What was I saying before I was so crudely interrupted?

Oh I know, I as about to ramble on about the continuing Battle of the Border. Is it really a battle or is it a bunch of posturing by politicians pandering to a segment of the voting public that is afraid of losing what is already gone? Jobs that the illegals have taken are mostly the ones that Americans don't want. Laborers and janitors that work for wages equivalent to the skills demanded. Americans want more money to 'demean' themselves. What does inflation look like when Jack or the Golden Arches has to pay $12/hr for counter help and cleanup crew? We'll be happy to see a $5 bargain menu. Service jobs, laborers, menial stuff, that's where most of the Mexican undocumented workers were employed. Americans have conveniently forgotten that a great many positions were outsourced to places like India and Pakistan where English (sort of) is a First or second language but the people work for third world wages. But as the clamor grows louder against the Mexican segment of the illegal population, everyone forgets where the mid range salaried jobs went. Anger always flows to the closest target.
Someone please tell me who we are going after next. When Sheriff Joe and his band of thugs finish their witch hunt and handcuff campaign are they going to go after the rest of the 5.5 million illegals who entered the country legally but overstayed their visas? Who's next? The Brits? The Swedes? Do we really need to be protected from undocumented Canadians? The come in here and work, buy property, pay taxes. Just like illegal Mexicans do. But how are we going to know which ones they are, eh? They don't have dark enough complexions to be pulled over for DWB (driving while Brown). I can hear the ultra right now. "Its time to issue every American a national ID". Sorry Folks, I'm an American. I don't need nor do I intend to carry a card or any other paper around with me to prove it.
Arizona's new anti immigration law makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally. But isn't immigration Federally defined, monitored and enforced? How can a state sanction an individual whose status is defined by federal law? Sounds unconstitutional to me. And then there is the part about a law enforcement officer being able to demand ID from anyone he suspects might be an illegal. Does that mean that should he overhear a conversation between me and an Hispanic friend in Spanish I am automatically under suspicion? If he demands my ID and I don't have it or decline to present it, what next? Jail? A one way trip to Nogales because I speak more than English Only? I read and speak French too. When are we going after the Frogs? Speaking of unconstitutional, I read of a statute requiring passengers in a motor vehicle to have ID. Does that mean I have to have ID to ride the Bus? Does that mean my son or grandmother riding with me has to have one? Of course not. But if the law is written to exclude minors, then it violates the equal protection clause. If it is written for only a particular complexion, It is unconstitutional. In fact, I cannot think of a single instance whereby it could be covered under the Constitution's guidelines. City of Scottsdale was using this statute to question 'suspicious' (non id carrying) individuals about their nationality and arrest suspected illegals.
I have personally witnessed police officers stop persons in a 'high crime area' and ask for ID, what the person's destination was and here they were coming from. I has happened to me on my way to work at 3:30 am, not a block from my house. I have been followed home and questioned in my front yard for some imaginary faux pas. My neighbor, walking his dog, was stopped and told he could not use a public thoroughfare. It is not unusual for a Phoenix Police officer to make up a law on the spot in an effort to intimidate someone. Nor is it unusual for one to not enforce or deny the existence of one they don't want to enforce for one reason or another. This is not hearsay. It is my own personal experience. This is all street stuff, what happens before an arrest or jail or court. I have several pages to write about there but they will have to wait, as I digress.
My point is, Central Arizona Law Enforcement Officials have shown a propensity toward instigation rather than investigation. Just ask the Phoenix City Councilman who was manhandled by the rookie cop (2years on the force). They do NOT need to be handed another device with which to harass and bully the population. Well intentioned (though I think not) as it may be, Arizona 1070 is a huge mistake and I for one, cannot see how it could be good for the State or the Country. It will, without a doubt, be abused and I shudder to think that this in America. I not done with this topic yet, only for this post.
The Ghastly Gulf Oil Disaster is still waving a red flag more than 5 weeks after a blowout preventer valve failed, taking eleven lives, sinking an oil drilling platform and spewing millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The amount spilled eclipses the Exxon Valdez disaster and has not been limited to surface areas that can be not so easily cleaned but contamination has been detected 10 mile inland in the estuaries where the sea species breed and the juvenile forms grow. Contamination has also been found in the drinking water of some areas all the way down to the water table. How is THAT ever going to be fixed? The verdict is out as to the dollar amount of the eco-damage or the cost of the cleanup. Millions, Billions, Trillions? Your guess is as good as mine. I don't think the true full cost will be known.
So who was at fault? Who owned the lease, the well, and stood to make the profits from the oil? British Petroleum. Who hired Transoceanic and, our favorite no bid contractor from Iraq, Halliburton? BP. If BP thinks either or both of the last two entities is culpable it is up to BP to file civil actions to recover damages. In the meantime, BP has to stand the blame and the expense involved. In our next lesson we will review how the Dark Lord and his cronies from the oil business told us the Iraq War would be paid for by oil from the recaptured wells.
Just how did that work out for us? That's it for now, drop by for the next edition.