HR 4437, the Sensenbrenner bill, makes it a felony to be in the United States without proper documents and makes it a crime for anyone to aid undocumented immigrants.

Question: if I encounter an illegal immigrant in the desert in need of water or food or medical assistance, and I help that person, am I guilty of aiding and abetting a felon? Should I do jail time? Or should they just die?
(students pictured are actual protestors from my adopted hometown).

For someone who gets paid to talk for living, I'm not sure I have the right words, but I thought I should offer a few.

I met Jim Crump at WTEN (Ch. 10) in Albany, NY, after my "first" years at 'PTZ . I worked Albany from roughly 1994 to 1997. We both worked as tape and camera ops, as well as the occasional field shoots. We both worked part time, and we were both looking for something more.

After taking a week or so off for a vacation, a FT commercial producer position became available. Jim made a point of contacting me and letting me know -- an opportunity that otherwise would have completely passed me by, because no one else there, assuredly, would have bothered to let me know (I didn't get the job, regardless).

As time went by, I got a call from Jim Gratton at 5, and he offered the FOX 44 commercial job to me (there's was an LMA, as you know).

Remembering what Jim Crump had done stayed with me, so when a production position opened up at 'PTZ a year or so later, I let him know about it. He eventually interviewed and got the job.

I think we all knew, eventually, of some of the troubles and substance abuse he struggled with; it was hard for me to acknowledge, as many of those personal aspects were news to me, but I eventually found myself face-to-face with some of those issues.

For what it is worth, there was a good man beneath the troubles and the struggle. I sincerely hope that he has found peace.

The Pit Bulls of Decency Strike Again.

(CBS) The government proposed a record fine of $3.6 million against dozens of CBS stations and affiliates Wednesday in a crackdown on what regulators called indecent television programming.

The Federal Communications Commission said a network program, "Without a Trace," that aired in December 2004 was indecent. It cited the graphic depiction of "teenage boys and girls participating in a sexual orgy." The proposed fine was among decisions from the agency stemming from more than 300,000 complaints it received concerning nearly 50 TV shows broadcast between 2002 and 2005.

In addition to upholding its earlier decision to fine CBS $550,000 for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl, the FCC said in a statement released Wednesday on its Web site: "The Commission also finds episodes of "Without a Trace" and "The Surreal Life 2," which contained numerous graphic, sexual images, to be impermissible under the Commission’s indecency standard."

CBS had appealed the FCC's fine against 20 of its stations for Jackson's brief breast exposure during the Super Bowl halftime show two years ago. But the agency affirmed the decision.

You know, there's a strange little button that sometimes appears on the front of television receivers, or even somewhere amongst the dozens of little buttons usually found on their remote controls. Few people know its real name, but when pressed, it's unusually effective at reducing or even eliminating objectionable programming. It's called the CHANNEL button, and when engaged, within a fraction of a second the viewer can expect a different program to appear on the screen.

Should the CHANNEL button not remove objectionable content to the viewer's satisfaction, Plan 'B' can be deployed by pressing the POWER button, which also sometimes is found on televisions and remotes. Should Plan 'B' fail, there's always Plan 'C': Pull The Damn Plug Out Of The Socket.

Like Plan 'A' or Plan 'B', you can do this yourself without any special tools - or the Government's help.

I just heard through the Mighty Five Grapevine that former studio staffer Jim Crump has passed away. Hopefully we'll be able to bring you more details in the near future.

Well, it certainly has been a while, eh? I've been watching FarkleberriesUSA - but I just haven't had much to say. Well, I've broken my silence, by-Joe... but you have to visit me @ my home, Multifarious Musings to read what I have to say about Martin, Moussaoui, Mistakes & Morality Musings.

Hope to see you there, and - hey, Thanks Jim, for many amusing hours of reading - you're one funny dude!!!!

And... Congrats, Nate!! (will he never learn??? ;-> )

And Lenka... I really miss Pork Roll - that posting in Farkleberries is going to be the death of me yet... you see, we can get it up here in the 'burgh now, also!!! Clog those arteries, baby!!!!!

-Jon.

You know, there's nothing sexier than a woman who can kick some ass when she has to.

Not mine, of course.