Outrage...

I try to save the righteous rage, but at this point there must be something said: the immigration programme in this country is completely and totally broken.  Both political parties seem intent on using the issues as a political beach ball.  Back and forth it will go, with the goal to keep it in the air in Washington - and especially at election time.  

The events which transpired in Patchogue, NY this past week should galvanize our lawmakers to actively seek compromise on a comprehensive "omnibus" package of immigration reform.  

Not familiar with the events in Patchogue? Click here.  The short version from today's NYT:

Friends of Jeffrey Conroy, a star athlete at the school, say he was known to do it, too. And last Saturday night, after drinking in a park in the Long Island hamlet of Medford, Mr. Conroy, 17, and six other teenagers declared that they were going to attack “a Mexican” and headed to the more ethnically diverse village of Patchogue to hunt, according to friends and the authorities.

They found their target in Marcelo Lucero, a serious-minded, 37-year-old immigrant from a poor village in Ecuador who had lived in the United States for 16 years, mostly in Patchogue, and worked in a dry cleaning store, sending savings home to support his mother, a cancer survivor.

After the boys surrounded, taunted and punched Mr. Lucero, the authorities say, Mr. Conroy plunged a knife into his victim’s chest, fatally wounding him.

The Suffolk County executive, Steve Levy called the actions those of "white supremacists."  Yet, it was Mr. Levy who banged the drum of xenophobia earlier in his tenure.  Remember, it was Mr. Levy who started a national organization supporting crackdowns on day laborers and race baited about "anchor babies," among other things.  A particularly poignant rundown of his misdeeds is found in an editorial of today's NTY.  Click here.

Unless elected officials are willing to confront this issue pragmatically, there will be no solutions.  And by pragmatically, there are a few premises which we must accept:

1) Illegal workers are a reality in this country and they're not going anywhere.

2) The economy needs day laborers and "illegal" labor to run.

3) The American Dream, despite its alleged tarnishing, is still a much better option than anything else we've seen south o' the border lately.

There's a lot more to say - and I'll say it, but that's it for now.