Crash course

Twice this month I have seen tow trucks haul away the cars of Brazilian nationals who were involved in accidents.

Both times it seemed, regardless of which driver made the wrong move, the Brazilians had messed up by driving without valid licenses.

In one case it seemed like the driver had only a passport, in the other he had an international driver's license, which isn't valid here.

Based on these two encounters, it seems everyone would benefit from driver's licenses for all state residents regardless of whether drivers are citizens or not.

I would feel safer knowing more people on the road had passed the driver's test.

The state decides who gets a driver's license, not the federal government. This could be an instance where state's rights benefit civil rights by allowing undocumented immigrants to get licenses regardless.

However, this plan was vetted, and then dropped by New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer, as the New York Times reported, because many found acknowledging illegal immigrants on the roadways more troublesome than just allowing what's going on now to continue.

Herbert: No Witch Hunts

New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, had a great column in today's paper, where he argues against vigilantes turning in suspected illegal or undocumented immigrants.

Herbert is right that it would turn into a free-for-all, where people are targeted because of personal grudges, or because of their perceived ethnicity.

The drumbeat for vigilante justice has already begun on AM radio.

Herbert quoted right wing jock Michael Savage, inciting bigotry on his radio show and throwing more wood on the fire.

Savage is the guy, who claimed in his lawsuit against Council on American-Islamic Relations that he has no animosity toward that particular religion.

What do you call this then?

Savage, as quoted by Herbert:

“When I see a woman walking around with a burqa, I see a Nazi. That’s what I see. How do you like that? A hateful Nazi who would like to cut your throat and kill your children.”

When a woman wears a burqa, said Mr. Savage, “She’s doing it to spit in your face. She’s saying, ‘You white moron, you, I’m going to kill you if I can.’”

And that is coming from a guy, who according to Herbert has the third-most-listened-to talk show in the country.

That's scary.