New York Times - Nov. 16, 2009

Just about all of the stories on the fornt page of today's New York Times are pretty negative and depressing, telling stories about the lack of money for immigrant workers in the United States, how it will be hard to get a fair trial for Major Nidal Malik Hasan: the man who shot 13 people at Fort Hood (this is America, you'd think everyone could find a fair trial SOMEWHERE), and how drug companies, despite recently being told they must accomodate harsh economic times, continue to increase their prices. I want to start with the immigrant workers in the U.S. story.

Yes, times are getting rough here financially for many of American families due to the crashing economy. However, our low economy is still much better than that of Mexico's, which is why so many people immigrate here from the south illegally. What really gets me is that, despite the lack of success many other immigrant workers are experiencing, they still continue to come here every day by the dozens. If their families in Mexico have to wire money to those failing to find some sort of work in America, maybe it isn't worth making the trip for. That seems to make the most sense to me.

For Major Hasan, the death penalty seems to be looming down on him as he awaits for a trial. Problem is, his lawyer can't find a court or hospital that will give him a fair chance. The best medical doctor to analyze him and declare him legally insane (so that he could plead insanity) is at Fort Hood, the same medical building where he shot and killed 13 people. The next best place for evaluation in the United States is in Washington. But that isn't an option either, as he served as a psychiatrist there for a number of years, and where people know his anti-American ways. Things just aren't looking good for the 13-time murderer Hasan.