…and the day has just begun!

From a reader who contacted the New York Times 申诉专员 regarding Paul Krugman’s whoppers about the Justice Department’s prosecution of terrorists:

They blew me off. Said that was just his opinion, I need to show facts that prove him wrong, bunch of BS like that. Told me the old fall back, “If

you don’t like it, don’t read it.”

And from two readers responding to my column today:

What you said about Ramzi Yousef, his invoking of ‘political asylum,’ struck me as similar to the use of ‘parley’ in 加勒比海盗. ‘Parley’ was the magic word used by the main characters when they were caught to give them time to escape, just like terrorists use the magic words ‘political asylum’ when they get caught in order to give them time to escape. In the end two pirates curse the person who thought up the idea of parley. How long will it be before we start wishing that we never started giving asylum?

***

To the mayor of 刘易斯顿，缅因州:

尊敬的市长先生，

In light of the War on Terror, and the recent arrest of immigrant Nuradin M. Abdi in Ohio, I am struck with anxiety over the prominent Somali population that has been allowed to swell in Lewiston. I guess I would like some reassurance from you that you do thorough background checks on these people, and that you keep tabs on them after they move here.

Are they being required to take necessary steps to become official citizens,

or are they allowed to remain “undocumented” and living off the taxpayers?

If they have any history of crime, are they allowed in? Has there been a shut-off of new Somali immigrants to Maine, or is the welcome mat still on the curb? Are the Lewiston police allowed to treat these people with the same conviction as they would any other citizen?

I certainly hope, for the sake (and safety) of the people in Lewiston, Maine, and the United States, that you are making security a priority over political correctness. Are you?