Wackjobs all

Well, another post about the wackjobs that are in this world. One set is close to home, while the other not so much.

First, the wackjobs in Pahrump. This is the small town in Nye County, Nevada - where prostitution is legal, I might add - that recently passed an ordinance making English the official language of the town; depriving illegal immigrants of all public services administered by the the town which at last count, was simply police protection and the sheriff has said he wouldn't enforce it; and finally illegal to fly a foreign flag without also flying the US flag. That was evidently just the first act.

Last night, in the current board's final meeting in its current makeup they same Councilman that proposed the previous resolution introduced one that went even further - all "undocumented foreign nationals" to register themselves at the Town Office within 24 hours of arrival and pay a $200 fee. They would need to fill out a form listing relatives in Nevada and provide a list of all forged or counterfeit documents they might hold. Failure to do so would result in a fine and jail time. Finally, if any non-governmental agency challenges the ordinance in court, they first would need to shell out $20K to cover any costs incurred by the town. Call it the "ACLU clause."

I am not unsympathetic to their frustration. I do happen to believe that something needs to be done to address illegal immigration. Whether it is more funding so that existing laws can be enforced or coming up with a new comprehensive plan, we need leadership from the federal government because this is more a national, not a state or local issue. Plus, this resolution is essentially unenforcable. Do you expect undocumented nationals to 1. register in the first place, 2. have $200 and 3. essentially confess to breaking the law by listing all the illegally obtained documents they hold? And how do you know exactly who is here legally vs. illegally? Road-side checkpoints? Stopping people on the street randomly?

We need common sense solutions - not these xenophobic and short-minded band-aids. Enough on local wackjobs.

Leading the list of international wackjobs this week is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Holocaust conference. One of the tenets was that either the Holocaust was 1. A fabrication or 2. an exaggeration. There is physical evidence that the Holocaust took place and if anything, is typically under-reported. If you ask your typical person how many people died in the Nazi death camps, you'll hear the number of 6 million. However, a total of 9 million people died in Concentration Camps. Six million Jews perished, but nearly 3 million Gypsies, Communists and other "non-Aryans" were shipped off to death camps as well.

This guy gets a lot of press for saying wacky things. You almost have to wonder if it is just a publicity stunt or what...