This blog got its start in the last hysteria over illegal immigration, so I might as well post again during the current squabble.
As usual, most of the debate we hear comes from the extremes. Arizona is not being taken over by Nazis and the federal government is actually doing quite a bit about stemming the flow of illegal immigrants, from building border fences to conducting raids on businesses that hire them. That's it's not enough is a sign of the magnitude of the problem, not that we're not trying.
A poll released Monday shows that Americans are much closer to the center on this issue, as they are on most others. Rasmussen Reports found that 58 percent of Americans want an immigration policy that's considered "welcoming." And if you think that racist Republicans are behind the new law in Arizona, members of the GOP were more in favor of the welcoming policy than Democrats. At the same time, the poll found that we need to control the borders.
Control our borders, know who is coming in and leaving, and maintain our status of a melting pot nation of immigrants who follow procedure as they arrive on our shores. That's what we want, and according to the poll results, that's what we've wanted for years.
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So much for off-shore drilling. When the explosion and fire took place last week off the Gulf Coast, it seemed to be a tragedy only in that it took lives. I use the word "only" advisedly, of course. That's because a second tragedy is unfolding which could do untold environmental damage to an area still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and a couple of successors.
As a resident of a coastal city, I approve of off-shore drilling only reluctantly. I think we need to tap what oil reserves we have because it will take years -- if not decades -- to develop the green, clean energy that we want.
Now I don't see off-shore drilling being approved at all, for any reason. That's a third tragedy.
