Wulfie's Wurld

Commentary: Illegal Immigrants

Wow, if there's ever a subject I have mixed feelings over, it's this one. There is no black and white anywhere, because all the arguments one way seem to have counter arguments equally valid.

What's prompting this post is Bush's knuckleheaded idea of putting 6000 National Guard along the boder. Why knuckleheaded? Well, let me get this rant behind me so I can move on to the subject.

The National Guard, in my opinion, was established to protect the citizens of the US, and this before there even was a US. 370 years ago, there was a very real danger of attacks from the Indian Nations, the French, and later the British. Since that time, the National Guard has been helping out in times of natural disasters. Where was the National Guard during the Katrina disaster? Oops, in Iraq. Why did California have to borrow equipment from Oregon, Washington, and Nevada for the San Diego fires last year? Oh, yeah, California's is in Iraq.

*shakes head*

Back to the Immigrants.

First off, are they truly "illegal?" In my opinion, yes, they are. But then, it was also illegal for black people to ride at the front of buses or drink from "white only" drinking fountains prior to the 60s. Perhaps some laws are out-dated and need to be revisited. Perhaps the immigration laws are part of that category.

Are they taking jobs that could be done by American citizens who are unemployed? Again in my opinion, yes, they are. But do those who are unemployed WANT to do that kind of work? I still see the homeless in San Francisco continue to panhandle. I don't see them standing at Home Depot in hopes of getting work for the day.

Come to think of it, who do I want to see the work go to? Someone who's already dropped out of society? Or someone who's trying to make a better life for their family and put up with a lot of hardships to do so? But you know what? When I hire someone to work around my house, I'll be getting them out of the phone book, not picking them up at Home Depot.

Do I like the idea of paying for their medical? No. But I cannot ask doctors to turn away the sick, and I don't have it in my heart to want to prevent the sick from getting treatment, even if it means the State will pay and increase my taxes. I'd rather not pay the taxes and have there be some way they could pay their own medical, or get their own insurance.

Do I like the idea of having the State pay for publications in English, Spanish, Chinese, and whatever the foreign language of the week is? Nope. And you know what? I draw the line there. If you're going to vote, learn the damned language. If I, as a lazy American, can learn Dutch, German, and Russian, you as an immigrant can learn my language when you live in my country. Deal with it.

So anyway, the conservative side of me wants to pack all the illegals up and ship them back where they came from. The practical side of me says that may not be the best solution, and that a lot of needed work may not get done, and the price and availability of a lot of our produce will take turns we don't want them to take. Gasoline is bad enough, let's not compound it with food issues. The humanitarian side of me understands why they do what they do, and suggests that there, but for fortune, go I.

I guess the bottom line is that we have some serious issues with immigration and the laws. Perhaps there's a reason why many are calling for immigration "reform." It seems to me there needs to be some changes. It seems to me that there could be a possibility that when the changes are made, changes will be made to the support infrastructure that would create even more jobs, hopefully including the teaching of the damned language! It also seems to me that we should take the time to make sure we make the RIGHT changes, not just political changes.

Commentary: Asking for a Dictionary

Been listening to the Zacarias Moussaoui trial recently? In case you've forgotten who he is, he's the non-hijacker hijacker on trial for 9-11. The trial is over, and now they're in the sentencing phase. The Jury has been very quiet. The only thing they've asked for was a dictionary. That was denied by the judge, who explained that the Court would define any words that they needed. They didn't ask the Court to define anything.

I wondered why.

Then I received a class-action statement for something. We get those all the time. Buy a Microsoft product and get a class-action statement. Subscribe to cable and get a class-action statement. In this case, one of the many stocks my finance management company bought for me came under litigation. Hooray. And I got a class-action statement. I glanced it over and saw why the Jury asked for a dictionary and why they didn't ask the Court.

Let's define the word "final."

Webster's Ninth Collegiate says: "being the last in a series, process, or progress" and "of or relating to the ultimate purpose or result of a process" and "relating to or occurring at the end or conclusion." It that's still too hard, they offer a synonym: "LAST."

Here's how the Superior Court of the State of California defines it: "Final" means the later of: (a) the date of final affirmance on an appeal of the Judgment, the expiration of the time for a petition to review the Judgment and, if any such writ or petition is granted, the date of final affirmance of the Judgment following the review persuant to that grant; or (b) the date of final, non-appealable dismissal of any appeal from the Judgment or expiration date of the time for the filing or noticing of any appeal from the Court's Judgment approving the Stipulation. Any proceeding or order, or any appeal or petition for review pertaining solely to any claim for attorney's fees and reimbursement of expenses in the Litigation or the Federal Securities Action shall not in any way delay or preclude the Judgment from becoming Final with the meaning of this paragraph. Provided, in no even shall the Judgement in this Litigation be deemed "Final" for purposes of this Stipulation unless and until the dismissals with prejudice in [specifics deleted] have become "Final" as defined in this paragraph.

People get paid to write that shit?