Foxy News

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Jon Stewart mocks Fox News on its reporting of a serial killer operating in Florida, as the news organization took the opportunity to use a lot of sexy Spring Break footage for its background. But that is why Monk watches Fox! I wish critics would not try to shame Fox on that account. We can always get real news from CNN and MSNBC. Take away the foxxxy from Fox and all you have is G.O.P. TV, and you may as well watch the CNBC business channel.

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Foxy News

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Jon Stewart mocks Fox News on its reporting of a serial killer operating in Florida, as the news organization took the opportunity to use a lot of sexy Spring Break footage for its background. But that is why Monk watches Fox! I wish critics would not try to shame Fox on that account. We can always get real news from CNN and MSNBC. Take away the foxxxy from Fox and all you have is G.O.P. TV, and you may as well watch the CNBC business channel.

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The Mexican Hustle

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The biggest lesson we should have learned about immigration is this: As long as there are lots of unskilled jobs in the United States that pay much better than jobs in Latin America or Southeast Asia, and as long as immigrants can fill them, immigrants will get here, somehow -- legally or illegally. Some will risk their lives getting here. And as long as they can buy fake documents saying they’re here legally, their employers will be able to say “Don’t blame me!"

So what’s the answer? There’s no simple solution but one major step is to enforce basic labor laws that require employers to pay all their employees the minimum wage and protect their health and safety.

-- Robert B. Reich for The American Prospect

Get tough with the big employers? LOL. Mr. Reich understands that is not likely to happen. One wonders how successful the government can be getting draconian on the illegal migrants - full walls and hard criminal sanctions. There have been some flirtations with that kind of tough treatment lately, but it has yet to be tried in earnest, something like the Israeli wall. Terrorists, or the poor - is there a real difference?

We brought up the violent French riots, and it seems only fair to acknowledge that America has seen some mass demonstrations over the proposed immigration legislation, though we lack that 'storm the Bastille' zeal of the French (as they seem to be much more ferocious against their own government or the Americans, but not so much so against the likes of a Hitler or terrorists). The issues are related though: trying to control the spiraling costs of public services and protections.

It is interesting to see our governments trying to get in front of developing problems before they explode into serious crises. It is not surprising to see how feeble they are at it. The virtue of democracy is that governments are sensitive to stepping on the toes of its electors, but that is also a handicap.

( Reich article )

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The Mexican Hustle

♠
The biggest lesson we should have learned about immigration is this: As long as there are lots of unskilled jobs in the United States that pay much better than jobs in Latin America or Southeast Asia, and as long as immigrants can fill them, immigrants will get here, somehow -- legally or illegally. Some will risk their lives getting here. And as long as they can buy fake documents saying they’re here legally, their employers will be able to say “Don’t blame me!"

So what’s the answer? There’s no simple solution but one major step is to enforce basic labor laws that require employers to pay all their employees the minimum wage and protect their health and safety.

-- Robert B. Reich for The American Prospect

Get tough with the big employers? LOL. Mr. Reich understands that is not likely to happen. One wonders how successful the government can be getting draconian on the illegal migrants - full walls and hard criminal sanctions. There have been some flirtations with that kind of tough treatment lately, but it has yet to be tried in earnest, something like the Israeli wall. Terrorists, or the poor - is there a real difference?

We brought up the violent French riots, and it seems only fair to acknowledge that America has seen some mass demonstrations over the proposed immigration legislation, though we lack that 'storm the Bastille' zeal of the French (as they seem to be much more ferocious against their own government or the Americans, but not so much so against the likes of a Hitler or terrorists). The issues are related though: trying to control the spiraling costs of public services and protections.

It is interesting to see our governments trying to get in front of developing problems before they explode into serious crises. It is not surprising to see how feeble they are at it. The virtue of democracy is that governments are sensitive to stepping on the toes of its electors, but that is also a handicap.

( Reich article )

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