Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Some more words to ponder.

Some more words to ponder.

The New Colossus,
by Emma Lazarus (1849-1887)

Written in 1883. In 1903, engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the Statue of Liberty.

"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Sunday, May 28, 2006

A Voice of Reason

Tamar Jacoby is a major voice of reason within the immigration debate. Required reading for anyone interested in a rational take on the subject. As she says in one of her articles:

"I believe that immigration is driven by market forces, and that by and large it is good for the U.S. Our challenge today is to find a way to control it - not pretend that it doesn’t exist or that we can simply wish it away."

Jacoby stands against those descendants of the 1850's American Party (known as the "Know-Nothings") who

"hold that we can seal our borders, do without immigrants, and easily drive the 11 million illegal immigrants already here to leave the country by enforcing existing laws."

As Jacoby says later on in her article, those folks who make this argument have "their heads in the sand."

Here's the link:

  • Debating Immigration
    An analyst defends herself, and her critics rejoin


  • And here's a link to some more from the erudite and thought provoking Ms. Jacoby:

  • Tamar Jacoby
  • Craig "Ironhead" Heyward dies

    One of my favorite football players, both for his style of play and his apt nickname died after a courageous fight against a brain tumor. Craig "Ironhead" Heyward passed away at age 39. I remember him as an Atlanta Falcon in 1995 when he rushed for over a 1,000 yards. He was a tough player who was fun to watch. Teammates also spoke of his sense of humor. Len Pasquarelli of ESPN wrote a wonderful article about his memories of the former collegiate (at Pitt) and NFL (several teams) standout.
    Here is the link, it's worth a read even if you're not into football.

  • Ironhead was a nickname, Craig was the man
  • Hicham El Guerrouj retires

    One of the greatest middle distance runners in history has retired. Hicham El Guerrouj of Morrocco, world record holder in the 1500 meters, the mile, and the 2000 meters has announced that he is retiring from serious track competition at the ripe old age of 31. He has said that he will continue to run for fun, and plans to even run some marathons for pleasure(!) in the future. While I'm not sure that he was the greatest ever (Paavo Nurmi, Said Aouita, Sebastian Coe, and Nouredine Morcelli, not to mention Jim Ryun and Kip Keino all vie for that title) El G was certainly one of the greatest ever. His double gold medal performance at the 2004 Olympics was a historic performance, and everthing I ever saw or read about him painted him as a gracious competitor. I remember when he won the Prefontaine Mile a few years ago and Alan Webb placed behind him in an American High School record, El G pulled the young American with him on a victory lap. Truly a class act. El G will be missed as a racer, but I think we will still see him as a mentor and spokesman.
    Congratulations El G, you always gave your best.