When Splinters Are Good

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com Already we have seen the administration offer $4.4 billion to do what it should have done after 9/11 -- tighten border security. The new slate of amendments also proposes to fix holes in the visa system known since Mohammed Atta exploited them to remain inside the US. These are good ideas, but ones that the administration and Congress should have addressed in the wake of the attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. The debate has begun to splinter the core coalition that brought the bill to the floor. Jon Kyl took Mel Martinez to task for announcing his intent to amend the bill in a fashion that would weaken the points-based system for immigration the bill imposes. Kyl called Martinez' amendment a "non-starter", indicating that Kyl could move away from the bill just as it comes back to the Senate floor.