Passings

Italian screenwriter Furio Scarpelli passed away on April 28, 2010 in Rome. He was 90.
He wrote or co-wrote many classic Italian movies including two of my favorites, the Sergio Leone’s spaghetti-western classic “Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo” (“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”) and “Il Postino”.

It is illegal to be illegal! WTF..?

The Legal Arizona Workers Act, aka the “Employer Sanctions Law,” went into effect January 1, 2008. You can see it here.

“The Legal Arizona Workers Act, as amended, prohibits businesses from knowingly or intentionally hiring an “unauthorized alien” after December 31, 2007. Under the statute, an “unauthorized alien” is defined as “an alien who does not have the legal right or authorization under federal law to work in the United States.” The law also requires employers in Arizona to use the “E-Verify” system (a free Web-based service offered by the federal Department of Homeland Security) to verify the employment authorization of all new employees hired after December 31, 2007.”

WTF? Someone has to employ the undocumented workers in Arizona or they wouldn’t be there, so instead of simply enforcing the existing law Arizona has now elected to enact new statues making being illegal illegal. Oh yes, enforcing the existing law would mean alienating their Republican electoral base (the small, blue-collar, business owners likely to employ undocumented workers seem to be mostly Republican…)

Passings

Alejandro Robaina, famous Cuban tobacco farmer, known as the "godfather of Cuban tobacco" passed away today at his home in the Vuelta Abajo region. He was 91 and apparently died of cancer.