Morning Edition Plus 1/18/05

Listened to Morning Edition from 7:30 to 9 this morning, The Connection from 10-11.

Several interesting stories this morning on ME worth talking about today...

First, illegal immigration in Spain is on the rise. Who knew Spain had one of the top 10 economies in the world? The president of Spain is proposing an amnesty program for illegals, allowing them to apply for and receive citizenship. This proposal goes over well in some circles, but in others it is seen as a disaster. It seems that the government is all for it because illegal workers get paid off the books, and so taxes like social security are avoided, which is bad for government. On the other hand, some people working illegally want things to stay the way they are. In an all-cash deal, they get every penny they work for without having to pay income taxes, and since they generally perform menial or domestic jobs, every penny counts. It would cost them too much to become legal, and on top of that, their employers might look elsewhere for off-the-books workers, thereby leaving them without any job at all. NPR interviewed two illegal nannies who talked about the pros and cons. Their comments were primarily cons. I am sure we will hear more about this issue. I’ll be interested to find out if the government can sell the plan to immigrants and employers.

Then there was a great story about pensioners in Russia – they staged protests because Putin was trying to take away their free bus rides and some other free services that are vital to their survival. There have been a lot of cuts to state benefits for pensioners since the fall of communism, but things have gotten out of hand lately, and the old folks blame Putin. They demonstrated in the streets, and Putin backed down, reinstating free bus service, among other benefits. Interviews with pensioners registered their surprise at Putin’s quick cave-in, and the pride they felt in forcing his hand. Good work pensioners!

Condi Rice was a topic of discussion this morning. Her confirmation hearing is today, so there were a couple of short reports on Rice and the process. Everyone seems to think she will be confirmed, but not everyone is happy about it. She will be the first black woman Secretary of State, which will add to her considerable list of firsts.

I think we are just fascinated with this avalanche story. NPR did an interesting bit on ski resorts and what they do to keep people off of dangerous parts of the mountain. Also, the report tried to answer the question of why these skiers who got killed were off the marked trails in the first place. The wilderness areas are marked clearly with a skull and crossbones, but the skiers paid no attention to the signs. It was also apparent that others had skied in the area without any problems, which lulled these folks into a false sense of security. Recommendations: Look at avalanche forecasts in the area where you will be skiing before venturing off the resort trails. Do not rely on intuition or whatever to tell you if an area is safe. And, in general, stay within the bounds of the resort for maximum safety. Duh.

Then there was a great story about the death penalty. In Pennsylvania, juries are not told whether their life sentence is with or without parole, and the Supreme Court will hear a case shortly to determine if this information ought to be provided for a fair sentencing. The case involves a man sentenced to death because the jury could not be sure their life sentence would keep him in jail. The defendant’s lawyers feel that he would’ve been sentenced to life had the jury been fully informed about life sentences.

Lastly, there was a sad story about the Shanley trial/ Shanley was a Roman Catholic priest who molested many children over a lengthy career. It is unclear whether he will be convicted of any crime at all because three out of four of his accusers have been eliminated, so now it is a he said-he said situation. There may not be enough there to convict him. Two of the three dropped cases had to do with the accusers’ drug/alcohol abuse and criminal convictions. The other dropped out because of a mental breakdown under questioning. The person was homeless and disappeared after that. The last defendant was in the military and is married. He seems like a good bet, but since he is the only one left, he may back out, or the defense may find something in his background to discredit him. It would be horrible if this scumbag got away with his crimes.

The Connection was about adoption laws and birth parents’ privacy rights vs. the right of an adopted child to find out his/her history. The person representing the parents’ privacy side was really awful. He did not strike me as all that credible. His argument that adoptees’ rights were steamrolling that of parents was weak, and he came off sounding like a whiner. The advocates for adoptees were really articulate and countered each argument strongly with facts and figures to back up their claims. Callers mostly sided with adoptees, even birth mothers. Very interesting.

If I get time to listen to All Things Considered I will report on that later.