Whatever you say as long as the senate gets another shot at a cloture vote if the bills is changed in conference.

Oh…off the topic I know, but worth one I think.

Thompson is a total flip-flopper phony on abortion rights…just like Romney. Both give liberals like me a little hope that, if elected, they will desert the right on this issue and stay the course.

Check out this youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO_HA_0cdM0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog%2Ewashingtonpost%2Ecom%2Fthefix%2F%3Fhpid%3Dtopnews

and the story accompanying it by Chris on the Daily Fix

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/

It does appear that John McCain is the only one in the race that is truly pro-life on the issue of abortion (despite his stem-cell support).

Don’t you remember School House Rock???

Boy: Woof! You sure gotta climb a lot of steps to get to this Capitol Building here in Washington. But I wonder who that sad little scrap of paper is?

I’m just a bill.
Yes, I’m only a bill.
And I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it’s a long, long journey
To the capital city.
It’s a long, long wait
While I’m sitting in committee,
But I know I’ll be a law someday
At least I hope and pray that I will,
But today I am still just a bill.

Boy: Gee, Bill, you certainly have a lot of patience and courage.

Bill: Well I got this far. When I started, I wasn’t even a bill, I was just an idea. Some folks back home decided they wanted a law passed, so they called their local Congressman and he said, “You’re right, there oughta be a law.” Then he sat down and wrote me out and introduced me to Congress. And I became a bill, and I’ll remain a bill until they decide to make me a law.

I’m just a bill
Yes I’m only a bill,
And I got as far as Capitol Hill.
Well, now I’m stuck in committee
And I’ll sit here and wait
While a few key Congressmen discuss and debate
Whether they should let me be a law.
How I hope and pray that they will,
But today I am still just a bill.

Boy: Listen to those congressmen arguing! Is all that discussion and debate about you?

Bill: Yeah, I’m one of the lucky ones. Most bills never even get this far. I hope they decide to report on me favourably, otherwise I may die.

Boy: Die?

Bill: Yeah, die in committee. Oooh, but it looks like I’m gonna live! Now I go to the House of Representatives, and they vote on me.

Boy: If they vote yes, what happens?

Bill: Then I go to the Senate and the whole thing starts all over again.

Boy: Oh no!

Bill: Oh yes!

I’m just a bill
Yes, I’m only a bill
And if they vote for me on Capitol Hill
Well, then I’m off to the White House
Where I’ll wait in a line
With a lot of other bills
For the president to sign
And if he signs me, then I’ll be a law.
How I hope and pray that he will,
But today I am still just a bill.

Boy: You mean even if the whole Congress says you should be a law, the president can still say no?

Bill: Yes, that’s called a veto. If the President vetoes me, I have to go back to Congress and they vote on me again, and by that time you’re so old…

Boy: By that time it’s very unlikely that you’ll become a law. It’s not easy to become a law, is it?

Bill: No!

But how I hope and I pray that I will,
But today I am still just a bill.

Congressman: He signed you, Bill! Now you’re a law!

Bill: Oh yes!!!

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and others have made it clear that any provisions in the final bill with which they disagree will simply be stripped out during conference committee negotiations anyhow; in other words, just as this bill began in closed-door meetings, it will end in closed-door meetings.

GRAHAM-KYL-MARTINEZ-MCCAIN ENFORCEMENT AMENDMENT TO THE IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL, S. 1639

** HIGHLIGHTS **

Completion of Background Checks Guaranteed: Requires the completion of appropriate
background checks before probationary Z status is conferred on any alien. The underlying bill
would otherwise confer probationary status within 24 hours, regardless of whether a background check has been completed.

Hiring the Necessary Personnel to Enforce the Law at the Border and in the Interior:

Requires the hiring and deployment of no less than 10,000 additional auditors, specialists, agents, officers, investigators, and other personnel to investigate fraud, remove illegal aliens, and to enforce law at the workplace.

Barring Those Who Pose Health and Criminal Risks from Entry: Bars people who pose a health or safety risk to Americans, or who have a criminal history, from being admitted to the United States as temporary workers. The underlying bill proposed to except temporary workers from the health requirements of current law and to admit criminal aliens.

Barring Alien Gang Members: Bars violent alien gang members from entry into the United States, and requires the deportation of those who are already here. Current law only bars gang members who have committed a crime or have an immigration status violation on their records.

Barring Child Sexual Offenders: Clarifies that the bill’s change in the aggravated felony
definition of sexual abuse of a minor applies to convictions before, on, or after the date of
enactment. Makes it easier to prosecute such cases in deportation proceedings.

Posting Bond to Discourage Visa Overstayers: Raises the bond for each visiting family member from $1,000 to $2,500 to help ensure that they depart the United States when their visas expire.

Tracking Visa Overstayers: Requires an entry-exit system for all temporary workers and visiting family members. The names of aliens who fail to depart shall be placed in a database of
overstayers accessible by federal, state, and local law enforcement.

Enforcing the Law Against Visa Overstayers: Requires the Department of Homeland Security
to promptly identify, investigate, detain, and initiate removal proceedings against every alien
admitted under the temporary worker program, or every family member visiting a temporary
worker, who overstays his or her visa or period of authorized admission.

Mandatory Detention Until Removal: Visa overstayers must be detained until deported.

Visa Overstayers Permanently Barred from Future Admission: Provides a permanent bar to
future immigration benefits for aliens who overstay the authorized admission period of their
visas.