A step in the right direction

Well, whaddaya know...
WASHINGTON -- Immigration agents arrested seven executives and hundreds of employees of a manufacturer of crates and pallets as part of a crackdown on employers of illegal workers.
Authorities raided offices and plants of IFCO Systems in at least nine states, including Pennsylvania, the culmination of a yearlong criminal investigation, law enforcement officials said. Raids took place in Biglerville, Adams County (Pa.); at several locations in upstate New York; Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati; Houston; Indianapolis; Phoenix; Richmond, Va., and Westborough, Mass.
Now, that's the right idea. Make the jokers who knowingly hire illegals pay a price for it. If those execs got scammed by phony green cards, that's another story. But there's another avenue of investigation if that was the case... find out where the phony green cards are coming from.
"ICE has no tolerance for corporate officers who harbor illegal aliens for their work force. Today's nationwide enforcement actions show how we will use all our investigative tools to bring these individuals to justice, no matter how large or small their company," said Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Julie Myers.
And there's more...
Last week, operators of three restaurants in Baltimore pleaded guilty to similar immigration charges, while nine people affiliated with two temporary employment agencies that do business in New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania were charged in a $5.3 million scheme involving the employment and harboring of illegal aliens.
Several immigration proposals pending in Congress would stiffen penalties against employers who hire illegal immigrants.
If you want to stop the flood of illegals, start by enforcing the law. Not just along the border, but in the heartland, too.

Well, duh, yourself

Last week (yeah, I know I'm late in getting this up, but after all, I was away) began a controversy over a proposed statue on the campus of Villanova University.
The high priestess of abortion in Philadelphia, Daily News columnist Jill Porter, explained it this way... (link may not be available... go to www.philly.com and search for Jill Porter).
A student organization called Villanovans for Life spearheaded a drive to buy a statue of the Virgin Mary and Jesus as the centerpiece of a centrally located memorial for what it calls the "victims of abortion" - provoking an emotional debate on campus.
The controversy was curtly dismissed by supporters who cited Villanova's church affiliation as the sole and decisive justification for the sculpture:
It's a Roman Catholic school. The church opposes abortion. End of argument.
Well, that's true.
But it's also precisely the kind of narrow-minded thinking that typifies the anti-choice movement.
When it comes to narrow-mindedness, there are few more narrow-minded than the abortion proponents. Porter's history is a prime example.
But her closing lines say a lot more...
...the university's board of trustees ducked the controversy for the time being by delaying a vote on approving the sculpture until its next meeting in June.
Which gives board members time to consider whether something is wrong even if you have the right to do it.
Jill, baby, what do you think the pro-life movement is saying?
Consider this... abortion for convenience's sake is wrong, even if you have the right to do it.
All she wants to do is stifle one side of the debate. Such wonderful support for free speech from a journalist, huh? Free speech, unless you disagree with me.
Come shut me up, ok?

Back and in gear

I'm back after a few days of R and R with the family on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Well enjoyed and the weather was grrrrreat. If you ever get the opportunity, go there.
Anyway, it's Stanley Cup playoff time and you can go find my picks here.