The migration is done, but there are a few e-mails out there in no-man’s land and the site is responding very slowly. That will probably continue for a little while unless by some miracle I can understand to what a Firefox plug-in suggests that I do to speed things up. Otherwise, web-guy help will be necessary.

I believe all comments left behind have been copied over. If I’m wrong, let me know.

It’s a good thing today’s posts were written on Sunday. To those who have endured the waits, thanks for your patience.

As this was written, the Senate was expected to have its floor vote on cloture today.

Even apart from the economic arguments (just two examples here and here), the national security considerations overwhelmingly argue against passing the monstrosity the Senate is considering. No wonder propoents have to pretend that they have “support” that turns out to be non-existent.

According to The Heritage Foundation’s Kris Kobach, terrorists will have three workable options for carrying on in the US under the Senate’s immigration bill:

Terrorist Option #1: Continue to Operate as an Illegal Alien. The terrorist can simply continue engaging in terrorist planning while remaining unlawfully present in the United States.

This option is particularly easy if the terrorist lives in a sanctuary city, in which the police refuse to inform the federal government when they come into contact with illegal aliens. Most major U.S. cities are now sanctuary cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, and, most recently, Detroit. Detroit’s huge population of Middle Eastern immigrants provides perfect cover for newly arrived terrorists from the Middle East.

Terrorists know all about sanctuary cities and the concealment that such cities provide. The Fort Dix terrorists are a case in point…..

Terrorist Option #2: Obtain the Amnesty Using One’s Real Name. Seeking amnesty under one’s real name is a promising option for any terrorist who has operated completely underground during his terrorist career. This is also a likely choice for a terrorist who has been recruited into Islamic jihad only recently. Such an individual will not have a record of past terrorist activity maintained by any government.

Unfortunately, it is also a realistic option for a terrorist who is actually known by foreign governments to be involved in a terrorist organization. Under the Senate immigration bill, there is virtually no chance that the federal government will discover his terrorist connections in time…..

Terrorist Option #3: Invent a Clean Identity With the Help of the U.S. Government. The third option is perhaps the most troubling. The Senate bill fails to provide any safeguards against terrorists who invent entirely “clean” identities. Because the bill contains no requirement that the alien produce a secure foreign passport proving his identity, terrorists will have little trouble gaming the system.

A terrorist can walk into a USCIS office and offer a completely fictitious name–one that does not have any negative information associated with it. In other words, a terrorist can declare that his name is “Rumpelstiltskin,” or perhaps “Mohammed X,” and most likely, walk out the next day with a probationary Z visa, complete with a government-issued ID card backing up his false identity.

The terrorist need only provide two easily forged pieces of paper indicating that a person of that name was in the country before January 1, 2007. A pay stub, a bank receipt, or a remittance receipt would suffice, as does a declaration from one of the terrorist’s friends that he was in the country before January 1, 2007.

With this newly minted identity backed up by an ID card issued by the federal government, the alien terrorist will be armed with the perfect “breeder document,” allowing him to obtain driver’s licenses and just about any other form of identification that he desires. This is essentially what the 19 9/11 hijackers did: They used their passports and visas as breeder documents to obtain 63 driver’s licenses.

Totally, unacceptable. A vote for cloture is a vote for enshrining defenselessness and guaranteeing economic mediocrity, or worse. No, way.

At a residency-related post last week that was primarily about Democrat John Boccieri’s carpetbagging candidacy for the 16th District congressional seat, I called attention to the potential out-of-district residency situation of Republican Paul Phillips (see “Potential Carpetbagging Update” at the Boccieri post). Mr. Phillips has “committed” to a run for the 18th District congressional seat currently occupied by Zack Space.

This admittedly incomplete page at another site indicates that he lives in “Chillicothe, Ohio, United States,” which is inside the 18th District.

The following pics taken at the Greene County Auditor’s web site would appear to open up at least the possibility that Phillips has long-term intentions that don’t involve living in Chillicothe (to replicate, go here, type in “Phillips,” and scroll; the pics below are from different items found once there; HT to an anonymous e-mailer):

I wouldn’t read too much into the differential between the two sales listed above. Though I could be wrong, my guess is that the large amount was for the sale of a much larger area, and that Phillips’s lot is a small portion of the area under development.

The more important questions are:

• Whether and when Paul Phillips intends to move into the 18th District. Given that he grew up in the area, cutting him residency slack is acceptable if he gets back there — SOON.
• Whether he intends to stay in the 18th District if he wins election to represent it in Congress. If he’s building a new house in Beavercreek Township and chooses to live there after the election, he will be living about an hour’s drive from the closest point in the district, and easily 3 hours, if not 4, from its furthest point –

Either possibility — that he either won’t move into the district, or plans to live elsewhere once elected — should be considered unacceptable to 18th District voters. And I don’t care if Paul Phillips is the Second Coming of Ronald Reagan.

From Albany, NY:

Updated: 6/16/2007 7:35 AM

He’s singing, dancing, laughing. To look at 5-year-old Cameron Stackman, you’d never guess doctors predicted he wouldn’t live long enough to make it to school, and now he’s celebrating a milestone — graduating from Forest Park Elementary School’s Kindergarten program, which Cameron said makes him happy.

Cameron was born November 1, 2001, with a rare birth defect that caused his intestines to form outside of his body. In February 2003, he underwent a multi-organ transplant, with a very low survival rate that he’s definitely overcome.

“I hoped I would see this day. I’m very, very thankful for the transplant and the family that donated, and I’m very lucky, we’re very lucky,” said Mom Amy Francisconi.

Go here for the rest of the story (including video).