THE NEW MARIE: LET 'EM EAT . . . NOTHIN!"

In LOST's little corner of Red State land, full of wannabe Kansans who wear their Christianity on their bumpers, the anti-immigrant frenzy is in full paroxysm. Earlier this week, the Escondido City Council jumped on board the election year bashwagon - this year's bashees being, of course, the little Brown people who heavily populate the center of town. Last week, our very own answer to Marie Antoinette, who goes by her married name Waldron, proposed a new ordinance which would fine landlords who rent property to "illegals." See, they're illegal, so they should be on the street. walking. South. Councilwoman Waldron has apparently never ventured beyond the narrow halls of her Grand Avenue small business (which she talks incessantly about every four years - whether running for council re-eleciton or her other heart's desire: a State wide office. If the Councilwoman had, she'd know that the canyons, hedges and grovelands are thick with these little Brown folks, many of whom just want to work and have a chance at a better life, and who already bear a heavy burden for it. But LOST digresses. This week, the Escondido Council voted unanimously for an ordinance punishing grocers and retailers for letting their grocery carts "Stray" from their lots. Once again, the unspoken target are the poor, largely Hispanic populations who frequently shop and take the carts back to their apartment buildings, and often leave them there. Irritating? Sure. Something of a nuisance, you bet. On a par with providing youth with good after school programs, or fixing streets, or primping up the parks and recreation facilities? ahhhh . . . no. But its an election year, and here in EsCalcutta we want our poor Brown ones where they belong - in the streets, out of the schools and ERs, not working, starving, literally starving to go home.

One can only wonder what's next. Maybe a Marie Waldron and Congressman Tough-as-nails-on-Illegals-please-pay-no-attention-to-those-new-offshore-oilrigs Bilbray hosted "Stray Cart Roping Demonstration and Redneck Cowboy Rodeo will hit town? Why the hell not? After all, they don't belong here, they eat up all our services and tax dollars, they're practically less than human . . . or so an alarmingly large and incessantly vocal plurality of people in this redneck of the woods would have us believe. These poor, sick, religobabbling phonies, carping on about their cruciform "War Memorial" on Mount Soledad, and ignoring the words and teachings of the Man who made the cross an icon for the last two millenia.

No, LOST ain't saying that the illegal immigrant thing isn't a problem or that its one that ought to be ignored. It is a complex problem, and simply throwing people out in the streets, and making it difficult for them to work or eat or be hygenic will have massive, negative consequences for our society in the short run, and beyond. We can do better. We have to, there is no choice.