Bring us your huddled masses looking for IDs

Tennessee is on a roll. First we had a Highway Patrol scandal, then dead people voted, now we've developed a new black market for fraudulent IDs.

Left Tennessee residents might recall a previous occurrence when a local DMV examiner, charged with accepting bribes in return for issuing licenses to illegal aliens from the Middle East shortly after 9/11, died in a fiery car crash, later ruled arson. She was to testify the next day.

At the time Tennessee allowed illegals to obtain standard licences with proof of residence. Anecdotal--I've witnessed construction contractors herding around sheepish looking men at the DMV, most certainly undocumented workers getting licenses so they can drive the company pickem up. It's a productivity thing, I guess.

The state recently began requiring social security numbers along with proof of residence to obtain licenses, but began issuing a sort of Miller Lite version to illegals, which supposedly can't be used for identification even though everyone seems to accept them for identification.

But even with a history of fraud it seems the overpowering desire for a dirt cheap labor pool trumps all, no matter which party is in power. Of course we can't blame everything on governor Phil. DMV workers need to display personal ethics higher than those of a fruit gnat. Uh, what's that you say? They have a good reason to cheat?

Still, the allure of payoffs to underpaid license examiners may only increase as requirements tighten and certificates become more precious, said Melissa Savage, a policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

I knew the whole thing was my fault. If only we hadn't protested that income tax.

By the way, you won't find that last quote in the Commercial Appeal's version of the AP story. You'll have to access this Breitbart version.