Travels of a Fish Nut

--> “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” These are the words on the Statue of Liberty, the sight that greeted over 12 million immigrants as they approached Ellis Island to start their new lives in America. Those immigrants, often starting off with nothing more than they could carry, went on to make America an economic powerhouse. They came only with hope and the determination to make a better life for themselves and their children.

Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, made a speech today. The Telegraph had the scoop, and what they report suggests that Mr Smith has gone insane. The BBC article after the speech does little to change my mind.  The Telegraph reports that he believes that, ‘[t]he economy will never fully recover unless families on benefits return to work’

Mark Harper may or may not be a name your familiar with. If you have heard of him, it’s probably due to his resignation in February of this year following the discovery that his cleaner was an illegal immigrant. This would be embarrassing for any MP, but excruciating for the Minister of State for Immigration, famed for his tough stance on illegal immigrants, which culminated in his ill-fated “ In the UK Illegally? Go Home or Face Arrest ” vans which were scrapped almost immediately after causing massive controversy and failing in their aims.