A character in a recent episode of Boston Legal said: “When the weapons of mass destruction thing turned out not to be true, I expected the American people to rise up. They didn’t. Then, when the Abu Ghraib torture thing surfaced ...I was sure then the American people would be heard from. We stood mute. Then came the news that we jailed thousands of so-called terrorist suspects, locked them up without the right to a trial...Certainly, we would never stand for that. We did. And now, it’s been discovered the executive branch has been conducting massive, illegal, domestic surveillance on its own citizens...And I at least consoled myself that finally, finally, the American people will have had enough. Evidentially, we haven’t. In fact, if the people of this country have spoken, the message is we’re okay with it all...There are no demonstrations on college campuses...The Secret Service can now declare free speech zones to contain, control and, in effect, criminalise protest...If you’re wearing or carrying something in protest, you can be removed. This! In the United States of America.”

The character is fictional but the words, unfortunately, are not. So what issue would bring hundreds on to the streets? A proposed bill to criminalise illegal immigration. For the past several days, anger at the proposed bill to restrict illegal immigration has been overwhelming with huge demonstrations across several cities including LA, Denver, Dallas, Houston, NY, Washington and Chicago. Just so we understand the priorities: 500,000 turned out in LA and Dallas to protest proposed attempts to deal with illegal immigration. Larger by an order of five than the biggest demos against anything Bush has done in his five years.

... contd.