Daily Archives: May 26, 2007

Open thread

May 26, 20071:04 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (62)

Angry amnesty rhetoric in the minority

May 26, 20071:02 a.m.

No doubt some Americans will be upset by the Senate voting overwhelmingly Thursday to allow illegal immigrants to stay in the United States. But they are in the minority — albeit a vocal one. According to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, a large majority of Americans support allowing illegal immigrants to gain legal status (62 percent) and to get renewable guest-worker visas if they pay fines and pass background checks (67 percent) — two key provisions of the immigration reform bill before Congress. Most Americans understand that rounding up and shipping out millions of illegal immigrants wouldn’t be practical or good for our economy.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Immigration | Comments (44)

Vets facing employment stresses

May 26, 20071:01 a.m.

New veterans between the ages of 20 and 24 have an unemployment rate of 10.4 percent in 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many of the veterans have little or no professional work experience outside of the military.
Though there are a wide array of programs and job fairs geared toward finding these men and women employment, the jobs they provide are mostly low-paying, often forcing the vets to take pay cuts.
In an article on Time.com, veteran David Hughes said, “The stress factor here is real different. There, I was worried about the dying, but that was it. They give you a plan and you do it. Here at home I have so many more things to worry about.”
Posted by Andie Clum

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Iraq | Comments (87)

Bush sets bad example on seat belts

May 26, 20071:00 a.m.

President Bush failure to buckle up while driving a pickup on his Texas ranch last weekend made a nice talking point for those covering law enforcement’s pre-Memorial Day seat belt campaign, known as “Click It or Ticket.” And the Texas Department of Public Safety’s focus this year happens to be on pickups, which are twice as likely as passenger cars to roll in fatal crashes. Bush’s bad example aside, assured White House spokesman Tony Snow on Tuesday, “We encourage everybody to wear their seat belts.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under President Bush | Comments (59)