Quote of the Day
No pleasure philosophy,
no sensuality,
no place nor power,
no material success
can for a moment give such inner satisfaction
as the sense of living
for good purposes,
for maintenance of integrity,
for the preservation of self-approval.
Minot Simons
Looking at My Pageviews...
Blogger has recently introduced a new Stats feature which allows cross-tabbing of pageviews. Over the past 3 months, about two-thirds of my readers are fellow Americans. What I find particularly intriguing is that roughly half of my international pageviews come from Denmark; of the remainder, the UK, Luxembourg, South Korea, and my ancestral homeland, Canada are the most frequent. I will say that that I have been a huge mark for the EU's taking a more fiscally responsible course than the Obama Administration. I've always been strongly pro-immigrant and am appalled by what I see as an Anglophobic response to the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. For some reason, last Saturday's post has gotten the most recent views.
Probably the most notable post was the one I wrote about my former UH MBA marketing professor, George Zinkhan, whom had subsequently gone to the University of Georgia and made national headlines over a murder/suicide a year ago last April; someone in Australia excerpted part of my post on his website, and a reporter from Athens, GA (home of the University of Georgia) left me a voice mail. (I declined returning the call because I had not been in contact with him since I earned my doctorate.)
I personally think this is a very unique blog, and I expect that most readers will disagree with me on many issues. I use a lot of American idioms and plays on words, and I think I've got a good sense of humor (there are some inspired sarcasm and ad libs, and I also poke fun at myself). But to all readers (even those who find themselves on my blog by accident), thank you for your time, and I look forward to your next visit.
The Arizona Immigration Law:
Judge Susan Bolton's Mixed Bag Ruling
I've made my position on the immigration kerfuffle clear: first, I believe we should treat all visitors to the country with dignity and respect; second, I want a fully functioning, robust temporary worker program; third, all visitors must respect our laws; fourth, the Obama Administration is disingenuously rationalizing its arbitrarily, politically motivated immigration enforcement; fifth, I do not think it's constitutional or good public policy for Arizona to essentially subsidize federal enforcement. That's intrinsically morally hazardous. What's to keep the Obama Administration from, say, refusing to accept illegal aliens from Arizona and force the state to pay for them? Big difference: the Obama Administration prints money; Arizona can't. The Obama Administration can force Arizona into debt by abusing its managerial prerogative.
Ultimately, we need to take care of the Obama problem in 2012. There is reason to believe that Obama's abuse of power is grounds for impeachment, but until something like another terrorist attack on the homeland (God forbid) happens, which can be traced back to the Obama Administration's ambivalent immigration enforcement activities, we won't get any movement by Democrats. On the other hand, if Obama, who got lucky (thank God) on the Christmas and Times Square bombers, assumes that luck is a sustainable policy and we get hit, I expect every Congressional Democrat will throw Obama under the bus.
Judge Susan Bolton's injunction against core features of the legislation, indicating the burden of the law will fall on the backs of legal residents, is unconvincing and will ultimately be thrown out by the US Supreme Court. For example, driving is a privilege. It requires a valid license. A valid license requires documentation. Visitors, whether in Arizona or a different state, have to comply. I'm fuzzy on how the new Arizona law differs in a substantive matter. If a state police officer arrested an illegal before today versus tomorrow, how does ICE distinguish the arrests other than arbitrarily?
On the other hand, I'm pleased to see the judge left intact state crackdowns on local sanctuary cities. My fellow conservatives would be well served to back off: they aren't strong enough in Congress, Obama and company are moving against popular opinion, not a winning long-term strategy, and angry attacks against illegal aliens will turn off Latinos. Take what you've been given (including the sanctuaries) and appeal to the Supreme Court.
Schwarzenegger (R-CA) Renews Furloughs (Again)
During Budget Impasse: Thumbs Up
Roughly 150,000 to 200,000 state employees will be required to take 3 unpaid days a month until California has a new budget. This iteration has a smaller pool of workers, mostly because 6 small unions have agreed to a 15% pay cut. Whereas Schwarzenegger has departed from Republicans on many public policy issues (gay marriage, the environment, the stimulus bill, etc.), he has done the best he can given the current legislature to be a fiscal conservative.
Political Cartoon
IBD cartoonist Michael Ramirez notes that the real problem he's facing, with sharply lower approval numbers, is underexposure to the American people and housewives in particular. I mean, how can Obama fail to follow up after other celebrities like Snooki have guested on the show? What are the chances he won't get a question about Ms. Sherrod? It's not like there are other things going on closer to DC where he might have made an appearance--like the national Scout Jamboree...
Musical Interlude: Chart Hits of 2008
David Cook, "The Time of My Life"
Madonna/Justin Timberlake, "4 Minutes"
Daughtry, "Feels Like Tonight"
Trace Adkins, "You're Gonna Miss This"
