still patriotic?”
Your comments welcome, as always.
Morgan Freeman: Black History Month is ‘ridiculous’
Feb 6, 2009 In The News, Politics
Count Morgan Freeman in the group of intelligent African-Americans soon to be shunned by the black community for saying what none of them will:
NEW YORK – Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is “ridiculous.”
“You’re going to relegate my history to a month?” the 68-year-old actor says in an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” to air Sunday (7 p.m. EST). “I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history.”
Freeman notes there is no “white history month,” and says the only way to get rid of racism is to “stop talking about it.”
The actor says he believes the labels “black” and “white” are an obstacle to beating racism.
“I am going to stop calling you a white man and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man,” Freeman says.
He’s absolutely right — both white people and black people have to stop worrying about black and white and see everyone else as people, or racism is never going away.
Send Gov. Patterson a soda can (or a dozen)
Dec 22, 2008 Cool Links, New York State, Politics
Bob Lonsberry’s fed up with the state of our state government, and the proposed taxes and fees in Governor Patterson’s budget. So he’s cooked up his own little Boston Tea Party:
We need to get in their face. Young and old, black and white, Democrat and Republican. The college students and the business owners. The folks who resent a tax on downloads and the folks who resent a tax on haircuts. The ones who think an 18-percent tax on soda pop is nuts and the people who think a $1 million tax on nuclear power plants is nuts. Everyone who uses the insurance or the services or the products that have come under nuclear-tax attack by the governor.
We need to stand together – or we will hang alone.
And here’s the first step. Let’s send the governor a present. Because the insane non-diet soda-pop tax has gotten the most media attention, let’s start there. Let’s send him a can of soda.
Not a full can — that would cost us too much money in postage and packaging. We’re going to send him an empty can — that takes the weight down from just under 13 ounces to less than one. If we do it right, i’ll only cost us an envelope and 42 cents postage.
Read the whole column for details and an address to which to send your empty cans. 
Obama to have to turn in his BlackBerry?
Nov 18, 2008 Geek, In The News, Politics
Leo, Patrick, Jason and Alex were talking about this on TWiT this week: Barack Obama has been a CrackBerry addict for some time now, and will likely have to give that up to be the President:
For years, like legions of other professionals, Mr. Obama has been all but addicted to his BlackBerry. The device has rarely been far from his side — on most days, it was fastened to his belt — to provide a singular conduit to the outside world as the bubble around him grew tighter and tighter throughout his campaign.
“How about that?†Mr. Obama replied to a friend’s congratulatory e-mail message on the night of his victory.
But before he arrives at the White House, he will probably be forced to sign off. In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas. A decision has not been made on whether he could become the first e-mailing president, but aides said that seemed doubtful.
Politics aside, Obama and his campaign have made mention that the incoming administration is going to seem more connected than past ones, what with recent announcements of YouTube’d editions of the weekly radio address, the official transition website of the (amusingly nonexistent, though that’s another story) Office of the President-elect…Â All politics aside, it’s going to be interesting to watch the next four years, to see how this term plays out in new media and how it connects with the newest generations of voters.
