One solution to illegal alien problem

President George Bush and his supporters on the far right anguish needlessly about millions of undocumented workers entering the United States. Why? Because the “Pinar del Rio” solution is close at hand.

Briefly stated, this policy provides that hundreds of undocumented workers regularly swept up in raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement merely need to state that they are refugees from Cuba, regardless of their actual country of origin. More specifically, they should say they worked in the tobacco fields of Pinar del Rio, and that they got here via refugee boat lifts.

As Cuban refugees who have actually landed on U.S. soil, the undocumented workers will be entitled to stay. ICE officials who dispute their story will be in the difficult position of proving a negative — that the workers did not come from Cuba, but from some other country. But which one? Mexico? Guatemala? El Salvador? Honduras? Canada?

As long as the undocumented workers stick to their story, the worst that can happen is that they will be placed in detention centers. But as the ranks of detainees swell by the thousands every week, the detention centers will increasingly resemble concentration camps. Even Bush, with his limited knowledge of history, knows we don’t want to go down that road.

So relax. Undocumented workers are not “lawbreakers,” regardless of what the far right says. They’re here merely to earn money for their families. By the way, it might be a good idea for you to brush up on your Spanish.

Gary Jacobsen
Woodbridge

Public land to highest bidder

The push to close Martin Luther King Jr. Library and rebuild it on the site of the old convention center is another example of the District government’s short-sighted perspective. Faced with potential budget shortfalls due to its poor financial decisions, the City Council is now trying to sell every parcel of public land to the highest bidder.

But libraries and schools should be off limits in this state-sponsored land grab.

It is more fiscally prudent to renovate MLK at its current location and include a major bookstore and café on the first floor, while upgrading the top floors into a state-of-the-art research, reading and lending library. A partnership between the library and a bookstore/café chain is sure to generate significant revenue, as there is no such establishment in the quickly developing Gallery Place area.

Building a public technology and business college on the old convention center site can also profit the city by preparing District residents to compete in this region’s growing technological market place, and generate revenue through tuition to offset its maintenance.

The District must start funding public construction projects outright rather than borrowing by issuing bonds, which carry expensive fees and interest and threaten the city’s financial health. If the council wants to issue a bond for a project, the citizens should decide if it’s worth incurring debt by a public vote.

Miriam Moore
Vice chairperson, District of Columbia Independent Party

First lady’s right to privacy

The mainstream media recently had a collective hissy fit when it discovered that first lady Laura Bush had a cancerous growth removed from her shin. Reporters were incensed that they were not consulted, supposedly because their vast medical knowledge makes them universal authorities on cancer.

I cannot figure out what all the fuss is about. When a woman chooses to have an “unviable tissue mass” removed from her body, doesn’t she have a right to privacy — especially when, as is the case with cancer, it poses a risk to her life?

Tim Dudenhoefer
Silver Spring

Conclusion was outlandish

Re: “ ‘Sexiled’ kit should be exiled from campus,” From Readers, Dec. 20

I do not work for Unilever, although I do think that Axe is a good brand and have previously purchased it.

It boggles the mind how Becky Zonies arrived at her conclusion that Axe’s marketing strategy promotes sexual violence. She’s suggesting that by handing out bags containing a blanket, a spool of twine, some duct tape and an instruction pamphlet on how to build a temporary shelter like MacGyver, Axe is somehow promoting sexual assault.

That’s quite an accusation. I’m pretty sure that this idea was not floating in anyone’s head before she suggested this connection.

In 2003, the government urged everyone to hurricane-proof their buildings with duct tape. Maybe Axe is trying to expand into the adhesive business or heighten public awareness that there’s a ton of homeless people living in similar make-shift shelters. Perhaps they’re trying to challenge engineering students to come up with some kind of innovative design.

The possibilities are endless. As outlandish as these may sound, however, they pale in comparison to Zonies’ conclusion.

Hugh Jazzole
College Park