■"The Appeal of a Simple Plan: Fencing Them Out," by Karen Brandon, U.S. News & World Report, 28 November 2005, p. 54.

Edition's cover story is all about the Bush Administration's new plan to deal with illegal immigrants. Steve DeAngelis and I have been meeting with Customs and Border Protection officials over the past few weeks, scoping out possible collaborations involving Enterra Solutions' rule-set automation capabilities, so we've heard some insider descriptions of this policy-making process. Complex ain't the word. No, you need a bigger, more intimidating term. The discussions you have on the subject remind me of the military's move toward descriptions of effects-based operations, or where you ask yourself more plainly what it is you're trying to effect and, by doing so, hopefully you're broadening your vision of possible solution sets.

But if all that fails, just put up a big old fence, just like the ones the poor Israelis feel compelled to throw up. It's the ultimate firewall in a networked world: reasonable enough for an Israel, island that it is within the Gap. But seeing one go up between the U.S. and Mexico, more than a decade after NAFTA? Buddy, that's just plain sad.

John McCain had the best comeback on such proposals: "They'll parachute in."

Can I get a duh!