I drove from Seattle to Portland yesterday down Interstate 5. I think it's cute that Washington has signs on the freeway saying "Stay Right Except to Pass". It's cute because, apparently, Washington drivers are completely unable to read them.

I've never driven in a state where the simple technique of interstate driving is so utterly and completely ignored. If you drive in Oregon outside of the "urban" areas (Portland, Salem, Eugene), you'll find traffic in the right lane, with folks pulling in to the left lane to pass, and then returning to the right, just as God intended. Not so in Washington. Those who wanted to drive just a bit faster than traffic had to weave dangerously back and forth between the lanes, while Mr. and Mrs. Oblivious sail along for miles in the left lane.

Get a clue. Outside of urban areas, you should never be in the left-most lane of an interstate unless you are in the process of passing someone. Notice that this means you must be going FASTER than the car you are trying to pass, another tidbit that escaped many of the drivers I saw yesterday.

I don't have the ultimate answers to the immigration issue that is now dividing the nation, but I am disturbed by the tenor of many of the arguments in this debate.

Many people argue that all "illegal immigrants" should be arrested or deported, simply because they are in the country in violation of our law. This somewhat self-righteous attitude presupposes that all laws are inherently good and reasonable.

Consider, for a moment, the case of Rosa Parks. Parks was arrested because of her color, for choosing the wrong seat on a public bus. This arrest was in accordance with the laws of the time. And yet, many people at the time, and certainly most people today, would agree that the fault in that dispute was with the law, and not with Mrs. Parks. I wonder if we aren't in the same situation now.

If an immigrant arrives in this country (through whatever path), settles down, finds a job, earns a living wage, pays taxes, puts his children into school, and stays out of trouble, as most do, they are doing one heck of a lot better than a substantial fraction of the native population of this country. Why shouldn't we rush to welcome such a family into the fabric of our society?

In the end, maybe a merit system is one way to solve the problem. Let all immigrants in on a conditional basis. Six months or a year later, if they can demonstrate that they are productively contributing to society, rather than acting as a drain upon it, they may apply for citizenship. If not, deportation awaits.

(Submitted to The Oregonian, May 9)

The Bush administration has shut down all American foreign aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, and is pressuring our European allies to do the same. Now, I understand the desire not to fund terrorism, and the administration certainly had the right to set our policy, but I think this decision is unwise.

Much of our foreign aid goes to corrupt governments, where the majority of the money ends up in the pockets of despots and tyrants, rather than in the hands of the people. In the case of the Palestinian Authority, this does not seem to be the case. There have been no stories of rampant corruption in their government. Further, the BBC reported that fully a third of the Palestinians rely on civil payments for their sustenance. Those people are passing desparate on their way to starvation.

What that tells me is that withholding this money is going to lead directly to Palestinian suffering, which will in turn lead to Palestinian resentment and hatred towards America. The last thing we need right now is more hatred towards America.

Further, I'm not sure what the Bush administration hopes to accomplish with this. Does he expect Hamas to say "sorry, we were just kidding, we'll back out of the government?" It's not like the Palestinian people have the authority to order new elections. Further, it's not clear that a new election would have a different result.

Indeed, one quite likely outcome is that the Palestinian Authority gets weakened to the point where it falls into chaos, leaving an opening for Israel to step in and take over. This will not be a good thing for the world.

I believe we will be sorry in the long run. America should reinstate its foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority.