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The Washington Post has an article today comparing the immigration debate today with that of a century ago. It nicely puts the lie to the claim that in the old days, people came to to the U.S., particularly Ellis Island legally, with permission. There was no permission necessary until 1918.

Until 1918, the United States did not require passports; the term "illegal immigrant" had no meaning. New arrivals were required only to prove their identity and find a relative or friend who could vouch for them.

Customs agents kept an eye out for lunatics and the infirm (and after 1905, for anarchists). Ninety-eight percent of the immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island were admitted to the United States, and 78 percent spent less than eight hours on the island. (The Mexico-United States border then was unguarded and freely crossed in either direction.) "

Another excellent read is this letter to the editor in the Aspen Daily News. Jordan E. Mollersten reminds us of the simple laws of supply and demand when it comes to the labor force. His argument makes a lot of sense to me.

There have not been any new developments this weekend in the Duke lacrosse players' alleged rape case, but there are over 200 comments on the last post, so I'm starting a new thread here.

I'll keep them coming as long as readers have an interest in discussing the case.

Tonight's Soprano's episode is "The Ride," described as:

Christopher makes a surprise announcement; Paulie pays a price for cutting costs at an Italian Street Fair; Tony embraces the "old school."

There's a big photo of Bobby on the episode page, so he probably plays a big part. I hope there's not too much of Janice, she's like fingernails on a blackboard.

I can't believe we're already on Show 9 of the new and almost last season. I'm not feeling like a lot has happened -- Other than Tony being shot, Vito sticks out in my mind as the one major development. Maybe his "embracing the old school" means he agrees to order Vito taken out. Or he hooks up with the real estate agent.

LNILR wrote yesterday of Michael Hayden's lack of understanding of the Fourth Amendment.

I agree. I have previously written about his role in the failed Operation Trailblazer program and his endorsement of Bush's warrantless NSA electronic surviellance program. Hayden was in charge of the NSA when Bush's program went into effect and was called upon by Bush to be a spokesman supporting it.

It's the e-mails, as Jason Leopold reported previously and reports again today. Those 250 pages of documents that Patrick Fitzgerald told Team Libby about in his January 23 letter (pdf) and turned over to the Libby defense team in February. I thought the e-mails were all from the Office of the Vice President, but Jason reports they are also from the Office of the President, and a review of Fitz's letter (page 7) shows this to be the case.

In February, TruthOut was the first to report the existence of the 250 pages of emails from Vice President Dick Cheney's office and the Office of the President that were written in mid-2003.

Some of the emails and memos were written by Rove, and are part of a growing body of evidence suggesting he lied to the grand jury and the FBI and may have obstructed justice during the course of the investigation. It was following their disclosure that Fitzgerald advised Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, several weeks ago that he intends to indict Rove for perjury and lying to investigators. The lingering question, sources close to the case said, is whether Fitzgerald will add obstruction of justice to the list of charges that he has already drafted against Rove.

Sure, the Matt Cooper - Karl Rove conversation and Hadley e-mail is also an issue, one that likely will lead to a false statements and/or perjury charge for Rove. But Rove's failure to disclose these other communications is what reportedly has Fitz considering an obstruction of justice charge. Particularly e-mails between Rove and Andrew Card.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy alerts us to this disgusting case of prisoner abuse in Rhode Island:

Three state correctional officers, including a captain who allegedly forced an inmate to taste his own feces on Valentine's Day, were arrested and charged yesterday with multiple counts of assaulting five inmates in the Adult Correctional Institutions.

The arrests were the result of a three-month investigation launched by authorities after prison officials learned about the feces incident involving inmate Michael Walsh, 30, of East Providence. State police Maj. Steven G. O'Donnell said that other inmates came forward with allegations that they suffered physical abuse at the hands of correctional officers. State police detectives interviewed those inmates and were able to corroborate the allegations that resulted in yesterday's charges.

The inmates "were serving short sentences for crimes such as felony shoplifting and drug possession."

by TChris

Marilyn Hubbard thinks the people responsible for her husband's death in the Moss Point jail are being protected. The jailers say Jesse Hubbard hung himself with his T-shirt. Marilyn doesn't believe that her husband, arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct, had any reason to kill himself.

An investigation organized by the Moss Point-Jackson County, Mississippi chapter of the NAACP is shedding new light on Jesse's death.

Benjamin L. Crump, the Hubbard's lawyer, announced the findings with conviction.

"Truth will lead us to justice," he said. "The pathology findings are that it is very unlikely that Mr. Hubbard died from hanging. The medical reports indicate bruising that is inconsistent with hanging."

by TChris

As TalkLeft noted here, Patrick Kennedy is taking responsibility for his addiction:

Kennedy said he's been trying for months to kick a narcotic painkiller which he declined to name. He also told the newspaper he has "never gotten over" the chronic back pain and painkiller abuse that stemmed from surgery to remove a growth near his spine during college.

Rush Limbaugh's recent brush with the criminal justice system proves that drug abuse doesn't depend on political philosophy. The Boston Herald reports that 2 million Americans abuse prescription narcotics.

by TChris

Another poll, another reason for the president to think about spending the summer at his ranch, clearing brush.

"This administration may be over," Lance Tarrance, a chief architect of the Republicans' 1960s and '70s Southern strategy, told a gathering of journalists and political wonks last week. "By and large, if you want to be tough about it, the relevancy of this administration on policy may be over."

A new poll by RT Strategies, the firm headed by Tarrance and Democratic pollster Thomas Riehle, shows that 59 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's job performance, while 36 percent approve -- a finding in line with other recent polls.

Other fun polling results:

by TChris

The administration complains that news reports from Iraq enhance the negative and omit the positive. What "positive" event could be more newsworthy than this?

More Iraqi civilians were killed in Baghdad during the first three months of this year than at any time since the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime -- at least 3,800, most of them found hog-tied and shot execution-style.

Others were strangled, electrocuted, stabbed, garroted or hanged. Some died in bombings. Many bore signs of torture such as bruises, drill holes, burn marks, gouged eyes or severed limbs.

by TChris

First they attacked Roe v. Wade, now they're going after Griswold v. Connecticut. The next culture war (as if we need another one) will be waged over contraception, according to this article in the NY Times Magazine.

"We see a direct connection between the practice of contraception and the practice of abortion," says Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, an organization that has battled abortion for 27 years but that, like others, now has a larger mission. "The mind-set that invites a couple to use contraception is an antichild mind-set," she told me. "So when a baby is conceived accidentally, the couple already have this negative attitude toward the child. Therefore seeking an abortion is a natural outcome. We oppose all forms of contraception."

Contraception prevents abortion, an obvious reality that doesn't deter this crowd from arguing that sex without procreative intent is "anti-child." Sex without procreative intent is fun, and it seems a hard sell to convince people otherwise. The article informs us that a growing number of evangelicals are trying to do just that.

by Last Night in Little Rock

From Crooks and Liars is a video clip, posted today and reprised from January from Keith Olberman's Countdown on MSNBC where a General with the NSA doesn't even know what the Fourth Amendment says. And to think that these bozos are determining what is right or wrong when the NSA decides to seize our communications.

Read the transcript on Crooks and Liars or Countdown. It is pathetic. Olberman's final observation: