I have a problem with the concept of sanctuary cities.   I am cool with compassion and all that, but action openly to circumvent federal law does nothing to help immigration reform.

And I have a problem with Rep Tom Tancredo.  He is far too xenophobic to suit me. We need cooler heads makign rational decisions.

But I have to admit this measure is attractive:

Shock: House passes Tancredo measure to deny emergency funds to sanctuary cities

He’s offered similar proposals at least seven times in the past three years and they’ve always failed by big margins. Today? 234-189, with no fewer than 49 Democrats voting in favor. The Rocky Mountain News says all sides are “stunned”; his own press release describes him as “exuberant.” Not necessarily because he thinks the Senate’s going to pass this but because of a certain Larger Truth that might just have materialized. From the RMN:

Tancredo said he thinks his amendment is an indicator that the House would crush the reform plan [i.e., amnesty bill] if it passes in the Senate.

I don’t really have a dog in the fight in Massachusetts, I live pretty far away and I am not gay, so it affects me not.

What bothers me is the principle at stake here.

Legislators vote to defeat same-sex marriage ban

A proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was swiftly defeated today by a joint session of the Legislature by a vote of 45 to 151, eliminating any chance of getting it on the ballot in November 2008. The measure needed at least 50 votes to advance.

The vote came without debate after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Senate President Therese Murray, and Governor Deval Patrick conferred this morning and concluded that they have the votes to kill the proposal.

“Today’s vote was not just a victory for marriage equality, it was a victory for equality itself,” Patrick told reporters as cheers echoed in the State House. “Whenever we affirm the equality of anyone, we affirm the equality of everyone.”

And it was a blow to democracy in general.  What happened here is the legislature decided the people did not need a chance to vote on this.  So they killed it.

Being as I am smarter then the entire congress, it falls upon me to solve the immigration crisis.

OK, not really.  What I have is my own opinion.  And since this is my blog, and you are reading it, then you get to hear it.

I love that part of blogging.

Seriously though, there is so much pissing and moaning about Immigration, that I figure my opinion is no better then anyone else’s.

As I see it, the relevant issues are:

1. Border security.  First and foremost, the border needs to be secured.  After 911 this *should* have been one of our first priorities.  Granted that the 911 attackers were here legally, the fact is we have an essentially open border and whether from Canada or Mexico, a person will ill intentions could make it in and do harm to us.

   The thing that is hardest to understand is why no one has, to our knowledge.

   But we have to look at the border security issues realistically.  No wall can stop the incursions.  They have shown  they can go around, go over and even go under any barrier we have used.  They will again.

   The wall is to make it as hard as possible sure, but let us not lose our sense of realism in false security.