Sorry, but I can’t say I agree. We’re at war. You don’t like the immigration bill? Fine. But don’t you dare sit on your hands in November and turn the House over to this Democratic party. This Democratic party cannot be trusted with national security and those of you that would sit out in protest damned well know it.

If your loyalty to your country is outweighed by loyalty to your ideology, then I think you have some soul-searching to do. But hey, that’s just my opinion.

The act of an authority (as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals.

Let’s say you are a criminal and you are convicted of a crime and go to prison. Prison is the punishment for the crime. The only way to get out of prison, assuming you are not there for life, is to a) complete your sentence or b) receieve a pardon.

If the crime is crossing the border illegally, can there be an amnesty without a punishment? Surely yes. However, what if there is a punishment and that punishment happens to be a $2000 fine, you have to learn english, and you have to wait up to 10 years before you can become a citizen? You have a crime and you have a punishment after which you can then become an American citizen. An amnesty, or pardon, in this situation would be to waive the punishments and allow immediate citizenship.

So what everyone is REALLY pissed about is that they don’t like the punishment being prescribed. Just something to ponder.

A-f’n-men.

You gotta love this guy.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the nation’s policy on preventing illegal immigration is too lax, telling a group of newspaper publishers the United States needs to “close the borders.”

Schwarzenegger said, “This is a very important debate. I think it’s necessary that we solve the problems rather than try to run the other way.”

“Close the borders in California and all across Mexico and in the United States,” Schwarzenegger said Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Newspaper Association of America. “Because I think it is just unfair to have all those people coming across, have the borders open the way it is, and have this kind of lax situation.”

The Republican governor also suggested exploring several policy proposals aimed at addressing the immigration crisis, including President Bush’s proposed guest worker program and legislation sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to pave the way for undocumented workers already living in the United States to attain legal status.

“This is a very important debate. I think it’s necessary that we solve the problems rather than try to run the other way. It’s a hot issue,” Schwarzenegger said.

And the typical California Democrat response?

In a statement, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, said Schwarzenegger’s comments reflected badly on the state’s “productive” relationship with Mexico.

“The Governor should ratchet down his rhetoric and retreat from this narrow-minded approach to immigration policy,” Nunez said. “Closing our borders to commerce and culture is an idea that comes from political extremists, not rational policy-makers.”

Productive relationship? Are you kidding me? I don’t call the Mexican government encouraging illegal aliens to come into this country productive, I consider it criminal.

It does appear though that Arnold has backtracked a bit on the use of the word “close.” I don’t have a link to a source, but a news spot on the radio this morning said a spokesman released a statement explaining that the Governor meant to say “secure” not “close.” I’d say closing it is the best way to secure it, but that’s just me.

Finally! A state with some good sense on illegal aliens and driver’s licenses. They have decided to replace them with driving privilege cards - that are only good for driving and cannot be used as legal identification to board airplanes or register to vote.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Gov. Jon Huntsman on Tuesday signed a bill replacing regular Utah driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants with driving privilege cards that can’t be used as official identification to board airplanes or register to vote.

The move comes a day after hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest the bill, arguing that the cards amount to second-class status for minorities.

The driving privilege card must be renewed annually. Undocumented immigrants must surrender their driver’s licenses on their birthdays or on July 1, whichever is sooner.

Huntsman spokeswoman Tammy Kikuchi said the governor has been “pretty strong, from the beginning, in support of this bill” and was undeterred by opposition in the minority community.

The bill’s Republican sponsor, Sen. Curtis Bramble, said the measure was a compromise, because it still allowed undocumented immigrants to drive.

“I don’t believe that it’s the role of the State of Utah to provide documentation or some type of ID so that someone who is illegal can travel with impunity,” Bramble said.

This is the first bit of common sense legislation on this issue - I hope it is not the last.