Musings on the week's concerns

The late, great David Brinkley once reported that his son had published a paper entitled "You Are Entitled to My Opinion" --- he didn't say what grade he got for that work. Each columnist we know, including this scribe, however, sets forth his offering of poetry and/or prose each week with the same attitude.

At best, one hopes the reader somehow benefits by such effrontery --- at least, we are happy if we do no harm. That being said, we offer then our own opinion on some of the current events which are controversial from that great wide world.

IMMIGRATION: We asked ourselves: where was Emma Lazarus --- the bard who wrote the famous lines at the dedication of our Statue of Liberty: "Send me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore --- I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

The governor of Arizona displayed an entirely different greeting to her own set of immigrants. She and the central government sent forth an appeal to the law, and the "law won!"

Next job: getting to create a sensible and humane immigration policy while fixing the border. No Ellis Island, no welcoming poetry or attitude. My take? Amnesty and the consideration we should extend to all God's children everywhere...(While I praise the good Lord they didn't expel all the German -- Irish -- Scottish -- middle European) hordes from crowding our shores.

Golden Door indeed!

THE BIG OIL LEAK: Three months down the continuing poisoning of our Gulf shores and waters, we are less and less impressed by hired experts and the corporations whose greed motivated the tragedy there in the first place. Now they cannot find any oil in the week or two since they capped the well --- concluding that, therefore, the environmental damage must be light! We say "HUMBUG!"

THE COMING ELECTIONS: Three months from today, we'll elect 435 members of the House of Representatives, 34 senators. The results we predict will show an increase in Republican membership and the maintenance of Democratic majority. This will make legislating far more difficult than now. The new congress must learn to listen to the American public who elected them, and work together for us all. This elderly political observer soundly rejects that probability --- in this lifetime...One must never lose hope though --- we're still the greatest.