MotherJones.com | MoJoBlog - Social Issues and Political Commentary: June 3, 2007

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June 8, 2007

Senate Will Have 'No Confidence' Vote on Gonzales

The Senate will hold a preliminary vote on Monday on whether to hold a thumbs-up/thumbs-down vote on AG AG. Republicans promise to vote against the proposal, but surely at least a few will break ranks. Republican Arlen Specter has hypothesized that Gonzales will resign before facing a "no confidence" vote. The funny thing is, the Senate could (and should) actually impeach Gonzales.

(If you haven't been following why Gonzo is such a Gonzo, you haven't been reading our blog, now have you? What it boils down to is this: U.S. Attorneys may be political appointees, but firing them for refusing to prosecute bogus "voter fraud" cases to keep minorities home on Election Day is unacceptable. So is hiring second-rate attorneys because they've been dutiful contributors to the Republican Party. So is prosecuting the first-ever voting rights case alleging white people were discriminated against. So is neglecting genuine civil rights cases. And so is having major diversity problems in the DOJ, when one of the department's primary functions is to prevent institutionalized discrimination. Oh yeah, and so is perjury.)

God Doesn't Just Hate Rudy

Jonathan wrote earlier this week about the whole God-hates-Rudy-Giuliani-thing (lightning shorted his microphone at Sunday's GOP debate while he tried to explain his position on abortion). Well, thanks to Ann over at TAPPED, who spotted this post on Feministe, the God-hating nonsense can continue. It appears God doesn't just hate Guiliani but also teens who listen to Metallica on their iPod, while cutting the lawn in a lightning storm, as well as those who pray?

George W. Bush Walks Into a Bar...

While we're on the subject of what Bush eats and drinks, I'm curious what people think about this photo:

That's Bush enjoying a frosty mug of low-alcohol beer (a Buckler, to be precise) between sessions at the G8 summit. It's not the first time the teetotaler-in-chief has been caught on film downing a near beer (even though he apparently used to try to hide his habit from the press.) But I wonder why a recovering alcoholic would choose to drink a low-alcohol beer (Buckler is 0.5% alcohol). My sense is that it has less to do with the smooth, refreshing taste than simply wanting to be convivial. You can imagine Bush feeling like a wuss while his world-leader buddies enjoy a stiff drink (though tough guy Vladmir Putin reputedly abstains). But there's still the question of whether he should be drinking fake beer. There's an AA saying that "Nonalcoholic beer is for nonalcoholics." So is this a sign of Bush's recklessness—or his self-discipline? Or should we get a life and just let the guy enjoy the ice cold beverage of his choosing?

Bush Poisoned by Putin?

After trading insults with Russian president Vladimir Putin in the lead-up to the G8 summit in Germany, Bush had to miss a session and group photo op yesterday after falling ill with what the White House called "some sort of bug." Was he, like Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko and reform-minded Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko, poisoned? Apparently, White House counselor Dan Bartlett also sensed the coincidence, asserting defensively that Bush's illness was "probably more viral in nature and highly unlikely to be anything related to food or anything he ate." Question is, does Bush have a taster? 'Cause homeboy needs one. Putin is a dangerous enemy, and Bush doesn't have too many friends at home.

(Note to conspiracy theorists—and Mr. Putin: This post is tongue-in-cheek. )

The United States: Not Very Peaceful

The BBC reported last week that the United States ranks 96th, out of 121 countries, on the Global Peace Index, a list determining the peacefulness of each country (121 being the least peaceful). Compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research and advisory firm spawned originally to serve the magazine, the index ranks countries on, among other factors, prison population, violent crime, and relations with one's neighbors. Iraq, due to the ongoing war (one of the reasons for the U.S.' poor ranking as well, I'll assume), ranks dead last, at 121. Norway, not surprisingly, ranks at the top. Other notables: Japan ranks fifth (although, that seems sort of skewed, due to its military constraints), Sudan sits at 120 and Israel at 119.

Hold the Election Today! People Support Dems Over GOP by Wide Margin in New Poll

Last poll-related blog of the day, I swear. Amidst mountains of disgust with George Bush's handling of domestic issues, foreign policy issues, and all issues ever, there is an interesting number in this AP/Ipsos poll [pdf].

Including strong supporters, moderate supporters, and nominal supporters, you've got 54 percent of the country that favors the Democratic Party. The same number for the Republicans is only 36 percent. That's a difference of 18 percent, or exactly half the GOP's support.

Hillary, BHO, and Jedwards have to hope this national mood lasts. It'll be a cakewalk. Spotted on TPM.

Obama 35 Percent More Likeable Than Clinton. Does it Matter?

A new FOX News poll [pdf] asks poll respondents if they find the two leading Democratic candidates for president "likeable." The results: Hillary Clinton is considered likeable by 56% of respondents, Barack Obama by a whopping 76%. Even 68% of self-identified Republicans like BHO.

So my question is this -- is the huge difference in how people perceive them a product of personality differences or the fact that Clinton has been dragged through the mud of several prominent campaigns? To put it another way, will Obama's numbers drop after some extended time in the national spotlight?

For what it's worth, respondents were much more likely to label Clinton a "strong leader" than Obama, but they were more likely to label Obama "honest and trustworthy" than Clinton.

CIA Agents and Their Practices On Trial in Italy

Twenty-six American citizens, most of them believed to be CIA agents, just went on trial in Italy, but it's the Bush Administration's policies on extraordinary rendition and torture that are really under fire.

The accused themselves are in little danger. In 2003, they allegedly kidnapped a Muslim cleric in Milan and transported him to Germany and then to Egypt, where the cleric claims he suffered electric shocks, beatings, rape threats, and genital abuse while under interrogation. With what we know now about the war on terror, the allegations are almost certainly true -- the only tricky question is whether the Italians have accused the right 26 people. It doesn't much matter, because they're being tried in absentia and the United States refuses to extradite them. Their chances of serving time in Italy or anywhere else are less than zero.

So even though they're holding what amounts to a show trial, kudos to the Italians. While I'm uncomfortable with actually convicting the CIA agents of anything, since they are likely little more than foot soldiers, it's unquestionable that holding up the war on terror's ugliest aspects to bright lights is something we need more of, in Italy, around the world, and especially here at home.

June 7, 2007

Don't. Cross. Dick. Cheney.

Associate Deputy Attorney General Patrick Philbin didn't play by Dick's rules. He was present at John Ashcroft's hospital bed the night of March 10, 2004, as Andy Card and then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales tried to strong-arm the woozy Ashcroft into reauthorizing the controversial warantless wiretapping program. But Philbin advised Ashcroft not to reauthorize it. Eventually, facing the threat of 8 politicized resignations, Bush and his band backed down and modified the plan to address concerns shared by Philbin, Ashcroft, and the Acting A.G., James Comey.

After Gonzales (whose initials are A.G.—isn't that nifty?) assumed the post of Attorney General, he sought to promote Philbin to Deputy Attorney General. James Comey indicated today in written Senate testimony that word came down from Cheney's office that the dark lord would oppose the promotion. "I understood that someone at the White House communicated to Attorney General [Alberto] Gonzales that the vice president would oppose the appointment if the attorney general pursued the matter," Comey wrote. "The attorney general chose not to pursue it."

At first blush, this sounds like standard tit-for-tat politics. But one of the Justice department's main functions is to advise the White House on the legality of its proposed policies. If telling them that a policy would violate the Constitution (even when bringing it into line wouldn't mean throwing it out entirely) means being blacklisted, that sends a clear signal that the White House has no interest in abiding by the terms of the 200-plus-year-old document. Not that that should come as news to anybody.

Youth Perspective on G8 Aid to Africa

Schooling efforts in parts of Africa take center stage in two recent Guardian multimedia stories on the lack of debt relief for African youth.

As Bono's One Campaign drums up support for debt cancellation, poverty relief and AIDS medication in Africa, these stories take us into the homes and daily lives of a handful of Africans.

Focused on the efforts of the British relief fund organization Oxfam, the stories critique the G8's lackluster attempts to assist the region since agreeing in 2005 to boost support to Africa by offering a close-up view of students' lives in the small village of Mali.

Children, as detailed in two stories, sit on dirt floors and don't always have pencils to write with. Water is several kilometers away by foot, and the nearest town is 10 hours by donkey. Improved schooling, Oxfam workers argue, provides much needed health education and practical skills like accounting, which would help local villagers better manage scarce resources and funds.

Sort of makes No Child Left Behind blunders look like child's play by comparison.

—Gary Moskowitz

The Perfect Storm

With our oil addiction causing climate change, wouldn't it be funny if a huge hurricane hit the oil pipelines in the desert Middle-East? It almost did. Read more on The Blue Marble.

War Czar Says Questioning War Has Nothing to Do With Not Supporting the Troops

Testimony from war czar Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute reconfirms the fact that it is politicians, and not military men, who scream "Support the troops!" as a political attack against their enemies.

When asked about the debate over the Iraq War that has consumed Washington and the nation, Lute said at his confirmation hearing today, "I don't believe it undercuts [the troop's] morale." The troops "understand the democratic process," he said, "and, in fact, that's what we've sworn to protect and defend."

It sounds a lot like what Gen. Pace said on the subject: "As long as this Congress continues to do what it has done, which is to provide the resources for the mission, the dialogue will be the dialogue, and the troops will feel supported."

Or what Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said: "I think [the troops are] sophisticated enough to understand that that's what the debate’s really about."

Of course they are. The troops, after all, debate the merit of the war as much or more than anyone else. They know the same thing goes on at home, and that the mere existence of debate doesn't mean liberals somewhere want them to die. To assume otherwise is an insult to their intelligence.

So who's doing the insulting? Republicans in Congress like House Minority Leader John Boehner, who said, "Think about the message we have sent them... We have undermined their efforts, lowered their morale, and clearly sent the wrong message." Or John McCain, who said, "if we voice disapproval and send our young troops on their way... what message does it send to the troops? That we disapprove of what they're doing but we still support them, but not their mission?"

Or the dark lord himself, Dick Cheney, who said straight up that questioning the war is "detrimental to our troops." I suggest the vice president fact-check that with his generals, his Secretary of Defense, or any one of the troops fighting on the ground.

Think Progress has video of Lute's testimony.

Point System in Immigration Bill Survives Near Miss from Obama

The point system we've discussed at length here on MoJoBlog almost suffered the same fate as the guest worker program. Late last night, Barack Obama introduced an amendment to sunset the problematic point system after five years instead of the current 14, a move that infuriated the bill's sponsors and never quite mustered the support to pass. So in a 55-42 vote, the point system that will radically change the face of America's immigrant population remains as is.

Immigration Bill Endangered by Guest Worker Change

Just after midnight this morning, the Senate passed an amendment to the immigration bill that would sunset the guest worker program after five years. Though the sponsors of the bill had been successful in deflecting a number of amendments, some intended to drastically reshape the bill, others intended to kill it outright, they weren't able to stop a bipartisan coalition of senators from adding the sunset to the bill. Dems don't like the guest worker program because it creates an underclass of laborers with few rights that drag down wages for low-income American workers; anti-immigration Republicans don't like it because it gives more immigrants a legal place in the country. Pro-business Republicans love the thing for obvious reasons, and composed the bulk of the amendment's opposition.

Senators are discussing this amendment like it might strangle the bill, which means that the speculation that the guest worker program would be the most contentious part of the bill was correct.

Dep't of Riveting Videos: Chris Dodd, Au Naturel

This is either a biting commentary on the capacity of YouTube fetishism to overwhelm and ruin actual debate in American politics or the worst example of an out-of-touch campaign trying to glom onto a trend it doesn't understand. Either way, it's hilarious if you have a minute to spare.

Yeah, that's right. Just a man writing, eating, writing, drinking, and writing some more. We really need to reel in the viral video aspect of the 2008 campaign -- we're in danger of losing words altogether in favor of (barely) moving images. Spotted on The Plank.

June 6, 2007

The Man Who Would Be Surgeon General

Not only is Bush's choice for Surgeon General a homophobe; he's also an idiot. A 1991 paper by the nominee written for the Methodist Church, James W. Holsinger, makes about as infantile an argument against homosexuality as one could imagine. His argument boils down to "the thing speaks for itself!" (really, the exclamation point is original!). His point is that the food/waste system (which includes not just that locus of gay anxiety, the anus, but also, hello!, the mouth) is self-evidently distinct from the sexual/reproductive system—and therefore, self-evidently, the anus should not be used for sex, and doing so self-evidently causes health problems.

Holsinger tries to make his utterly childish argument sound smart by:

(a) quoting "the thing speaks for itself!" first in Latin;

(b) mentioning the cross-cultural acceptance of his argument: "[I]t is clear that even primitive cultures understand the nature of waste elimination, sexual intercourse, and the birth of children. Indeed our own children appear to "intuitively" understand these facts. I think we should note that these simple "scientific facts" are the same in any culture." (Ed. Note: The use of scare quotes and exclamation points is almost always evidence of a stupid, stupid argument.)

and (c) drawing, as a true sign of erudition, on fields other than the sophisticated medicine that is his focus—specifically, how nuts and bolts fit together just as, self-evidently, male and female genitalia do (though more than one woman would probably disagree with even that assessment): "the logical complementarity of the human sexes has been so recognized in our culture that it has entered our vocabulary in the form of naming various pipe fittings either the male fitting or the female fitting depending upon which one interlocks within the other."

There you have it: Holsinger is no rocket scientist. And he shouldn't be Surgeon General, either. He shows clear signs of not being able to separate his personal beliefs from medical fact. Not only that, but Holsinger eventually resigned from the Methodist Church's Committee to Study Homosexuality because he thought it was too liberal. He went on to found a church for ex-gays.

Gay rights groups are protesting the nomination, but Holsinger's supporters are claiming he would never let his religious beliefs interfere with his duties as Surgeon General. Self-evident, don't you think?

Would-Be Lifesavers Go Down in Crash

There's a sad piece of news in today's New York Times. A plane crash over Lake Michigan killed an entire medical transplant team and two pilots yesterday. The precious organ—a lung—was also lost. Organ transplant is a high risk field of work, because doctors habitually rush from donors to recipients in small planes. You know, trying to save other people's lives. The would-be recipient of the lung had already been anesthetized and opened up, taxing his already seriously ill system.

Worth reading in full.

DeAnza Rape Case: State Attorney to Review DA's Decision

deanza%20rape.jpg

Remember that case that got everyone so riled up a couple weeks back? Well, apparently the California State Attorney's office is heeding the public's protests. The office has decided to review District Attorney Dolores Carr's controversial decision not to prosecute the men who allegedly gang-raped a 17-year-old, intoxicated, girl at a house party at a DeAnza College baseball player's house back in March.

The DA said her office did not have enough evidence to confidently prosecute the case, despite three eyewitnesses. Women's groups, community activists, and the media quickly called foul. Carr gave her reasons in an editorial in the local paper, where she detailed why she believed there's not enough evidence to go forward.

Carr wrote that the intoxication of the alleged perpetrators, victim, and witnesses would make it difficult to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the victim did not give consent AND that her alleged attackers knew it. She saluted the courage of the eyewitnesses but said that they "only saw the last 30 to 60 seconds of a two-hour party," and their testimony was just part of a body of evidence rife with conflicting accounts.

Carr's editorial did not squelch the demand for a trial, however. The Santa Clara County sheriff's office is pursuing the case, perhaps especially now that the victim is speaking out (albeit, via representatives). The girl, who has since moved out of the area, says she deserves "her day in court."

Man Falls from Heaven; Pope Doesn't Notice

Yesterday, as the Pope waved his way down a crowd-lined street in Vatican City, one enterprising young man decided to leap, belly-flop style, into the Popemobile. This is a must-see video: The Pope doesn't even notice as a gaggle of security officers wrestle the man to the ground right behind him.

Pomp And Nonsense

First there was the pregnant Alabama senior who was not allowed on stage to receive her diploma (though the father of her child was permitted to). Then there were the students in Michigan who painted over some gay-hating graffiti and were not allowed to attend their own graduation ceremony.

Now there are five Illinois students who were denied diplomas at their commencement ceremony because--wait for it--there were cheers when they walked across the stage. There are rules at the school that were designed to "restore graduation decorum."

It gets worse. School administrators wanted the five students to track down the cheering audience members. Like it is their job. Like they would obtain an accurate round-up. Like anyone cares.

The students and their parents met with school administators, who agreed to give diplomas to the students if they apologized, even anonymously. They did not.

An attorney for the students is sending a letter to school officials at Galesburg High School, asking the school to apologize and to grant the diplomas. There is the possibility of a court case.

Former Interim U.S. Atty. Inhales Helium Before Hearing, Shifts Blame to Colleague

Former interim U.S. Attorney (U.S.A.) for the Western District of Missouri Bradley Schlozman appeared before the Senate yesterday to testify about the U.S. Attorney firings. Schlozman was folded into the prosecutor firings investigation last month when evidence surfaced that Todd Graves (the U.S.A. Schlozman replaced) was pushed out to make room for him. Eyes are on Schlozman not only because he was the first U.S.A. to be appointed by the Attorney General, without Senate approval, under the little-known provision slipped into the Reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act last spring (the provision has since been repealed), but because his actions are suspicious as well (let's just say he is not opposed to filing voter fraud cases).

Prior to the 2006 midterm elections, while he was still a U.S.A., Schlozman brought indictments against four ACORN workers. ACORN is a voter registration group that does registration drives in urban minority neighborhoods, many of which are Democratic, and has been the subject of numerous Republican allegations of voter fraud. Schlozman's decision to bring these indictments contradicts DOJ policy regarding election offenses, which clearly states that election fraud cases should not be brought prior to an election, as they may influence voters.

Yesterday, during the hearing, Schlozman did not admit wrongdoing, but instead, like many of his DOJ colleagues have done during this investigation, he quickly shifted the blame, claiming he got the green light to bring the indictments from Craig Donsanto, chief of the Public Integrity Sector (the DOJ department that oversees election crimes). TPMmuckraker points out that it would be a little fishy if Donsanto, who basically wrote the manual outlining the policy Schlozman allegedly defied, gave the go-ahead (although, I am not discounting this, considering the blatant disregard of DOJ policy by many DOJ officials, which has been revealed throughout this investigation). TPM also notes that there is evidence (a 2004 email from David Iglesias, one of two U.S.A.'s thought to have been fired for not filing enough voter fraud cases) that this action is not in line with Donsanto's past position on these cases.

So, either Donsanto is not immune to the rampant politicization of the department or Schlozman is lying through his teeth. At this point, either is plausible. I hate to be snarky, but did I mention the prosecutor sounded like he was inhaling helium moments before he took the stand?

One More Note on Immigration: "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor?"

I managed to write a massive post about the new immigration bill's point system for awarding visas yesterday while completely missing the point.

As I explained, the new point system gives a visa applicant credit for being highly-educated, English-proficient, and employable in medicine, science, and engineering. It dings people who are poor, unskilled, and struggling with English. The point I missed is this:

Whatever happened to "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door"?

For centuries, hasn't the American dream been a poor man's dream? An immigrant with nothing except an undying work ethic has always been able to come to America to make something of him or herself. That's the story, anyway -- the one as a child I was taught to take pride in during civics classes, at the Ellis Island museum, and at my father's knee. I was told that every generation of immigrants coming to this country, dating back to when it was European immigrants like the Irish and the Italians, have come with nothing. In fact they've come precisely because they had nothing -- this is the country where you go from nothing to something.

Not anymore. We have prerequisites now. We'll have to change the inscription on the Statue of Liberty. I propose, "Give me your educated, your credentialed, your cubicle jockeys yearning to cash checks, the fluent doctors abandoning your teeming shores. Send these, the smart, the trained, to me: I lift my lamp beside the door of privilege."

New York Times May Have Been First Doubters of JFK Plot

I blogged yesterday about Time magazine's commendable skepticism about the alleged terror plot targeting JFK airport in New York City. Today, a quick update. Turns out the New York Times was skeptical from the beginning, at least a day before Time. Even though the NYT played their story about the plot big on their website, they completely buried it in their print version. Readers complained, and today the NYT's national editor responded:

"In the years since 9/11, there have been quite a few interrupted terrorist plots. It now seems possible to exercise some judgment about their gravity. Not all plots are the same. In this case, law enforcement officials said that J.F.K. was never in immediate danger. The plotters had yet to lay out plans. They had no financing. Nor did they have any explosives. It is with all that in mind, that the editors in charge this weekend did not put this story on the front page."

Hear, hear! Next time a government official spews hyperbole, claiming with scant evidence that "one of the most chilling plots imaginable" almost "resulted in unfathomable damage, deaths and destruction," I hope the rest of the media and American citizens across the country exercise as much judgement as the New York Times.

Update: I love this attitude from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but Josh is right, he'll never survive in the GOP thinking this way: "There are lots of threats to you in the world. There's the threat of a heart attack for genetic reasons. You can't sit there and worry about everything. Get a life. You have a much greater danger of being hit by lightning than being struck by a terrorist."

Proof that God Hates Rudy Giuliani!

During yesterday's Republican debate, Wolf Blitzer asked the pro-choice Rudy Giuliani about abortion. A Catholic bishop, Wolf said, had analogized Giuliani's stance, which is that abortions are wrong but should be available to American women anyway, to Pontius Pilate opposing the execution of Jesus but still allowing it to happen. When a somewhat shocked Rudy tried to explain himself, lightening actually hit the building, cutting off Giuliani's microphone. Everyone had a good laugh and Giuliani put forward a pretty good answer in the end, but RG should probably avoid golf courses, swimming pools, and summer rainstorms for a while. Somebody's out to get him.

Elsewhere in Catholic news, a man jumped a security barrier and tried to board the popemobile while Benedict was riding in it. These are turbulent times for people of faith, surely.

June 5, 2007

Massive Crackdown of Electronic Media in Pakistan

It seems like General Musharraf is getting more and more nervous as Pakistani citizens continue to protest his assault on the judicial system. Now Musharraf's taking aim at the ever-critical Pakistani media.

On Monday, General Musharraf issued the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Ordinance, "sweeping curbs on media" that bestow PEMRA with the authority to "seal channels, suspend licenses, make new rules without informing parliament," and increases the fines tenfold.

This follows the ban issued on Saturday which prohibits live TV coverage of the opposition rallies that denounced Musharraf's decision to sack the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The popular Geo TV channel, whose journalists have asked General Musharraf some uncomfortable questions, is one of the victims of this ban.
The subsequent protests in front of the PEMRA office in Islamabad resulted in the police filing "preliminary complaints against about 200 journalists for defying a ban on rallies in the capital by protesting curbs on the media."

This incident is hitting major American media now, but the stifling of press freedom by the Musharraf government is nothing new. In April, Human Rights Watch issued an open letter to Musharraf about his attempt to "muzzle the media." The English language Pakistani paper Dawn has kept tabs on the "conflict between the Government and Dawn" from 2004-2007. Reporters Without Borders' 2007 annual report on Pakistan details the fight for press freedom, and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) calls the current state of the Pakistani media a "sickening crisis."

-- Neha Inamdar

While You Were Away...

The surge is failing, but the government's focus, such as it is, is on Iraq. Yet the whole Middle East is a tinderbox, and while the United States flexes its military and diplomatic muscles in Iraq, the rest of the region is lapsing into chaos. The notoriously volatile Palestinian refugee camp Ain al Hilweh is caught in a battle between Islamic militants and the Lebanese army. Four have died. Meanwhile, in a televised speech to commemorate the Six-Day War, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians were "on the verge of civil war." Things in Gaza have gotten so bad that some Palestinian journalists have conjectured that many residents would prefer the Israeli occupation to the hunger and joblessness that have resulted from Israeli and U.S. sanctions. Lost ground in these difficult and longstanding conflicts means long-term problems. These, too, are partially attributable to the United States' catastrophic occupation of Iraq.

KEEP IT DOWN: Special for the Cranky Noise Police

All these years, the cranks among us complaining about other people's blaring music, endless car alarms and stupid, stupid leaf blowers have been right. The noises of modernity really are sending human civilization—and individuals' health—down the toilet. Read more on The Blue Marble.

Libby Sentenced to 30 Months

Just a few minutes ago, Scooter Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 for his role in the Valerie Plame affair. More from CNN, which says Libby will appeal.

Also, prominent figures across Washington -- Rumsfeld, Kissinger, Peter Pace, James Carville -- wrote to the judge on behalf of Libby. The results are good fun.

Time Wonders if Maybe All Those Terrorism Arrests Weren't Legit

Looks like even the mainstream media is growing skeptical of the government's terrorism arrests. Time speculates that the JFK plot was overhyped, listing eight reasons why the prosecutor and the folks above her were willing to scare Americans with outrageous statements like the one where she said the plot "could have resulted in unfathomable damage, deaths and destruction." Clearly nonsense, and I'm glad Time is catching on. As for Mother Jones, we reached this point years ago. Jose Padilla and the Lackawanna Six were enough.

Immigration Bill Point System: More Indian Engineers, Fewer Hispanic Families

The new immigration bill currently being hammered out by Congress has a point system to determine which potential immigrants get visas. The system awards points, which increase an applicant's chances of being let into the country, for being English proficient, having a college or graduate degree, and having a job in science, technology, or health. The plan drastically rewrites immigration policy in the United States, and if left in its current form, will fundamentally change the makeup of the country.

The first consequence of the point system is that the primary criteria for being offered a visa changes from family to profession, awarding points not for being related to a current resident of the U.S. but for having a highly skilled job. Individuals trying to bring their adult children, siblings, or parents to America will have a much harder time (spouses and minor children will still be allowed in without being subject to the point system), while engineers and scientists trying to be the first from their family to come to the States will have a much easier time. Dems are saying this breaks up families and contains an inherent class bias. Says Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, "The point system would have prevented my own parents, a carpenter and a seamstress, from coming to this country." (Note: If anti-immigration forces currently claim immigrants steal low-wage jobs from Americans, how long under the new plan until they start crying about the plight of the replaced American doctor of physicist?)

The second ramification is the corruption of the free market. Previously, companies decided what sort of employees they needed, found them from abroad or in American universities, and sponsored them for work visas, creating a perfect match between skills and available work. But the point system makes this sorting and decision-making the responsibility of the federal government. Naturally, big business hates the idea. Democrat Zoe Lofgren represents Silicon Valley, where, she says, no one is in favor. "The government is saying, in effect, 'We have a five-year plan for the economy, and we will decide with this point system what mix of skills is needed,'" she told the New York Times. "That is not the way a market-based capitalist economy works best."

The third problem is that the bill locks in the criteria for the point system for 14 years. The economy may not need engineers, mathematicians, and doctors in 14 years -- it might need unskilled labor or skilled labor of an entirely different kind.

Another effect -- and this one is neither good nor bad, I think -- is the changing racial demographics of the United States. The point system will reward characteristics already found in immigrants from Asia -- in the last 15 years, over 75 percent of immigrants from India, and over 50 percent of those from China, have had some form of college degree. And the English proficiency of immigrants from across Asia is usually high.

Indians in particular will do quite well under the point system, and immigrants from South America, Central America, and Mexico will do quite poorly. Currently over 40 percent of Indian immigrants are in science, technology, engineering, or health. That compares to less than five percent of Mexican immigrants. Over 40 percent of Indian immigrants come with a master's degree or higher. That compares with less than five percent of Mexican immigrants. Almost 70 percent of Indian immigrants come speaking English fluently or "very well." That compares to 20 percent of Mexican immigrants.

So in addition to looking at the immigration plan's plethora of other problems, senators need to take a long hard look at the point system. It has some problems, but more than that, it will have a tremendous impact on the composition of our country -- is that something they want to engineer? -- and deserves the utmost care.