... or can you never get too much of a good thing?

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We probably can't jail George W. Bush for being the most incompetent leader since Charlie Chaplin's Dictator so I guess we must be content flogging his hirelings. This brings us to the doorstep of one Monica Goodling (great name). Unlike the last Monica, it appears that Ms. Goodling did her "job" standing up.

Monica G. was a top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and as such is up to her briefcase in the US Attorney firings that have been in the news for the last few months. The rock-turning that uncovered Ms. Goodling also revealed an interesting fact. As of a recent survey by The Boston Globe, the Bush Justice Department had hired a staggering 150 graduates of Regent University Law School, Ms. Goodling among them. If you haven't heard of Regent don't be too surprised. It used to be known as CBN (for Christian Broadcasting Network) School of Law. The school is the incubation chamber for Pat Robertson's own brand of Christian lawyers. Those would be the ones that blame 9-11 on homosexuals... God's wrath, you know! Pat serves as President.

Loyalty to a particular school is charming but, considering the serious nature of the Justice Department's mandate one would hope for scholars from an institution higher in standing than the Acme School of Air Conditioner Repair. US News & World Report ranks Regent U. in the fourth which is the bottom tier. Apparently the only legal training that the Ashcroft/Gonzales Justice Dept. required was a working knowledge of the Ten Commandments.

In any event, Ms. Monica has resigned from Justice and exercised her right to avoid self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment. Who says these kids don't know the law?

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After 20 plus years of hand wringing, the Senate has finally produced a bill addressing the issue of illegal immigration. I don't care how you feel about this problem, some praise should attend the document that Senators from both parties cobbled together. Before you trash the work done on this legislation, consider the following:

There are 12 million illegal immigrants in America.
We have no way to arrest and deport them and traffic being what it is, they are not likely to leave voluntarily.
Many illegals provide the workforce that, like it or not, keeps goods and services in America moving.
The vast majority of Latinos come here to work. They are not looking to rape the American economy by mooching free health care and free libraries.
Spanish speaking people will assimilate exactly the way the Irish, Italians and Poles assimilated. Their children will learn English (just like the Irish had to), because the American Dream that prompted them to risk their lives getting here doesn't come with Spanish subtitles.
American culture will be changed.


Now, armed with the facts as presented, how about we consider the new legislation as a starting point for a serious debate about the best way to handle a situation that already exists?