The film highlighted facets of the immigration debate that don't usually gain much notice; it humanizes the costs of the migration phenomenon, both to the many immigrants that have died while crossing the desert and to the ranchers and other residents along their paths.
It can be easy, sometimes, to forget that there is a real cost to people on this side of the border as a result of the immigration wave; not all of the opponents are stone bigots.
Even Chris Simcox, founder of the Minutemen doesn't come across as a stone bigot.
Instead, he seems like a manipulative opportunist. Not really an improvement, that. :)
However, if you have an opportunity to watch the film, pay close attention to the words of Tom Tancredo and Terry Anderson.
They *are* stone bigots.
...Whether or not you like the film, at least it was even-handed in humanizing the effects of immigration.
In comparison, the 'reform' plan that was revealed on the same day that Crossing Arizona was screened in Tempe just corporatizes it. As near as I can tell, the only folks who like the plan belong to the Chamber of Commerce.
About the only thing going in the plan's favor is that it's reviled equally by both sides of the question.
...On the House floor today, Congress passed HR2264, a bill modifying the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to enable the US to sue countries that help OPEC set crude oil prices.
What are they smoking in D.C. these days? Why would any foreign country care about an American anti-trust law?
...The business prospects of Parisian 'escorts' are improving...
From ScientificAmerican.com -
Viagra May Give a Boost to the Jet-Lagged
{snip}
The little blue pill, approved in the early 1990s to treat erectile dysfunction, may someday be a boon to those who suffer from the dulling effects of jet lag, according to a new study.{snip}
Their results, published in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA: Hamsters given sildenafil (in concentrations of 3.5 parts per million in solution) adjusted to a six-hour change in their light-dark cycle (the equivalent of the time-change experienced by passengers traveling between New York City and Paris) in eight days; it took hamsters injected with saline solution 12 days to recover,
{snip}
But there is a hitch: sildenafil only helped hamsters adjust to phase advances of the light-dark cycle time changes—those that would be brought on by eastbound flights across time zones.
I can imagine the conversations with the expense account folks at various corporations now...
"About your trip expenses, Mr. Smith. Could you explain this $500 dollar massage at your hotel just after you arrived? We need to clarify it for our monthly report."
"Certainly Ms. Jones. It was a medically necessary part of my anti-jet lag regimen. The medication that I use has as one of its potential side effects an onset of tension.
A very rigid tension. The massage relieved that tension. That's all."
"Ahhh. I understand completely. Mr. Smith, we'll need a copy of the prescription for our records."
"Well, ummm, it's at home Ms. Jones. I could bring it in tomorrow if you like."
"Actually, Mr. Smith, we need it right away to finish closing out our report. Perhaps I could call your wife, explain the situation and have her bring it by the office...?"
"That's OK, Ms. Jones. Give me the receipt. I don't want to put you thru any trouble."
Later!
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