Again, Why Blog?

Once again friends or associates of mine, having heard that I maintain a blog, have wondered aloud why on earth anyone would want to do such a thing.

Isn't it a waste of time?

Why do you want people out there to read your private thoughts? That's like letting everyone see your journal!

Don't you have anything better to do?

And once again I feel a need to comment about blogs. I view them as somewhat of an art form, that is, if art is considered expression. A chance to influence someone for good. A way to keep my friends updated on my life and thoughts without having to send numerous emails to individuals, which basically say the same thing each time. Here I can word it once and let people come to read it. Saves time. Like a library. Stock it with books and let those who are interested come check it out.

Why do people write editorials to the paper?

Why do companies and schools publish quarterly news?

Why do some people feel a profound need to write poetry, or a novel, or a play?

Why do some painters devote their energies, money, and whole life to their craft --- despite no remuneration?

I sort of view blogging the same way. It's fun. It's enjoyable. It engages my mind. It releases. It awakens.

My hope is that you read my blog (chances are I read yours --- if you’ve given it to me); if while reading it you derive even a small portion of the enjoyment that I had while writing it then my efforts have not been in vain.

Cassette or Record to CD

My awesome computer came with a program that allows me to hook up a record or cassette player and transfer it to MP3 format, which I can then burn to CD. Awesome!

I think the word awesome is abused; a fluffy, nothing word.

POLITICS

I strongly, strongly urge you to consult this site for political information: On The Issues. Regardless of your political affiliations, and regardless of whether you want to go local or national, this site is incredibly useful. I further recommend that you click on the "Quizzes" link and find out what candidates your beliefs best match.

Go for it! Get informed! Vote responsibly.

Sincerely,
Inigo Montoya (You killed my father. Prepare to die.)

Chocolate Blog

One of my friends posted this: A must read.

Cheap Tomatoes

The following is a forwarded email I received from a frustrated friend who teaches in California. As an educator, I am deeply impacted and incensed by the message of this powerful article. Read.

Cheap Tomatoes ...


This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent

From a California school teacher - - -"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:

I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels.

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park, etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.

Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "putas" (whores) and throwing things that the teachers were in tears.

Free medical, free education, free food, day care etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?

To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.

Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.

We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it.

Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?

There are many hardworking Hispanic/American citizens that contribute to our country and many that I consider my true friends. We should encourage and accept those Hispanics who have done it the right and legal way.

It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate, and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about "politically correct" that we don't have the will to do anything about it.

If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward this to everyone you know.

CHEAP LABOR?

Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?

Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage

Consumers don't want expensive produce

Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs

But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth, a farce, and a lie. there is no such thing as "cheap labor."

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or $6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free.

He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent

He qualifies for food stamps

He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care

His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school

He requires bilingual teachers and books

He qualifies for relief from high energy bills

If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare. All of this is at taxpayer's expense.

He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance.

Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.

He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits.

Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his.

The American taxpayer's also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.

Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people!"

The Price is Right

My wife has been gone since last Wednesday April 4th to California. She has gone to be with friends, get a break for a while, and, perhaps most importantly in her mind, to attend The Price is Right. They attended the show last Thursday, and one of her friends won $10,000.

....

....