And maybe throwing all of Wall Street into it. Okay, so maybe that is an exaggeration, but two big stories today, one much bigger than the other (despite the fact that it ought to be the reverse), one involving fire, one involving being under fire.

Republicans caved yesterday, finally allowing a cloture vote on financial reform to pass. It actually was just a unanimous consent motion instead of a vote this time, with no objection. No one is really saying they got much, other than an open debate and the ability to offer amendments. Now, that could be quite a bit if the number of amendments allowed is unlimited, but it seems that even the GOP realizes it would look bad to be on the wrong side of financial reform.

As one observer said, it is hard to justify participating in a hearing lambasting Goldman Sachs executives actions on Wall Street, then going next door and voting against financial reform.

One thing we tend to forget, with all of this focus on the Senate, is that the House has already passed financial reform. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (a job title I held in my congressional simulation class) has said that a conference is expected once the Senate completes its work.

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To the lead story, which has actually gotten worse in the moments I have been writing this. Over the weekend, experts found two different leaks on the sea floor, related to the sunken oil rig from last week. It was estimated at the time that about 42,000 gallons of oil were spilling into the Gulf of Mexico every day. The good news was, due to the bends in the pipe caused by the sinking (imagine bending a hose too far), the leak was not as flowing as it could've been. The bad new is that workers have been unable to shut of the valve, meaning they are working on other ways to stop the leak.

Excuse me while I seemingly vent for a moment. I have taken quite a bit of time in the last few days learning about this. We are talking about BP (British Petroleum), which fought tighter federal safety regulations tooth and nail in the last few years. The rig in question was fairly new, about the size of a football field and state of the art. It was one-of-a-kind, drilling deeper than we've ever drilled before. While the clear point of the first part of the paragraph was to understate how something like this should never happen, the last sentence should illustrate just how ill-prepared we are to deal with it.

Just how ill-prepared are we? We (or BP - it's hard to tell really) can't even figure out how big the leak is yet. Late yesterday a third leak was discovered, with the Coast Guard estimating that five times the amount of oil is spilling into the ocean than previously thought. While yesterday it was an estimated 42,000 gallons each day, that number is now around 210,000 gallons. Put in simpler numbers, in just 52 days this would be larger than Exxon Valdez. Think that isn't possible? It is. With today's measures, 52 days would seem like forever, but workers have tried just about ever short term solution they can think of, which was one thing: shut off the valve. They've failed.

Initially yesterday, the plan was to burn off some of the oil, literally setting the surface on fire, but bad weather prevented that. They will try again today. It can't all be done this way, but from their experience, a significant amount can. However, one member of the Coast Guard had a telling statement: "this isn't something we do every day." No, it isn't. Stay tuned, as this will only get worse before it gets better.

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And speaking of getting worse before getting better, how about Arizona. Oh, Arizona. Couple things. It appears that the DOJ - that's Department of Justice people - will be suing the state of Arizona, I suppose for privacy infringement. Not really sure. But still a positive development.

Last night I actually watched some evening news shows, which, if you can take even every breath with a grain of salt, can be entertaining to say the least. My favorite had to be Frank Luntz on Hannity. I learned about Luntz way back in high school. He is an expert Republican pollster and damn good at it. He creates messaging based on focus groups and polling, something everyone does now. But last night, to listen to him say, "most Americans are against financial reform," absolutely blew me away. Not only was he blatantly lying without even changing his expression, but he knew just how dishonest he was being probably more than anyone else. It was unreal. And of course it was on Fox (yes all of my conservative friends, I also watched Maddow and, ugh, parts of Olbermann last night. Fox is more entertaining though.)

Anyway, back to immigration. Hannity also had a debate on immigration. I have never seen Michelle Malkin so angry. Thought she might punch her opponent through the television screen. Here is something everyone needs to recognize about illegal immigration: it isn't illegal. The bill in Arizona made it illegal, in Arizona. Everywhere else in the country, illegal immigration is a civil offense. We don't throw you in jail, we send you home. That's it. Which is why I found it so interesting that Hannity and Malkin were screaming about following the letter of the law, since it is two-fold against them. One, it isn't illegal. Two, the biggest fears when profiling someone is that police ignore the law of needing another reason to stop someone (criminal activity) and just do it anyway. I don't want to get into the economic argument, even though there is one. I understand where Arizona is coming from. Watch as I represent both sides at the same time.

A few years ago I watched a movie called the Thin Blue Line. I remember it very well because we were watching in a class at UW during the same week that Virginia Tech happened. It was about a black man being profiled in Dallas for a murder he never admitted to committing. If I recall correctly, there was proof he didn't do it, but he was convicted anyway. People look at that as profiling. Sure, profiling was involved, but so was a racist jury. The problems go much deeper than saying, "he's black, let me pull him over."

Not too long after that I had a lengthy conversation with a black police officer in Seattle. His words to me: profiling helps me do my job. Surprisingly, I wasn't surprised. He's right. We make this big deal out of profiling, just like we do out of mandatory minimums, but ignore that in the majority of cases, the people actually committed crimes. This isn't the 1960's. If you have drugs in your car and you're mad that a cop made up a phony reason to pull you over, that doesn't change the fact that you have drugs in your car. You're worried about the wrong thing. I do believe that profiling probably does help police work. Does that make it right? No. But what neighborhood would you feel safer walking through, the poorer black neighborhood or the richer white one? Let's not act like police are the only profilers out there. Stereotypes exist for a reason.

Now, with that said, there is this thing about a right to privacy and profiling that is great about the Republican party. They are all for forfeiting some privacy in the name of security, unless it is there own. And they are all for profiling, which makes sense, because they are vastly white. No money trail is necessary. Just look at their faces.

It is unclear what is going to happen with this immigration law, except that it doesn't appear congress will take it up soon. The ball might be squarely in the DOJ's court right now and that is fine. Gives me more time to do more learning about immigration law. What I know right now is what I've previously mentioned, and that it is a lot like gun law: fairly strict, but grossly under-enforced. Also, as was pointed out last night, drug smugglers aren't walking across borders. As long as Americans have a drug problem, smugglers will find a way to get it to us. And that is where the crime comes from.

However, above all of this, if you really want to curb illegal immigration, I've got three words: punish the companies. But that will never happen, because that would be against free market policies, right Republicans? Make up your minds. Oh one more note: Malkin yesterday said that border security is no safer than it was on September 11, 2001 and that is the fault of Democrats. Ummm....

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Notes:

- Two coal miners are missing after a wall collapsed in Kentucky. This is not a Massey mine and it is a developing story.

- I refuse to link it, but I should mention that Tiger Woods is playing again today. No word on whether anyone else is involved. Real question though: should there be a fantasy league, just like a sports one, that takes bets on who is "meeting" Tiger at each tournament? Too soon?

- The Washington Capitols pulled a major choke job in game seven of their first round series last night, losing to Montreal. As Bill Simmons said, it is quite possible that Washington has surpassed Seattle as the nation's most depressed sports town. Also as Simmons said, at least the Emerald City has Pete Carroll for comedic value.

- Finally, in a surprising development, a formula created to identify the most despised team in baseball came up, not with the New York Yankees, but the Cleveland Indians. As they said on SportsCenter, "wait, what?"

- A late addition: a New York subway train was stopped, and all passengers fine, after an operator died in the cab yesterday during rush hour. The "Dead Man Feature" (its real name) was employed, the first time anyone can recall it being used, to stop the train. It is a lever that motormen hold throughout the day, that when released will stop the train. It is designed to prevent runaway trains. Sadly, it was proven yesterday that it works.