The perennial controversy over what to call McCain's amnesty is silly. Every program in the world that has allowed illegal immigrants to stay has been called an "amnesty." McCain himself called it "amnesty" as recently as May 2003, when he told the Tucson Citizen "I think we can set up a program where amnesty is extended to a certain number of people who are eligible … Amnesty has to be an important part ..." But once the focus-group results were in, "amnesty" became a four-letter word. ...[snip]

P.S.: The McCain, post-focus-group argument is that it can't be "amnesty" if it has some requirements--e.g., to pay a fine, learn English, etc. But it turns out that Ronald Reagan's 1986 "comprehensive" reform, which he and everyone else called an "amnesty," had requirements too, including payment of fees.

US Climate Policy After Bush

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, the three serious contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, are all pledged to cut US emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by the year 2050, and all three accept that this can only be achieved by legal caps on emissions. The leading Republican candidate, John McCain, makes the same promises, except that he is only aiming for 65 percent cuts by 2050. Now, you can argue that a presidential candidate who promises to deliver something in 2050 is not taking any risks, because the victor in this contest will be gone from the White House again by 2017 at the latest. Tell us what you're going to do by 2015, and we'll take you a lot more seriously. But it is still marks a real and hopeful change in the world if the next US president accepts the need for both specific targets and emission caps.

Emmy Award-winning speaker talks about importance of environmental ...

The path to sustainability comes one step at a time, said David Chameides, environmentalist, worm cultivator and personal garbage collector.

The Emmy Award Winner and now-public speaker told a packed crowd at Chico State University Thursday about things each person can do to make a small impact on global warming.

Contemplating the amount of energy used on earth is too big for any one person to dwell upon, he explained.

But creating easy-to-form habits now will make life easier on future generations.

Americans use 26 percent of the power in the world, he said, which is "unacceptable."

"This is not hard stuff. It just takes a different type of thinking," he said.

Some easy steps:

Use less electricity. Because electricity is ubiquitous, people do not think abut where it comes from and the resources used to create it.

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Ryan Reynolds got suited up in his helmet and leather gloves to go for a ride around LA on his motorcycle yesterday. Scarlett wasn't in the mood to go cruising with her man, but rest assured that this hot new couple of 2007 is still going strong. They rang in '08 together at a party Scarlett hosted in LA, and while they weren't attached at the hip all night (or dressed in super cute themed outfits), they still managed to sneak in a NYE makeout session. We kind of love that these two have a balance between spending their time together and doing their own thing, and hopefully these pictures are a sign of more Ryan Reynolds to come in 2008.

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Callers give O'Malley an earful

There's no politician in the state as deft in handling the media as Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. Yesterday, O'Malley settled into his new role as rookie radio talk show host.

He got a polite earful.

On one line, Robert from Canton was complaining about a water leak. On another, Dorie from Northeast Baltimore described troubles with late property tax bills, while Fran from Phoenix vented because she couldn't get drug-dealing tenants evicted at a property she owns in the city.