Let's pray for Jake

Jake Finkbonner is a kindergarten kid at Assumption Catholic School in Bellingham. He has had to have part of his face cut away to remove a flesh-eating bacterial infection that he got when he bumped his lip while playing basketball.

The good news: he is recovering from his multiple sugeries at Children's Hospital here in Seattle. They think they've been able to remove the infection.

The tough news: the kid's face is bandaged up, with just his nose poking out. His eyes are swollen shut, and it's not clear if he'll be able to see again. He can't really communicate at this point, we know he must be scared.

At work we made a poster, and filled it with hundreds of signatures, to let the family know that they're not praying alone. J, who organized it, found a fuzzy stuffed panther toy that they can give Jake to play with while he's recovering.

So the family is going to have to pay for this somehow; the community has been coming together to help raise money; salmon dinners, spaghetti dinners, shop-a-thons, bake sales, pizza-thon, garage sales, donation drives, martial arts benefit, the sportsplex, Ryan Stiles...

There are accounts set up for donations at Wells Fargo and Industrial Credit Union.

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And while we're talking about Whatcom County, the Minutemen have come to secure Washinton's border with British Columbia. You know, against illegal immigration, smuggling, etc.

And so far they have nothing to report. I have theories to explain why they have nothing to report: a) the smugglers are smarter than the Minutemen; and b) Canadians are prosperous enough to not want to sneak over the border illegaly to work in the US.

Hey Minutemen! Hey Republicans! Illegal immigration is an ECONOMIC ISSUE. Your attempts to solve an economic issue with a criminal justice band aid will all fail. When will you wise up and start looking for an economic solution to an economic problem?

By the way, while you're out protecting the world from Canada, the rest of your community is trying to help the Finkbonner family recover from a harrowing case of necrotizing fasciitis. Seriously, put your flashlights and walkie talkies away and check your priorities.