Once In a Blue Moon!

I was reading this here from Mark Krikorian and was about to write "I'm skeptical of the immigration compromise bill, but if Fred Siegel's slamming it in Commentary it may be a good idea after all." But then I thought to myself, "eh, Krikorian's also praising a Krauthammer column, I should read it and make fun of it." But then I read what Krauthammer was saying and, um, I agree with Charles Krauthammer:

Until now we've had a special category for highly skilled, world-renowned and indispensable talent. Great musicians, athletes and high-tech managers come in today under the EB-1 visa. This apparently is going to be abolished in the name of an idiotic egalitarianism.

Meanwhile, we had a blue moon last night.

Comments

Matt,

If you read Krauthammer more frequently, you would probably find you agree with him more often. Krauthammer has, for at least a year, articulated a rational compromise on immigration: verifiable securing of the border (i.e., reduction of illegal crossings by 90%) followed by amnesty for current illegals, and a move toward a merit-based policy weighted in favor of skilled immigrants going forward.

Posted by Fred | June 1, 2007 10:38 AM

As if the Tigers don't have enough trouble right now--Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen are going to be shipped back to Venezuela, I guess . . .

Posted by rea | June 1, 2007 10:43 AM

Well, the Indians will lose Carmona and Martinez. I guess they'll still probably come out ahead though.

Posted by JP | June 1, 2007 10:59 AM

The EB-1 visa has been diluted beyond all meaning, with something like 25,000 being issued each year. It's exceedingly unlikely that more than a small fraction of them were issued to people who genuinely have "world-reknowned and indispensable talent."

Posted by Peter | June 1, 2007 11:08 AM

I believe typical usage would call the second full moon in June a blue moon. Also, this article points out that usage is different from the original, somewhat complicated origin in the Maine Farmer's Almanac (hat tip to Froz Gobo at apostropher.com).

Posted by cw | June 1, 2007 11:25 AM

Spending billions of dollars on unworkable border fences is the opposite of rational.

Posted by Rob | June 1, 2007 11:46 AM

It's exceedingly unlikely that more than a small fraction of them were issued to people who genuinely have "world-reknowned and indispensable talent."

The world is really quite a big place, and there are really quite a lot of specialisations. Also, the US is really quite a big country. Now, if you have some evidence beyond your gut, fire away.

Posted by pseudonymous in nc | June 1, 2007 1:12 PM

"Spending billions of dollars on unworkable border fences is the opposite of rational."

Yeah, fences are such an unrealistic, unworkable technology -- the kind of thing people used in the old days, before we had UAVs and electronic sensors. That's why there's no fence around the White House, just UAVs and electronic sensors. Same thing on Mexico's border with Guatemala: no fence -- the Mexican government recognized it wouldn't work at all. Same with my county jail, believe it our not: no fence, just an electronic sensor or two and a Predator UAV flying around. Seems the low-tech fence there just wasn't working.

You bring up another crucial point though, which is cost. Building one of these old-fangled fences on the border with Mexico might cost billions of dollars! How can we divert BILLIONS from our $2.9 trillion federal budget on something like this? Far better to spend a trillion or two on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc. for tens of millions more unskilled workers and their descendants.

Posted by Fred | June 1, 2007 1:32 PM

"Spending billions of dollars on unworkable border fences is the opposite of rational."

Yeah, fences are such an unrealistic, unworkable technology -- the kind of thing people used in the old days, before we had UAVs and electronic sensors. That's why there's no fence around the White House, just UAVs and electronic sensors. Same thing on Mexico's border with Guatemala: no fence -- the Mexican government recognized it wouldn't work at all. Same with my county jail, believe it our not: no fence, just an electronic sensor or two and a Predator UAV flying around. Seems the low-tech fence there just wasn't working.

You bring up another crucial point though, which is cost. Building one of these old-fangled fences on the border with Mexico might cost billions of dollars! How can we divert BILLIONS from our $2.9 trillion federal budget on something like this? Far better to spend a trillion or two on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc. for tens of millions more unskilled workers and their descendants.

Posted by Fred | June 1, 2007 1:32 PM

Same thing on Mexico's border with Guatemala: no fence -- the Mexican government recognized it wouldn't work at all.

Oh dear, attempts at sarcasm can really bite you in the ass:

The border that divides Mexico from Guatemala is merely a virtual line, although there are demarcations such as stone markers, mountains, fences, rivers, and streams. It marks a separation between two nations that share the same language, customs, and physical traits, but also misery and social isolation.

Posted by pseudonymous in nc | June 1, 2007 3:31 PM

I just love the conservative "logic" that says putting a fence along a 2000-mile national border is sensible for the exact same reasons as putting a fence around a single building.

Maybe we should look into one of those plastic gates I use to keep my 9-month old daughter from crawling into the kitchen. After all, it works in one situation, why wouldn't it work in some completely different situation!

Posted by Steve | June 1, 2007 3:43 PM

We can just put fences around all-white conservative neighborhoods to keep all the darkies, fags and Jews out. Oh wait, they already did that with their gated communities. I hope you guys enjoy mowing your own lawn in there!

Posted by Reality Man | June 1, 2007 4:57 PM

pseudonymous:

The border that divides Mexico from Guatemala is merely a virtual line, although there are demarcations such as stone markers, mountains, fences, rivers, and streams.

Sure, around the remote and uninhabited Petén region deep in the Yucatán.

But if you check around Tapachula and the Carretera Panamericana, where the immigration is, you'll find plenty of border fence. And a very active presence of La Migra deporting immigrants who just want low-paying, no-benefits, no-safety-regulation jobs "Mexicans just don't want to do."

Posted by Brian | June 2, 2007 1:14 PM