FRIDAY TRIFECTA

There are three things I think this fine Friday in the Chi.

First, I think that everyone has heard that Ken Lay, of Enron fame, died of a heart attack this week. That is tough on his family and those who cared for him. On a personal level, it is tragic for those people. That being said, this article, which has quotes like "'Given all the pain and anxiety and stress that Ken had to endure, it would be hard for any person to hold up,' O'Melveny & Myers partner Daniel M. Petrocelli told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday" are on the wrong track. Ken Lay was convicted of defrauding people out of $43 million. The net amount of anxiety and stress he "endured" likely pales in comparison to the anxiety and stress felt by the people bilked out of $43 million. An article about the stress of being a white collar defendant is fine, but don't make Ken Lay a martyr.

Second, I think that the underlying, unspoken agenda of many (but not all) anti-immigration types is captured in this op-ed piece from the Christian Science Monitor. For jiminy cricket, the author harks fondly back to when Eisenhower instituted "Operation Wetback" to round up and deport Mexicans working in the United States illegally. Are they kidding? Operation Wetback? The article also fondly recalls massive Federal sweeps of farms and factories, and renting busses to drive arrested aliens deep into Mexico to make it harder for them to get back into the United States. Golly Beav, how about we round up all the foreigners and deport them!

Third, I think that this lady was probably pissed to realize she had forgotten whatever she forgot in her car, and I think that she probably never imagined that someone would have a camera and a blog...