The Ministry of Shadows

Last Five Entries

Gone, But Not Forgotten?
Friday, Jan. 20, 2012

What The Internet Will Look Like Under SOPA
Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012

Fearsgiving Week
Monday, Nov. 21, 2011

Jesus Approves of Waterboarding
Monday, Nov. 14, 2011

Beware of Asteroids
Wednesday, Nov. 09, 2011

Resources

FirstGov Portal

Legislative Database


Recommended Reading

Bindyree

Bruce Schneier

James Hudnall

Glenn Greenwald

D-Day

You Are Dumb


All links are current as of the date of publication. All content created by the author is copyrighted 2005-2010, except where held by the owners/publishers of parent works and/or subject materials. Any infringement of another's work is wholly unintentional. If you see something here that is yours, a polite request for removal or credit will be honored.



Majority? Rules?

Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008 4:01 AM


It's expected that Rudy Giuliani will drop out of the race for the Republican candidacy later today, throwing his support to front-runner Senator John McCain.

McCain has made several interesting comments over the past few days, both implying more wars to come (without saying where), and that he has a 'secret plan' to capture Osama bin Laden, but can't divulge the plan because it requires that he be president, first.

It remains to see whether the same anti-war sentiment that gave the Democrats the majority in 2006 will drive the country's choice for president in November. (Though that 'majority' has shown itself to be largely ineffective.)


Senator Barack Obama's remark about providing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants is likely to stir up some fuss - but the problem is neither licenses nor illegal immigrants. It's the practice of accepting driver's licenses as identification (primarily because of their prevalence) for other services.

A driver's license is really supposed to do one thing - certify the holder, as identified by their photo and/or thumbprint - to safely operate a motor vehicle in the issuing state.

That's it. And I'm not advocating silliness like REAL-ID, which will only create a new market for forged papers by providing an all-in-one (and, thus, infinitely more valuable) identification resource. Banks, for example, could implement features similar to including photos on credit cards if it becomes financially beneficial for them to do so.

What we need to consider is using the appeal of the driver's license to bring illegal immigrants into the system. You get a license, and if you're an illegal immigrant (as determined by your presence/absence from an INS database), then you enter the system with higher or more stringent requirements for earning citizenship - a tradeoff for the convenience.

Physical walls alone won't do the trick. We need to get a grip on those factors motivating people to cross the border (or an ocean, as the case may be), and put them to work for us.


It should be no surprise that President Bush's signature on the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 includes a signing statement that continues his, 'I'll Do What I Want, 'Cause I'm The Decider' mentality - this time, in regards to permanent bases in Iraq.

It's a sign of how twisted Bush is when he cites 'taking care that the laws be faithfully executed' as reason for him defying those very same laws.


Speaking of defiance and being twisted, there's Hillary Clinton, promising Florida voters that their delegates will be seated at the national convention.

The DNC had previously stripped both Florida and Michigan of their delegates for violating party rules and holding early primaries.


Bush is also reneging on his talk of returning units from Iraq, with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates hemming and hawing about further drawdowns as dependent on the next report from General David 'Six More Months' Petraeus.

We're not impeaching this person because ...?


The Ministry has received 0 comment(s) on this topic.