The best idea I've seen in ages.

Another great letter in Mark Steyn's mailbox this week:

With the current news in Europe and elsewhere it reinforces my belief that the U.S. and other countries need to adopt the “Equity in Immigration Act” that I developed. It is relatively simple:

  1.  Men have a vested interest in keeping Third World societies in their dysfunctional state. The United States believes in the rights of women around the world. Women have the potential to be a powerful force for reform.

  2.  Given this, the United States will issue one immigration visa, of all types, for a woman for every man that immigrates from:
    a.  A country not determined to be a democracy by the State Department (basket cases).
    b.  A country that has a male to female birth disparity of over 2.5% (targeted aborters).

  3.  The numbers must add up every quarter or U.S. embassies/consulates will cease issuing visas until the numbers are equal for that quarter

I came up with this idea when I was running a Cuban migrant camp at Guantanamo Bay in the mid-90s. Because “families” went to the States first, women had all the power. The definition of a “family” was a group of Cubans that included at least one woman. I “married” and “divorced” Cuban couples on the personnel tracking computer all the time as the women negotiated for a better deal. I realized that women could be a powerful source for reform in their home countries if more of them could make it to the West and get educated and exposed to a more tolerant culture. Women could then take their experiences back and demand reform. I realize that this may result in a short term downturn in the number of visas issued but think that is the price of getting any system in place.

Mark Salas
Kuwait

I'd be fascinated to discover on what grounds the anti-Bush, neocon-hating Left will object to this thoroughly feminist idea. Maybe they'll pleasantly surprise me and not object at all. I doubt it.