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I wil do my best to update this weekly but it will come and go as the muse takes me. |
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05/15/06 Bush's Speech on immigration
So Bush gave his speech about immigration and what he's going to do about it. Pondered for a moment in joining the Drinking game but realised I'd be sloshed within 5 minutes so abandoned the idea in favor of trying to make heads and tails of the speech.
Presenting Brilliant Plan part. 1)
"We have a comprehensive strategy to reform our immigration system. We're going to secure the border by catching those who enter illegally, and hardening the border to prevent illegal crossings. We're going to strengthen enforcement of our immigration laws within our country. And together with Congress, we're going to create a temporary worker program that will take pressure off the border, bring workers from out of the shadows, and reject amnesty." *wonders why there is a 200+ mile gap in the border patrol ...* "Our strategy for comprehensive immigration reforms begins by securing the border. Now, let me talk to you about a three-part plan. The first part of the plan is to promptly return every illegal entrant we catch at the border, with no exceptions. More than 85 percent of the illegal immigrants we catch are from Mexico, and most of them are escorted back across the border within 24 hours." *wonder where the other 15% are crossing the border ... points to the 200+ mile gap in the border patrol*
So now we know how Bush plans on defending the border ... "Since 2001, we've hired 1,900 new Border Patrol agents. I just signed a bill last month that will enable us to add another thousand Border Patrol agents. When we complete these hires, we will have enlarged the Border Patrol by about 3,000 agents from 9,500 the year I took office to 12,500 next year. This is an increase of more than 30 percent, and most of the new agents will be assigned right here in the state of Arizona. And to help the agents, we're deploying technologies. Listen, technology can help an individual agent have broader reach and more effectiveness. When agents can take advantage of cutting-edge equipment like overhead surveillance drones and infrared cameras, they can do a better job for all of us. *****Hears cries of BOMBS AWAY!!!!******* In Tucson, agents on the ground are directing unmanned aerial technology in the sky, and they're acting rapidly on illegal immigration or illegal activities they may see from the drones. In the months since these unmanned flights began, agents have intercepted a lot of drugs on the border that otherwise -- and people -- that otherwise might have made it through. The legislation I signed last month provides $139 million to further upgrade the technology and bring a more unified, systematic approach to border enforcement. Again, I want to thank the members of the Congress" Briliant Mr Bush .... What a *searches for adjective ... gives up ... leaves space for reader to insert own adjective of choice* plan. "Arizona apprehended nearly 500,000 illegal immigrants, a 42-percent increase over the previous year. We've captured a half-million pounds of marijuana, prosecuted more than 400 people suspected of human smuggling, and seized more than $7 million in cash. You've got some good folks here working hard to do their job, and I appreciate it very much" *So what did they do with all the Marijuana? ... ponders ...* Full Text of the speech available here |
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09-07-05 Thoughts on Hurricane Katrina
I'm sure by now we have all heard and seen what's going on in the states affected by Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. August 27th saw bumper to bumper traffic as families loaded up their cars and raced for the highways and interstates as they drove to stay with relatives and friends in other parts of the country. But by August 28th, people were ordered to turn around and head for the Superdome to wait out the storm. Conditions inside the Superdome though were woefully less than where they should have been. For about five days, 20,000+ were left terrified and in darkness as the hurricane ravaged the city around them. The smell alone was strong enough to induce vomiting. Reports came flooding in of people desperate for food and water, people dying of dehydration and starvation.
But the stories that we didn't hear until maybe Friday were the reports of what was happening to the children and animals, to the poor, the elderly, the handicapped, to the ones who couldn't get out in time. Reports of Rape, Murder without prejudice and armed gangs stir violence. One mother said 'You can't trust anybody. If you sleep in those tents, you might wake up and see your daughter being carried off and raped'. Many people died due to lack of water or medicine and got separated from their children or pets so that someone could be safe. A few remained in New Orleans not because they were stubborn but because they simply had nowhere else to go.
I was appalled to see President Bush (in an interview in Louisiana on Friday 2nd Sept.) smiling and laughing as he told the press that spirits were high. Senators and Congressmen said that an effort to re-build New Orleans would be a waste of time; others thanking various agencies while dead bodies rotted in the streets just behind them. It truly gave me chills to think that these people are the ones calling the shots. A single man stood above the rest; Mayor Ray Nagin. He never left the city, he has been right down in amongst the worst of the situation, he made calls early on to demand assistance for the ones left behind. He has stood by the survivors and will continue on as he works vigilantly to restore essential operations to the city.
In the aftermath, evacuation was delayed time and again by armed gang members shooting at evacuation teams and police. Doctors and Nurses rushed to Louis Armstrong International Airport which has become a makeshift field hospital. People who were simply too sick to be treated were lain in a makeshift morgue to 'die in peace'. Temporary morgues have been set up in refrigerated 18-wheeler trucks. Fires could not be extinguished due to lack of water pressure, and latest estimates say it will take about nine weeks to pump the water from New Orleans. Another complication is the corpses and alligators floating around in the water which in now infected with E. coli and other toxic waste; poisoning the water for years.
As I watched Oprah Winfrey's reports from NOLA and the Houston Astrodome, she said that each house that had been destroyed was a family, pets, memories set adrift. Many of the evacuees were separated from other family members. Pets were left abandoned in many cases because rescue workers wanted to prioritize human life first. Children wandering lost, and confused cried bitterly for the loss of their dogs, cats and the things they held dear to them. Laura Bush called on survivors to get their children back into schools to provide them with a sense of normalcy. Parents and others are struggling to make contact with loved ones and find jobs so they can begin rebuilding their lives.
There has been loud criticism as to how slowly the government reacted and sent aid in comparison with many major corporations. Former President Bill Clinton on Monday said the government "failed" the thousands of people who lived in coastal communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and said a federal investigation was warranted in due time. President Bush vowed to lead an investigation into what went right and what went wrong. Lists of corporations and their donations can be found at CNN Money. My question, however, is if we had this same thing happen a few years down the road, how would the country react? Also, as loathed as I am to bring this up, if this had happened in an affluent white community, would this horrific situation have occurred?
This is supposed to be The United States of America. The richest Country in the world, yet many foreign powers question the government along with Clinton and many of the survivors. My only hope is that a valuable lesson is learned from this tragic event and this horrific treatment of human life never occurs again.
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07-23-05 The Lies of Truth
What is truth? Is it finding out that something is right or is it finding out that something is what it wants to be. It could be exactly what we were looking for but why are we looking? Is it necessary forus to find out something? Is it because we want to know the truth? The truth is that truth is not one true thing. There are many different truths that we find in life. It's a bit like when we meet Santa for the first time and he is a big fat jolly old white guy and then next year he is black. Did he spend a lot of time at the beach? I don't think so. Santa isn't real but he is a truth. So what is truth? Is it a lie conjored up by society or our parents to make us believe in something or is it something we create all on our own as a comfort blanket? They say knowledge increases sorrow. Do we all want to be sad? Is it better that we are left in the dark for all eternity? Yes honey, santa can fly just like a bird and if you're good, Santa might drop something nice down the chimney. No honey, pigs don't fly. Who told you that? I know it must be Jimmy down the street! I'll have to talk to his parents about this. But we still don't have our answer. What the hell is truth? The truth is, it doesn't matter because as soon as we find it, it changes and becomes something new. It is never the same from one minute to the next because it takes one minute to find it and one more to have it completely changed into something else . How confusing! well, I still don't know what the truth is but I can tell you that my truth would rather by lying on some tropical beach instead of sitting here taking these bloody standardized exams to prove that I pay no attention in class and do just enough homework to get by. I guess I like ignorance because it leaves me free to worry about the important things in life like what I will eat for breakfast or how many leaves are on that tree now that the wind has blown them all away.
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| 06-30-05 We're watching you! Have you ever sat in a room watching people? How about when you're in a public place? Are they watching you or trying to not look at you. That happens a lot in elevators. Even if you know every single person within, doesn't it seem like you have to stare at the doors or the control buttons or the wall in the hope of avoiding eye contact? Why do people do that? Why are they scared looking at the other people? It's because they're scared of what they will find when they turn around. They know that when they turn around, they might find that the friends or strangers might not be whom they expect. They might just find a boogie monster or worse yet, their soulmates! I would be scared. O come on people, how many of us really REALLY wants to meet a monster or a mate for life? I would like to assure the reader that this doesn't mean that the person is all bad; just mostly bad. Either you get scared to death or nagged to death. Personally I want to live. A good way to solve this dilemma is to sew people's eyes shut. That way no eye contact could be made although people would bump into lampposts and trees a lot which would be a bad thing except for the hospitals and insurance companies. Business for them would be booming but I don't think that many of us really want a blind surgeon to operate on us or try to examine us. I guess it wouldn't be a good idea after all! Oh well, back to avoiding eye contact with other people. |