Go Joe! and Immigration Legislation in the U.S. Senate

I don't know how many of you saw the CNN U-Tube debate the other week, but I was really happy to see one of my old favorites, Sen. Joe Biden of Deleware, mixing it up with the best of 'em. I am a big fan of Biden and have been for years, though he does occasionally put his foot in his mouth (describing Obama as "clean", for example). He puts his foot in his mouth precisely for the reason that most career politicians don't -- he speaks his mind. He is not nearly as guarded as you'd expect someone who has been in the Senate since 1972 to be. Yes, he was there for Watergate. The man has seen it all--and come out with a sense of humor and a profound understanding of foreign policy, finance--you name it. And he has friends on both sides of the aisle.

The problem with the U-Tube debate, though it was far better than any format I have seen in a long while, was that there were soooo many candidates on stage. I mean, I am thinking of coming out with trading cards--a Democratic and a Republican set--just to keep track of everyone. The plus side of the U-Tube debate was that all of the real contenders were pretty darn good. Besides Biden, I was really impressed with Hillary Clinton, who it seems, is actually winning over a good number of the Hillary-Haters. There are still a lot out there, but I am really pleasantly surprised. And Obama isn't bad. Not too much gravitas, but I could definitely live with him in the Oval Office. Refreshing, isn't it to actually have favorable opinions of multiple candidates. I think Edwards in right on with his war on poverty, too. He got my vote in the 2004 primary even though he was pretty much washed up by the time we got to vote in Texas--and he made Kerry look better, though not good enough, it seems.

But I liked Biden before I'd even heard of any of these other players. I liked Biden when I was in high school in the late 80s. I liked Biden before the Hillary-Haters hated Hillary (say that five times fast). I don't know if he can do it. He is betting on retail politics in the initial primary states, and I hope he gives everyone a run for his or her money. Even if he doesn't make it all the way to the nomination and the presidency, having someone as serious and as frank as he is on the stage at these debates is going to elevate the conversation of all the candidates. He's right about Darfur. He's right about Iraq--his federalist plan for the three regions is right on--and he's been saying it forever. He's right about the Dream Act of 2007 that I am going to address in a bit.

Go Joe!

As I said before, the problem with the U-Tube debate is that we don't hear enough from any one candidate. If you want to hear more from Biden, he gave a great interview yesterday on the Diane Rehm Show, which is produced by wamu, the Washington, DC NPR station out of American University. If you go to their website, http://www.wamu.org/ or to the blog on Biden's official site, http://www.joebiden.com/, you can find the podcast and listen to Biden for an hour. He discusses his past, his stand on issues, takes callers' questions and basically tells it like he sees it. I recommend it.

Meanwhile, there is legislation before the U.S. Senate called The Dream Act of 2007, it's bill number is S.774 and it was introduced by Senator Durbin of Illinois, but is co-sponsored by a number of senators, including Joe Biden. It actually has bi-partisan support. Wow! Basically, it gives illegal immigrants, who were brought here as minors (under 16), who've been here for five or more years and who completed high school and two years of college without getting into trouble with the law a chance at a pathway to legal residency and eventually citizenship. If you want to check out the details, I found the bill at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c110:2:./temp/~c110vkLRMA:e1418.
Note, if you go to http://www.thomas.loc.gov/ you can search all the legislation before Congress. Cool tool.

For those of you who have followed my blogs, I am very adamant that illegal minors who are doing the right thing and getting their education, should not be punished for the decisions of their parents. These kids often don't have the ties to be successful in their home countries. They've been educated here. I have an inquiry into Sen. Durbin's office to see whether or not kids currently in high school and here for more than five years can be considered for the pathway if they continue on and graduate and move to higher education. I'll keep you updated. I have some really highly motivated, smart, hard-working kids in my classes now that deserve a break. They keep trying to do the right thing, hoping that it will pay off somehow. But regardless, this will help some of my former students and I am grateful.

Okay, everyone. Get motivated. Get informed. Get going. And Go Joe!