What's Next?

The voting is going on as I write but it seems for now the immigration bill is going to be defeated. I wrote previously that I am against it in its current form. This vote therefore is a success in my eyes.

We must look to what is next. Illegal immigration as an issue cannot and will not go away. Conservatives and conservative talk radio was instrumental in defeating this measure. This means that Republicans in congress and conservatives in the media are obliged now to come up with something. Just stating "enforce the laws on the books" is not enough. The draw for illegals is jobs. It is simply too difficult for employers to vet prospective employees for legal status and the penalties for those who knowingly hire illegals is too soft. This must change. What to do about the illegals already here is a huge question. It simply is not possible to round them all up and send them back logistically. What also about the kids they leave behind? Many of them are citizens. Do they stay here? Do we deport citizens? (of course by law that can't happen).

It is time for us in the conservative movement to step up and be for something. We are increasingly against everything. In the next congress this issue will come up again. We must pass something. Voters will not give control back to the Republicans until they show the voters they aren't the same bunch they threw out last year.

You may ask why if I was against this bill am I critical of conservatives and republicans in congress? It is simple. It is the rhetoric that I hear every day.The Lou Dobbs and Pat Buchanan prodigies are taking the stage. If I had to guess what would fix the problem two things would help. Increasing the penalties and making it easier to identify illegals. Conservatives in this camp are also against any attempt to issue national ID cards and some are against putting more pressure on business through higher penalties. Increased enforcement which we clearly need costs money. We conservatives typically do not like increased government spending. The fact remains none of the things I just outlined are possible outside of a comprehensive bill unless we get 60 conservatives in the Senate, because Democrats will not vote for a bill only stocked with enforcement measures. Republicans will not vote for anything that only 'normalizes' current illegals. That being known we are left with the current system that simply isn't working.

So, the question I put forth is still out there, Where do we go from here? This is one that I just don't have the answer to. This problem did not occur over night and will not be fixed with one comprehensive bill. Americans come up with innovative solutions. It is time for that to happen. It is also time for some leader in the public sector to come up with a solution and not just be against everything.

Random Thoughts about the Paris Hilton Stories

America loves celebrity. I have never understood the extent America loves celebrity. My wife is probably tire of me asking "Why do I need to know what (blah blah blah fill in the celebrity) is thinking today?" Every time I go the grocery store I see the usual stories about Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie etc etc.

Paris Hilton is probably one of my least favorite celebrities. The reason is that at least the actors have done something to be famous, they have been in well watched TV shows or movies. This girl is famous as far as I can see for being born to rich parents and being pretty. None of which she had anything to do with. (OK she was in a TV show with another vapid famous offspring). The message she sends to young people is that accomplishment and excellence are not as important as looks and who your parents are.

Hollywood shows follow these people around like puppy dogs. So we have a rich girl who goes to jail. She says she has found god and she will change her life. I hope she is telling the truth. Only time will tell. I am somewhat doubtful because she is what she was raised to be, a spoiled rich socialite. To suddenly turn on a dime and be something else who truly be a miraculous event. I do believe God can do anything so it is possible.

Larry King had her on his show. (Will it surprise anyone that I did not watch it?) Ms. Hilton has a chance to show young women all over the world that accomplishment and intelligence is more important than celebrity. I personally think she is trapped in the system that created her. If she does do this she won't be interesting to the hoards that follow her like the proverbial puppy dog. They will move on to someone else interesting. I am not sure ms Hilton can live with that. I do wish her well though. I sent a night in jail twenty years ago for DUI and it did teach me a lesson. Hopefully she will learn hers.

The constitution Relies on Checks and Balances

The American Constitution is to my reading the most effective, governing document ever penned. This has always been true. It's beauty is in the checks and balances it employs, the Congress checks the Executive and Judicial branches and each of them likewise.

There is one check that is not being employed effectively I believe. That is the check the voting public has on the Executive and Legislative branches and the Judicial in that our representatives pick the judges at the federal level. Currently activists, you might say the extreme of both sides of the picture are absolutely convinced that the elected officials aren't listening. A small but vocal part of the left wants to impeach the President and Vice president (of course making the very liberal Speaker Pelosi President). The right stops just short of calling for armed revolt over the impending immigration bill that has not even been passed. In fairness I also am against it, but am not as rabid as many I have heard.

I will not argue about the premise that the leaders aren't listening. I think that has been true for quite a while. My question is why does this surprise any of us. In any election a vast majority of people don't bother to vote. We return nearly all of incumbants to office. Any man in the street interview shows us that far too many people are more interested in the comings and goings of Paris Hilton than they are of the future financing of Social Security, Medicare and health care. People can tell you about these celebrities but can't pick out a picture of the Vice President. People are not fulfilling their responsibility to be informed and vote accordingly. By saying this I do not call for everyone to agree with me just to make their voice known.

There are two sides to this. I believe more people need to vote. Along with this though, if you are going to vote blindly I would rather you not vote. The problem here is there are many people that are trying to just get by and all of their time goes to supporting themselves, and their families, both in time and money. Staying informed is sometimes difficult and the little news they get comes from the mainstream media which is not dependable to do much besides fill us in on Brittany Spears and her latest hair do (or lack of one).

Here is my advice, those of us who follow politics closely and passionately. Take it easy!!! It ain't life and death. Play with your kids. (This advice goes to me as much as anyone). Those who don't follow politics, pay attention a little. Both parties are in a bad way now and could use some oversight from us. Pick the creeps out and get rid of them! You don't have to know each issue inside and out, just learn a little about the major issues of our day. President Bush is often wrong. The same goes for Hillary Clintonor the other liberal leaders. That doesn't make either of them evil, just wrong. The earth hasn't fallen off its axis under President Bush and it didn't under President Clinton. You and I run the country, not them. lets make sure they work for us. Currently they don't, they work for their own self interests.

Be happy, Be Moral and Be Complete!

Immigration and the Activists

The long discussed Comprehensive Reform bill to combat illegal immigration is coming to a cloture vote today. This bill is deeply flawed as is the subject.

As happens so often the activists seem to be running the debate. As I look at it I am not sure there is any bill that can make a majority of people happy. That is because the issue is so passionately felt, there are so many gray areas of the issue and the activists have clouded the issue so badly.

Personally I mostly fall into the category of the people who want a comprehensive package, but unlike many of them, I don't believe the current bill can be enforced to the extent it needs to be. The left largely believes in open borders or greatly liberalized borders. The reasons behind this run from the human compassion argument to flat out politics. The right is very divided. They range from what I have expressed as my view to the outright no immigration and send them all back view. There is a lot of room in there.

In this case it seems like President Bush falls closer to the left than the right. Traditional allies don't always hold true. Talk host Glenn Beck is someone I traditionally agree with most of the time. He seems lately to be in the Lou Dobbs insanity crowd. Michael Medved has come out full fledged in favor of the bill although he admits it is flawed but fears that the future may see a much worse bill passed. I happen to believe in this case a bad bill can be worse than no bill. I don't mention some of the more well known talk hosts because they are so predictable.

So where do we go here? I personally hope they defeat the cloture vote. There is enough wrong that this should not go to law. For the future though I believe the longer we wait the hope of getting an enforceable bill will decrease. As we approach the Presidential elections nothing can happen. Our 'leaders' will not risk taking a position on a controversial bill. The nutty anti-immigration activists (I only mean the very extreme) will pummel anyone on the right who supports any bill that 'normalizes' the current illegals.

We have to look at the present situation as unacceptable. There is no incentive for illegal immigrants to go back or join the law biding community. There is no way for them to come out of the shadows. I don't believe Congress can come up with a solution. Maybe the answer is small steps rather than a grandiose comprehensive bill. The risk here is that in a very divided congress all sides want something. Stiff penalties to employers without 'normalizing' current illegals working will not get support from the industries that depend on illegals and therefore the representatives that are friendly to them. Any attempt to give current illegals a way to come out of the shadows will not get the support of the extreme right. Since many of them have powerful microphones that doesn't stand much of a chance.

My prediction is this. The immigration bill will die, nothing will be done until after the next Presidential election and then the outcome will decide which way it goes. If both sides of Congress remain closely divided, I don't think any president will be able to get a bill through. That may or may not be a good thing. I wish I knew for sure which.

Gary Sheffield Welcome to Economics

For those who actually read my blog I have been away for a while. I have been very busy in my work life and no time to breathe.

Gary Sheffield has spoken out about why there are less African American players in baseball. Mr. Sheffield is a great baseball player, but when it comes to philosophy and economics he leaves a little bit to be desired. The quotes I have seen he actually hits the nail on the head. To draft a player in the draft, whether he be white or black you have to invest a lot of money. If he does not pan out the organization has lost a lot of money. To sign a Latin player the up front investment is much less. This is true. It seems to me to be efficient.

Now the question, why is this the case? In the decade of the seventies the players union won the right of free agency. Due to this players are paid much higher salaries. Some may say outrageous salaries. I say you should work for whatever you can, and if the market makes it higher, more power to you. In the time since then owners have had not much to say about them. They pay them or they will lose them. The rich get richer and the poor don't. Because of local television deals the New York teams, the Boston Red Sox and the larger cities can pay whatever is needed to dominate their leagues. Recently that has changed somewhat. Why is this? All teams actively scout the Latin American countries, actually sponsor baseball academies, and finance leagues in these countries. Why do they do this? Well the obvious answer is that it increases the pool of available players, thereby using age old laws of supply and demand to make the expenses of running a team more manageable.

Many players have expressed solidarity with Sheffield. This is natural. It is their lively hood at stake. They have come to expect multi-million dollar salaries with the not being able to do much about it. Now there is more competition and the top dollar players are accepting less because they have to. This is called economics.

Sheffield see this as a bad thing. I don't The players (the owners too for that matter) don't seem to care much about the fans. The owners need the players, this is obvious, but they also need the fans. Without people buying gear, going to games and paying for subscriptions there is no money to pay the players. For me to take my family of four to a Cleveland Indians game it will run me over $120 by time I pay for parking, some food and reasonably good seats. This stresses my budget, but makes it prohibitive for an lower income inner city family. This is where Sheffield says they should get their players. Too bad they will never get to see a live game. While increasing the talent pool does not bring down the cost to me to take my family to a game, it has slowed the increases so we can still get to a couple of games a year. It has also allowed the smaller market teams to be more competitive. This is good for people in Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati etc. Again I think of the fans here, not the players. Economics works every time it is tried, and the laws of economics are not changeable, just because a ballplayer thinks they should.

While Gary Sheffield and anyone else in the public eye has the right to run his mouth with his opinions, I don't expect much sympathy from the masses who work hard just to be able to go to a ballgame a couple of times a year. He wants us to feel the labor/management sympathy, but when the union worker laid off in Detroit sees players making $10 - 15 million a year and whining, I don't think he feels much solidarity. Just my opinion.