I think I'm jealous

The Atlantic reports with slightly amused horror that the government of  Zimbabwe is down to its last $217.

Okay, but if that's a real $217, in some sort of hardish money, aren't they  at least $217 better off than Uncle Sam?

A handful of heresy

When I was in the church this morning, saying so long to a long-time acquaintance, I wasn't attending to the official eulogy too closely. I quietly picked up a pew Bible and refreshed my memory of some notable political leaders. David was said to be brave, and Solomon was  deemed wise.

They made me think of modern leaders who were either valiant or wise or both. The man currently residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue never crossed my mind.

Until later, that is. Then I heard the instant analysis of His Ineptness's Latino vote-purchase plan. (He calls it immigration reform, a dream pact for hustling politicians as U.S. demographics become  swarthier.)

The consensus opinion is that the inept White House plan differs from the inept senate plan in one major way:  His Ineptness doesn't plan to "secure the borders,"
essentially because, he says, we can't.

Now I'm confused. The full might of our Republic is too flaccid to to keep some ragtag crossers in their own country and out of ours. Yet the same commander -- backed by the same force -- comfortably advises every ayatollah and used-camel hustler turned Islamic president within a thousand miles of Suez on all matters under the sun -- administrative, moral, and military. And he expects to be taken seriously.

I was lucky enough not to think of our departing secretary of state, still being lauded as one of the most brilliant foreign policy thinkers in history. You know, Hillary, the lady who did such a good job carrying advice from His Ineptness to Egypt where things are going so swimmingly. You're just a disrespectful smart-alec If you giggle and say her final directive from Foggy Bottom might well read, "Uhh, it's a little hairy over there and you guys better keep your white  infidel  asses out of Cairo these days."

I mean, What Difference Does It Make?

Chip 'em, Dan-O

Did I just hear Senator Schumer say we will use a "social security card biometric identifier?"

And you thought I was just kidding around when I said that for ease of administration the administrators think biometric ID is a really fun idea.

A little research takes some of the fun out of  mocking this because, so far, Senators Schumer and McCain are stopping short of the ultimate step. They're not quite ready to herd 320 million American citizens into the veterinary clinics for outpatient surgery. Vets? Sure. Who has more experience in slipping neat little computers/RF transmitters into flesh? Guernsey, Lhasa apso, citizen, what the Hell. Meat's meat.

The vote whores, or  immigration reformers if you insist, say for the time being  they can settle for a Social Security card that records your fingerprints or your digitized face. It will be a while before they announce that people are losing their cards and hiring top geeks to modify them and generally not playing nice.  And if you can chip a baboon for 80 bucks, max, why 80 times 320 million is only...



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The 1985 libertarian argument was: Want to reduce the illegal immigration problem? Start reducing the free stuff inherent in merely metabolizing in this country.   It  is also a good 2013 argument.

I see by the news that a bunch of U.S. Senators is to introduce a new immigration reform plan this afternoon.

Point One of said plan is that all is  "Contingent on securing the borders."

Making points Two through Infinity moot.

Actually securing the border is popular only among adult white heterosexuals  who have a pickup, three or more firearms, and a job  -- a political loser in other words.