411 Politics Fact or Fiction: Week 51
Posted by Ryan Latimer on 07.09.2007
This is late, so no witty teaser
Happy July 9th, peoples, and welcome to Week 51 of Politics Fact or Fiction. I'm your host Ryan Latimer, and I'm the guy who suggested to Al Gore that all the Live Earth bands take planes to the concert site. I didn't catch the irony at the time.
The Wonderful World of Current Affairs still hasn't let me done since I took over this column, as this week Jason Easley and Jacob Ziegler take on such topics as the infamous Scooter Libby pardon, that wacky ACLU and their lawsuits, the new Arizona law battling illegal immigrants, and newly appointed British PM Gordon Brown going hush-hush on "The War on Terror." These two chaps are always good for a healthy political chat session, so have a Coke and a smile and enjoy the show.
Green…
1) Hours after a panel of judges rejected Lewis 'Scooter' Libby's plea to remain free while appealing his conviction on perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case, President Bush commuted Libby's prison time but kept intact the $250,000 fine and probation sentence. Bush also said he isn't ruling out a pardon for Libby. This was a dishonest and possibly corrupt move on the Bush's part.
Jason Easley: FACT - On top of dishonest, it was unethical and hypocritical too. It is interesting that a recent poll by the American Research Group found that 76% of Democrats and 80% of Independents disapproved of Bush's granting clemency to Libby. Republicans, whom one would think might support the move more were split 50%-47% in favor of clemency. There was nothing illegal about what the president did, but it seemed to go against everything he said about people being punished when the CIA leak investigation first started.
Jacob Ziegler: FACT - In a regime of so many dishonest and corrupt maneuverings, this one ranks somewhere ... in the middle. What Libby did was reprehensible and even treasonous, so the fact that he will in all likelihood be given a pardon basically confirms what myself and others have been saying all along - that Bush's number one priority is his friends and allies, not what's best for the country.
I actually find this situation to be exceptionally difficult to come to a definitive decision on. Part of me wants to figuratively (or perhaps literally?) whip Bush for being a typical politician and doing his role of protecting the rich and powerful, but another part of me wonders if this whole Libby thing is nothing more than a farce. Both Enrique and Ray Church did a set of point-counterpoint columns on the matter that were pretty good. Check ‘em out. 1 for 1
2) The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued the city of Slidell for displaying a painting of Jesus in a courthouse lobby, citing it violates the constitutional separation of church and state. The ACLU made this move after the Slidell City Court refused to voluntarily remove the picture and a message below it that reads: "To Know Peace, Obey These Laws." The ACLU is in the right and Slidell should remove the painting.
Jason Easley: FACT - This is one of those really idiotic cases that doesn't even belong in the legal system. Technically speaking the message below the painting infers that you should follow the ways of Jesus to know peace. This sounds an awful lot like Slidell is advocating a religion doesn't it? This is a case where common sense should step in and say, "Who is really injured by this painting?" Maybe they could put something up for all the major religions, and everybody would be happy. These types of cases are a waste of time.
Jacob Ziegler: FACT - I don't know how many times I feel like I have to remind someone that the separation of church and state is one of the cornerstones of our country as set forth by our founding fathers. The courtroom has everything to do with man-made laws and not much to do with Divine ones, so to have a painting of Jesus there sends a mixed, and, wrong message.
I believe this is a matter of tradition vs. a direct endorsement of religion. We as a country need to find some sort of balance/agreement, because like it or not Christianity is a significant part of our history, but we do indeed still need to make certain we are not endorsing said beliefs at the same time. For example, I wonder how long that painting has been up there. Little things like that do matter. 2 for 2
3) A new law signed by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano created the state crime of hiring illegal immigrants and requires all businesses to verify the employment eligibility of workers through a federal database. This law was created to remove the economic incentive for immigrants to sneak across the border and help lessen the state's status as the busiest illegal gateway into the nation. This is a necessary step to help curb illegal immigration and all states should implement such a law.
Jason Easley: FACT - One of the worst elements of the recently failed immigration reform bill was that it didn't do enough to punish employers for hiring illegal immigrants. If anyone wants to solve the immigration problem, they need to understand that immigration is caused by a push-pull factor. Immigrants are pushed out of their countries due to a lack of jobs, and pulled towards countries where jobs are readily available. If you take away the ability of illegal immigrants to get jobs, you take away much of the immigration problem. This type of legislation could be more effective than a thousand fences. The problem is that the federal data base isn't up and running yet, so this law isn't worth a whole lot right now.
Jacob Ziegler: FACT - I may have surprised Latimer with this one, as it may seem like a conservative answer from a notorious liberal. I do think that illegal immigration is a problem, and I do think this sounds like a good place to start. I know how rough the job market is all throughout the country, and while a lot of the jobs immigrants fill are shit jobs, it's more than some deserving Americans have and that's not right. Plus, employers treat the immigrants are somewhat less than human, and I don't think that needs to keep being perpetuated on them.
Surprised? Maybe a tad, but this isn't a matter of political ideology but of common sense. I don't care if you're the most Leftist, hard hitting liberal on the planet - you can't deny that the nation needs SOME kind of immigration policy, procedures and regulations, because what we are doing now is nothing short of pure chaos. It's that simple. 3 for 3
4) Newly appointed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has taken a different public demeanor in contrast to Tony Blair, choosing not to highlight terms such as "war on terror" or calling any terrorist "Muslims" or "Islamic" attackers, among other examples. In the aftermath of the recent failed attacks in the U.K., Brown's message in one brief televised statement and a longer TV interview can be summarized as "keep calm and carry on." This new public method from Brown is a good move.
Jason Easley: FICTION - You know, unless a government runs around all panicked and freaks out its entire population like the Bush administration did after 9/11, I really don't think it matters much. The government in these types of situations should be reassuring and let citizens know that they are in charge, but I think that there are many ways to do this. The Blair style was good. The Gordon style was good. A color coded terror alert system, and a vice president in a "secure, undisclosed location" was not.
Jacob Ziegler: FACT - This seems to be the opposite response that America would have had, and no matter what President Dumbass says, our world wide reputation is not good. So perhaps Brown is learning from our mistakes and trying to position himself as "one of the good guys," which is really not a bad strategy for such a small country.
Hey, give it a shot. We can‘t screw this whole thing up anymore than we already have. I say try new things. McDonald‘s does it. 3 for 4
That wraps up another week. I'm hoping to have the next week or two (52-53) comprised of all reader debates, so by all means shoot me an email if you're interested. We are always looking for a few good (wo)men.
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