OH, SO THAT'S HOW IT IS

Sometimes in the news you read a snippet that tells you how things are. I have come across a number of them lately. For instance, the Independent, a newspaper in the United Kingdom reported the not-too-surprising story that the United States had threatened to bomb Pakistan in the wake of September 11, 2001. I suspect that every country in the world with more than five Muslims in it was threatened after 9/11. The story also (oddly) covers a number of comments by the Iranian president. Anyway, here the "that's how it is" moment: "In a press conference yesterday, meanwhile, Mr Ahmadinjad tempered his repeated outbursts this week against the US and also Britain with the suggestion that . . . " Even a British paper throws Britain in as an afterthought in America's wake. A special relationship is one thing, but Blair took it to another level.

Maddona got herself into the newspapers again too. There has been a lot of criticism of her being "artistically" crucified and singing some crap-assed songs. She explained that the purpose of having herself (fake) crucified was a "plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole." Interesting. Hey, look at the wealthy white lady with the fake British accent. She's pretending she's crucified on a mirrored cross. I suddenly see my neighbor as me, and desire to help said neighbor. Sheesh. Interestingly, that wasn't the thing in the articles that let the world know how it is in Maddona's head. That was this: "I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing." Indeed. Who can doubt that Jesus would charge people money to see him, then re-enact the pivot point of history that his brutal death was. No doubt. I bet for an encore he would sing his hit tune "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?"

The New York Times had a very confusing article today. You see, illegal aliens must be kept out of the United States because they are stealing jobs from Americans. The only reason that Americans are not working is that illegal aliens are taking all of the jobs, using their wiles and craftiness. Oddly enough though, in California and other agricultural states fruit went rotten on the vines for the lack of pickers. In California they has 70,000 jobs that went unfilled. One grower explained how it is when he said: "I would have raised my wages, but there weren’t any people to pay."

Finally, the Paper of Record has an article on a new effort to get rid of the Electoral College. In this plan, states would form "compacts" with each other to pass laws to direct their electoral collegians to vote the state's votes in line with national election results. Thus, while we would still have an Electoral College, but their votes would be bound to the national election results. This to "fix" a problem that has come up TWICE since 1789. I am pretty sure there have been more fist fights in Congress than instances in which a President was elected after losing the national vote. In any case, this proposal shows how it is with people who are "smarter" than the rest of us. We have a very clear means to get rid of the Electoral College if we want to. It is the same mechanism that switched elections for the Senate to popular voting. It is the constitutional amendment. Instead of making little "deals" between half-assed state politicians, people who thing the Electoral College is an anachronism ought to support an amendment. Otherwise, they are just ignoring the opportunity for "democracy" they claim their proposal supports.