Apostle of the Pooch? Jiminy Crickets, I seem to have somehow become a cult!
Heck, it was bound to happen eventually. Now if someone will just mix up a batch of Kool-Aid and tell my wives to come hither, we can all wait for the spaceship.
I have read the thread and I have only a few random observations.
1) Immigrants to this country should file lawsuits. It is so American it ought to be a prerequisite.
2) Thanks, fatman, for posting that citizenship requirement information. It was interesting, relevant and answered a lot of questions I have had but was too lazy to look up.
3) If the previous point makes me a cheerleader, I want a nicer dress. And an image consultant.
4) Actually, I want that anyway.
The fact is, I think the lawsuits are justified if the government is not meeting the congressionally mandated deadline. However, I also think that increasing the background requirement should have been coupled with a substantial increase in approval time - as inconvenient as that would be for the folks waiting. The SBIs we conducted for American citizens needing security clearances could take months to years, and there were far fewer of those. The ones that took longest to complete were those that involved people who had been out of country. That pretty much includes 100 percent of the alien population (except their kids who were born here). I think it is unrealistic to expect a six-month wait time to be sufficient under the post 9-11 rules. But the law is the law, and for those who have faithfully applied and legally resided here, there is nothing more American than expecting the government to live up to its own rules.
In spite of that, however, I do not believe applications should be expedited just because an election is on the way. There will be other elections. The backlog should be cleaned up because it is the law, and for no other reason. The law should probably be changed, but what politician on the majority side of the aisle is going to support legislation to make the waiting period LONGER? Perhaps one idea, if it could be made to pass constitutional muster, would be interim citizenships that would confer rights upon an individual after the deadline had passed but which could be revoked if subsequent investigation proved the person ineligible. Of course there is a chance of abuse there, but it might make increasing the wait time more palatable. Let's say increase the time to a year, and after that you get a citizenship "learner's permit."
Now, if you will excuse me, I'm off to write "the Tao of Pooch."
