Sen. John Kerry on IraqWise words from Senator John Kerry today in the New York Times:Half of the service members listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after America's leaders knew our strategy would not work. It was immoral then and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion. We want democracy in Iraq, but Iraqis must want it as much as we do. Our valiant soldiers can't bring democracy to Iraq if Iraq's leaders are unwilling themselves to make the compromises that democracy requires.
We definitely need to get tougher on this lax dragfoot Iraqi leadership group. More wisdom from Senator Kerry:Iraqi politicians should be told that they have until May 15 to put together an effective unity government or we will immediately withdraw our military.
The girly men of the Bush admistration have been letting these Iraqis play 'Philadelphia 1780s-style' while our kids are dying for their dog and pony show. The time for public tolerance of this folly is over. Its been over for quite some time now.
The show's over - and we need to close the curtain - and these Iraqi leaders need to see it closing.
NYT Editorial on the Amnesty TrapReading today's NYT editorial about the status of immigration reform...Now Senators Mel Martinez of Florida and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska are offering a "fallback" compromise if the committee bill fails. They would not eliminate the citizenship track, but narrow it severely.
...my first thought is that that immigration reform, as currently being proposed, should be allowed to die, just like Social Security reform was allowed to slip away into Reform Hell. I believe that only a Democratic majority could be trusted to get it right. Save immigration reform for the next Congress, which will undoubtedly be enriched with more Democrats. It's obvious that the divided Republicans will not pass a bill that keeps the beacon shining at the Statue of Liberty. They just want to create a race to the bottom for the lowest-paid workers in America, whether they are citizens or non-citizens.
See my piece and the discussion about it that follows at One America today - Immigration Reform Will Not Be the Panacea For What Ails the U.S. WorkforceExcerpt:
There have been many confusing statistics on the complex issues of immigration and U.S. Labor lately. I see the same talking points in the media about immigration driving down wages for native-born U.S. workers, yet no one seems to place a proper proportion of responsibility for the shrinking middle class where it's due. I'm speaking of the negative effects of the last two decades of conservative economic policy on the native born U.S. worker, regardless of how many jobs immigrants have taken. If all those illegals disappeared tomorrow, do we really think that U.S. workers would suddenly see a wave of patriotism from big business? Would they be offered big salaries, reliable pensions, and healthcare benefits? I think not...and the fact that the embarrassing $5.15 per hour minimum wage (in States where there has been no mandated increase) is all that American workers could probably expect to be receiving for those jobs adds insult to injury.
Bottom line, we can't put the blame for U.S. unemployment and low wages solely on immigration. The middle class will not be "grown" and low-wage workers will not do better while minimum wage remains stagnant. The value-challenged Republican-led government has forgotten the people of America and from what we have witnessed, the tax-evading boardrooms of this country certainly do not foster or promote patriotic behavior. While the U.S. economy is more dynamic than the European economy, we should remember that a dynamism characterized by layoffs, real wage declines, and dramatically increasing income inequality is not a positive thing for the people. It seems that the immigration debate is bringing about a race to the bottom for all low-wage workers in the U.S. - citizens and non-citizens alike.
