It's Saddam Sad, Dammit! Hang On, Will Ya!

Now that the evil dictator and good friend of Donald Rumsfeld has met his end, it sounds like a good time view this crossword puzzle!
----

If you're hanging on (no pun intended), waiting to celebrate the end of Saddam's trial (and now death by hanging), what better way than to solve a CrossWord Puzzle by IMRAN.

Enjoy!

---

---

It's Saddam Sad, Dammit

by Imran Anwar

To view this puzzle, you need a Java-enabled browser and to be connected to the Internet to receive the Crossword.class Java applet code

See bottom of the page for non-Java version or print out to solve. Click here for solution.

---

ACROSS	DOWN
1 Riding horse	1 Chests
5 Nuclear near reach weapon	2 Chickens' cold
9 Pushed by a person	3 A way of diminishing
13 Requests	4 A way to wet
17 Gown	5 Sino-Soviet block, abbr.
18 Type genus of the Sulidae	6 Old friend, now foe
19 Turkish leader title	7 French city
20 Chinese dynasty	8 Raincoats
21 Beancounter insurgent?	9 Per __, each
22 Big man on campus	10 Capital of Guam
23 A way to beat	11 Abnormal breathing
25 Spotted	12 Tea spoonful, abbr.
27 __ Chapel	13 Mexican Indian
29 Edible lily bulbs	14 A way to perform a dance
30 Overshadows	15 Japanese musical instrument
32 Reptile genus	16 In a way, challenges
33 Nurse-patient relation	24 Islands
34 Cardiograph	26 Obstruct
36 Woman (French)	28 Baths
37 Helps little firms	31 Returned material authorization, abbr.
38 Dish baked in pastry-lined pan often with a pastry top	33 String
39 Sea food	34 Any place of bliss or delight
42 A platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it	35 Protecting
44 Elk or moose	37 Anesthetized
46 A way of producing	38 Erectile organs
48 Sea eagles	39 Puerto __
50 Have already done	40 Former
51 007's creator	41 Selfs
52 __ and Venzetti	43 Used to form a hard coating on a porous surface
53 Show to be false	45 Cost, insurance and freight, abbr.
55 North Atlantic islands	46 Faith
58 No No No	47 You keep me.....?
59 Cause cell destruction	49 Pen
61 Drive	51 European nation
62 In a way, exposed	54 Second sight
64 Type genus of the family Arcidae	56 Fatty-fleshed fish that migrates between salt and fresh water
67 Mollusk genus	57 Drain of resources
70 Afflicted	60 Thomas __, Secretary of State
74 Had in mind	63 A persistently annoying person
76 Gallivant	64 Current units
77 Cause bodily suffering to	65 Worthy of the name
79 Maxim	66 __ Grant, actor
80 Enthusiast	68 A way to colour
82 Wagered	69 Small island (British)
84 Smiling	71 Norse
85 Crafty	72 An independent ruler or chieftan
86 Cognizance	73 A way to contradict
87 Not lost but never found	75 Boy's Hometown
88 Blat	78 A citizen of Lebanon
90 Ironic	81 Ocean
91 Worn by women to support the breasts	82 Portuguese nurses
92 Satisfaction	83 Decaliter
93 Toast	87 In a way, catches shellfish
95 Brazilian palm	89 Calendar month
98 Northern dweller	91 Bleated
100 Choked	92 Alar
103 Symmetrical	93 Shrub
105 Brews	94 Canvas
107 You thought it's always white?	95 Fabrics
108 Malaria	96 An utterance made by exhaling audibly
109 A meeting arranged in advance	97 Swerve
110 Chadic	98 Rumanian city
111 Finely minced or ground liver or meat	99 God of love (Hindu)
112 An single-storied outbuilding for shelter or storage	101 Outside
113 Lyrics	102 Insect repellent
114 Away from wind	104 Yeddo
115 Unpleasant person	106 Car mechanics group

Non-Java version

© 2006 IMRAN

The Benevolence Of Borders

The other day I read an article by Dean Johnson at the well respected Legal News TV web site, which basically said that instead of trying to control illegal immigration, we should simply open our gates, doors, borders and everything else to anyone who wants to come here. Irwin R. Kramer, the well respected writer and editor of LNTV, was kind enough to tone down my quite angry response :-) and edit it into something better than I can ever write. :-)

The article/counterpoint is now available at The Benevolence Of Borders by Imran Anwar. Comments, as usual, are welcome whether you agree or disagree.

---
The Benevolence Of Borders

As a proud, and legal immigrant to the United States, I deeply appreciate the "land of the free" and the contributions that immigrants have made to shape the beautiful society in which we live. But those who would forgive "illegal" immigration, and open the door to everyone that knocks would unwittingly thwart these accomplishments and declare open season on our own liberties.

Apologists for illegal behavior, bleeding heart liberals, and unethical politicians only interested in keeping some voting groups happy are more than eager to sell out our interests. Kevin Johnson's proposal to open up the borders would do precisely the same thing.

In proposing a scheme of "comprehensive immigration reform" on LegalNews.TV, Dean Johnson admits that his open door policy is "radical." In my humble opinion, it is similarly nonsensical.

Ignoring the threat to our nation and economy posed by illegal immigrants, Dean Johnson's radical ideas are presented as an altruistic alternative to the selfish focus on American interests which underlie efforts to secure our borders and our society. Rather than wait for others to invade the United States, the good professor would cut out the middleman by having us do the dirty work to ourselves.

Masked as a humanitarian issue, Dean Johnson's sympathies appear to lie entirely outside of U.S. borders. Unfortunately, Dean Johnson's self-described "radical" ideas are gaining ground. Taking a seemingly higher moral ground to support the benevolent rescue of illegal immigrants, Dean Johnson and others would ignore the economic devastation wrought by opening our borders to those who would take American jobs for themselves. Instead, we are told that "these poor people come across the border to do work that no one else will do," seemingly providing a benefit to our national economy.

Untrue. Businesses and society will pay fair wages to Americans who will do any honorable job if they are paid fair wages. Opening our borders to those who work below market undercuts the market for American jobs, while increasing the burden on taxpayers who must pay even more to provide social services and other support for the invaders that Dean Johnson would invite. If you don’t believe me, read a little on what is happening in California and states in that area.

By letting Mexico and other nations export their societal problems to the United States, Dean Johnson would certainly improve conditions abroad. Rather than give our neighbors any incentive to improve their economies, get a grip on crime and make the rest of the world a better place to live, Dean Johnson seems to believe that the only way to save the world is to invite them in as roommates.

Even if Dean Johnson's plan were somehow adopted into law, his open border plan to save the world is nonetheless doomed by geography. Despite his proposal to abolish the per country caps that limit immigration annually from any one nation, his kind invitation to cross the border would only help those Mexican citizens able to do so. His hospitality will do little to save billions overseas who suffer under the rule of oppressive dictatorial regimes, or billions of African men, women and children suffering from malnutrition.

Even if Dean Johnson could ship a few billion of these underprivileged lives to American soil, the great American melting pot would boil over as an overcrowded nation of three billion residents would no longer resemble the land of opportunity. As we welcome billions of tired, poor and huddled masses yearning to breathe free, we will become a tired, poor and massively overpopulated nation with little room to breathe and few resources to meet their needs. Even the late John Lennon might have trouble imagining all the people suddenly thrust into a single society as Dean Johnson opens the floodgates to an illusory brand of freedom.

When stripped of its altruistic spin, his radical ideas show disrespect for the governing potential of other nations and a total disregard for the interests of our own. While we should do all we can to help our neighbors, building up our borders may be the only effective means of ensuring that they clean up their own backyards.

Admittedly, it takes longer to build up our borders than to tear them down. And it may take even longer before Mexican President Vicente Fox and other third world leaders take true responsibility for improving the lot of their own citizens.

Dean Johnson's radical reform may help to cleanse the liberal guilt of living in the world's greatest society. His benevolence would even be laudable if not for the fact that it would eliminate the greatness of our society by selling out American interests and focusing on others alone -- establishing America as the great savior and other nations as a lost cause.

My radical ideas lack the philanthropic spin of Dean Johnson's. But, in the long run, electric fences, armed border guards, and a commitment to our own national security may be the most benevolent moves of all.