Is it just me...

...or does this sound in no way fundamentally different from what we could have expected from the Bush administration and a Republican Congress?

Laying out the administration's bottom line, [Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano] said it will argue for a "three-legged stool" that includes enacting tougher enforcement laws against illegal immigrants and the people who hire them, and streamlining the system for legal immigration, but also what she called a "tough and fair pathway to earned legal status."

That "tough and fair pathway" includes the understandable requirement to pass a criminal background check and the bullshit requirement to "learn English."

Napolitano also bragged that "the Border Patrol had increased its forces by more than 20,000 officers, and that more than 600 miles of border fence had been completed, both milestones set by Congress." Yay! More militarism at the border! Huzzah! Nothing bad could ever come of that!

Ms. Napolitano has been leading the administration's efforts to gather support for the immigration overhaul, meeting in recent weeks with business leaders, faith groups, law-enforcement officials and other groups to gauge their support for the effort.

Excuse me, but why the fuck should I give a flying flunderton if "faith groups" support immigration reform? Is there literally nothing that doesn't warrant pandering to "faith groups" for cover in this country anymore? Criminy.