CNN reports that Immigration Reform will bump Climate Change off this year’s agenda. Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman dispute this and say Reid has given them assurances that their Climate Change legislation will get a vote this year. In fact, they plan on unveiling their plan on Monday.
I don’t know who’s right, but there is no way that Congress will find time to do everything this year that they say they want to do.
Meanwhile, the idiot governor of Arizona signed the Latino Harassment Act of 2010, which pretty much forces the Democrats to do something to fix our broken immigration system as soon as possible.
I’m very conflicted about this.
The upside: if immigration reform goes forward first, it’ll immediately draw out the worst of Republican racism, thereby killing GOP chances with the Latino voting bloc this fall (if not for a generation), and improving Dems’ electoral chances. Also, it goes without saying that this is a huge issue that needs to be addressed, for purposes of civil rights, economic stability, etc.
The downside: every moment lost on climate change/energy reform leads the world down a more dangerous path.
Would love to hear others’ thoughts.
Neither one of these bills are likely to pass in anything resembling an acceptable form. I have a hard time picturing either one passing in any form. Of the two, I guess I give Immigration Reform a slightly better chance, if for no reason other than a lot of Republicans do know how to read demographic charts.
The reason I supported Obama over Hillary was specifically for climate change. I figured Hillary would make health care the forefront of her agenda, whereas Obama would make climate change the forefront of his.
Climate change, by far. It’s the most important issue of our time, and every day I’m getting the feeling that I will witness millions to billions of people suffering needlessly because of my country’s selfish and over-consuming lifestyle. America will be fine, I just won’t be able to live in Seattle my entire life like I had planned. India, China, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa and all of Australia…well, it will really suck to live there.
And even at my university, a place that’s supposed to be accepting of scientific fact, is roughly 50% in denial.
Without going too off-topic, no — America won’t be fine. Not even close. Sept 11, Katrina, the bank robbery are mere stubbed toes compared to what we will be facing. Our reaction to those events is a preview of how well we’ll deal with the real thing. Do you really think we will somehow thrive in a destroyed world? Saved by what — all our bankers, lawyers, cops, and soldiers?
Hmmm, point taken. I forgot, even though dealing with it in America isn’t that big of a fix, our reactions are pretty bad.
Immigration because anything introduced by two fuckweasels like Graham and Lieberman deserves a quick death.
I didn’t want immigration reform, but Arizona has forced the hand.
the ‘ IF YOU AIN’T WHITE, YOU BETTER HAVE PAPERS’ law has forced this issue.
So how long before AZ is majority “minority”? I kind of like the idea of all the dusky police finding reason to demand papers from all the white faces they have reason to suspect have snuck in from Canada or Australia. Maybe we should just leave them alone and let nature take its course.
I hope I live to see Latinos become the majority In this country. I wonder if they’ll have the same, ahem, moral compass and sense of urgency as today’s liberals in addressing issues unique to the white minority?
If one really had to choose, environmental consequences will make the immigration issue look like trivial pursuits. There’s really no comparison. OTOH, going by descriptions of the climate change bill, immigration reform might actually bring change. The current climate change bill, not so much, apparently.
Bottom line, though, immigration with or without a bill will be fixable later. Whatever is or is not done regarding the planet’s capacity to sustain human existence will not be fixable by the time we know we broke it.