IMMIGRATION & PUSHING POLITICAL STRING

Have you ever been part of the chorus saying, "There oughta be a law?" Then, hear the politicians agreeing with you and writing laws to address the problem causing the chorus? It is so common it is almost laughable. When a major crime occurs, the news media gets carried away with the opportunity to attract an audience by reporting, ad infinitum, the story about the crime and the people involved, whether it be Enron or Immigration. In the Duke Lacrosse case, they even pronounced guilt. Then, it is time for indignant, elected politicians, to stand up and declare their intentions to write a law covering that kind of crime. They go on all the news shows, dovetailing with the news reports on the criminal investigation and trials, and tell us they are going to make a new law solving all our problems. They are "on it!"

Now, you know there would be no festive atmosphere or public relations opportunities if all the politician would do is suggest the law enforcement people simply apply the existing laws to the problem. What is so important to the politician is the posturing on the issue between elections, not that any law they write and pass is ever enforced. All that is important at the time is the noise. Noise attracts attention. People hearing the politician siding with them on the issue will think he or she is worth electing to another term. That is the real purpose of the noise. The same crimes will be committed repeatedly regardless of whether enacting new laws. There is a distance factor between the actual place of the crime and the lawmaker. It is a space that allows access to the demons of bureaucratic incompetence to get in the way of sound action.

The simple explanation for all this phony-baloney put-on is precisely that distance. The greater is the distance, the greater is the noise and the least is the action. A criminal act, let us say Mr. Vick's dog fights, is carried out in a county. The county laws apply and county law enforcement should respond and arrest. The state should have little to do with it except if the crime extends beyond the county. The federals should have nothing to do with it, even if it crosses state lines. Inefficiency starts to compound at the county line, even greater crossing the state line. At the federal level, the crime now gets the attention of the string-pushing politicians and all manner of fictions are introduced for posturing, whether in favor of the criminal

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