It seems to me that America's new favorite pastime, which is quickly replacing baseball, is a very self-deprecating game called "Punch yourself in the face."
To be fair, as I said in my post "You'll Die Before They Come", Mayor Ray Nagin and the governer of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, cannot take all the blame for Katrina's fucked up aftermath. I maintain that the guy who aspires to be the leader of the free world (and I say "aspire" because he's nowhere near to making it there) has to take the bulk of the responsibility for a) being on perpetual auto-pilot while asleep at the wheel, b) completely inneffective coordination of efforts, and c) denying any responsibility at all like a child. But Nagin and Blanco were also at fault for not taking the initiative to help their own and instead waiting for Bush to get off vacay. 9/11 should have told them that waiting for Bush was going to end in disaster.
This past weekend, Nagin was re-elected.
This is a pattern similar to that of Washington DC. Former DC mayor, Marion Barry, was caught doing crack with 16 year-old prostitutes in some hotel room in DC in the early nineties, yet got himself re-elected a few years later. This be my thinking: cities with large minority populations keep electing their own, no matter how bad, because these voters think that because the candidates are their "brother", he'll do their communities favors. The predominantly black areas of Washington, DC, some of which have only in recent years become passable, are living proof that that theory is ludicrous. Another case: Bush. The man got us into an unnecessary war, made a fortune out of a tragedy, killed thousands of people without even being near them, is unbelievably stupid and embarrassing and has a family and a cabinet that should be dubbed "the new axis of evil". Yet because he promised the ultra-religious to overturn Roe v. Wade and to outlaw gay marriage, etc., he was re-elected. Everyone knows that neither of these promises were kept, but perhaps the news has yet to reach the cornfields of Kansas. Let's hope it gets there before the next election. For now, Bush lovers can chew on this: According to Bloomberg news, your main man's approval rating is 33%.
Anyway, this is all such unfortunate spin. Maybe I'm wrong on this one, but I tend to judge candidates on the things that they've done. Not reward them for the things they haven't or the things they say they'll do that just never materialize. Don't you all think we should know better by now than to take the word of a politician at face value?
lunes, mayo 22, 2006
lunes, mayo 01, 2006
Whatever happened to "scratch my back and I'll scratch yours"?
Please note that this post was originally written on Monday, 1 May, but since Blogger hasn't been working since then, I'm trying again to post it today. So just takes yourselves back to Monday, if you will....
.....or "don't bite the hand that feeds you"? Or even "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"?
This is what comes to my mind when I hear about what all is going on regarding immigration policy. Seems to me this is the first time Bush makes sense. He's only one of the "authorities" who's put his feet on the ground long enough to realize that we need immigrants in this country, legal or not.
First of all, who came up with the crap idea of making them felons? These are people like anyone else coming here for a better life for them and their families. Since when was that a felony? I know, I know, you break the law you pay the piper. I'm a known hard-ass but I can't bring myself to apply that to this case, which is certainly not cut and dried. Everyone knows in their heart of hearts that without immigrants, we'd be up shit's creek, and very hungry at that. Unfortunate story: My mother and stepfather (two immigrants, just legal, which really doesn't make them that different from the illegals in my book. They just started out with the cushy G4 visa and went from there) were trying to get out of New York this morning, and on the way, they stopped at La Nueva bakery in Jackson Heights for breakfast. Due to the boycotts, of course, Jackson Heights businesses are closed and the place is a ghost town. Instead of saying "Oh, we had trouble with all the protests blocking the way out of New York, but we understand their cause", the parents were very upset that they missed out on the empanadas and the facturas and would have to go home without their sandwiches de miga. When my mom told me that story, I knew the point the immigrants wanted to make: without them, New York ain't so much fun. This country ain't so much fun.
In my oh-so humble opinion, immigrants, legal and illegal alike, should be recognized for their very hard work, and before authorities start tightening borders, we should start with a relatively clean slate and grant legal status, or at least the tools with which to gain that status, to those who work and agree to play by the rules and pay taxes and contribute to health care subsidies just like the rest of us. I do still think that if you want something bad enough, you will ante up to get it. Then later on down the road, we deal with the ones who sneak in once we start running a tighter ship because, and maybe you will agree with me, the border patrol is quite lax when it is convenient for America. Let us also not forget, my friends, that the US has traditionally set up programs to obtain cheap labor and periodically (in the past, I mean) let people in with no consequence. Examples are bringing Chinese over to build the railroads and bringing Mexicans in to fill the void in the labor force left by American soldiers who went off to WW2. The US can't really afford to be selective, then. Another solution to curtail the problem which many deem feasible would be to impose tougher penalties for employers who hire cheap labor and then treat them like shit. The theory being that if the resources that immigrants are after dry up, there will be an end to immigration. But take heart, folks, as this will never happen in a million and one years. I think the best idea would be to address the root causes of immigration in order to curtail it. Economic reforms where national wealth in Latin America is shared instead of concentrated onto 10 major families or something, governments that are not corrupt, etc. But that won't happen either. I add here that while Latin America, as much as it wants to, cannot possibly blame all their woes on the US, the US certainly does not help and pits people and countries against each other whenever they can to "stabilize" the region.
I can't wait to see what is decided in the case of immigrants. My guess is that there will be a few more protests and boycotts and whatnot, and then the problem will be swept under the rug like it's always been. Government is very quick to tire and throw up their hands when finding a solution to a pressing problem starts to keep them at work past 5pm. And then they wonder why there are people in this country who don't want to work. On top of that, they try to persecute the people going out every day to do the lazy people's work.
.....or "don't bite the hand that feeds you"? Or even "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"?
This is what comes to my mind when I hear about what all is going on regarding immigration policy. Seems to me this is the first time Bush makes sense. He's only one of the "authorities" who's put his feet on the ground long enough to realize that we need immigrants in this country, legal or not.
First of all, who came up with the crap idea of making them felons? These are people like anyone else coming here for a better life for them and their families. Since when was that a felony? I know, I know, you break the law you pay the piper. I'm a known hard-ass but I can't bring myself to apply that to this case, which is certainly not cut and dried. Everyone knows in their heart of hearts that without immigrants, we'd be up shit's creek, and very hungry at that. Unfortunate story: My mother and stepfather (two immigrants, just legal, which really doesn't make them that different from the illegals in my book. They just started out with the cushy G4 visa and went from there) were trying to get out of New York this morning, and on the way, they stopped at La Nueva bakery in Jackson Heights for breakfast. Due to the boycotts, of course, Jackson Heights businesses are closed and the place is a ghost town. Instead of saying "Oh, we had trouble with all the protests blocking the way out of New York, but we understand their cause", the parents were very upset that they missed out on the empanadas and the facturas and would have to go home without their sandwiches de miga. When my mom told me that story, I knew the point the immigrants wanted to make: without them, New York ain't so much fun. This country ain't so much fun.
In my oh-so humble opinion, immigrants, legal and illegal alike, should be recognized for their very hard work, and before authorities start tightening borders, we should start with a relatively clean slate and grant legal status, or at least the tools with which to gain that status, to those who work and agree to play by the rules and pay taxes and contribute to health care subsidies just like the rest of us. I do still think that if you want something bad enough, you will ante up to get it. Then later on down the road, we deal with the ones who sneak in once we start running a tighter ship because, and maybe you will agree with me, the border patrol is quite lax when it is convenient for America. Let us also not forget, my friends, that the US has traditionally set up programs to obtain cheap labor and periodically (in the past, I mean) let people in with no consequence. Examples are bringing Chinese over to build the railroads and bringing Mexicans in to fill the void in the labor force left by American soldiers who went off to WW2. The US can't really afford to be selective, then. Another solution to curtail the problem which many deem feasible would be to impose tougher penalties for employers who hire cheap labor and then treat them like shit. The theory being that if the resources that immigrants are after dry up, there will be an end to immigration. But take heart, folks, as this will never happen in a million and one years. I think the best idea would be to address the root causes of immigration in order to curtail it. Economic reforms where national wealth in Latin America is shared instead of concentrated onto 10 major families or something, governments that are not corrupt, etc. But that won't happen either. I add here that while Latin America, as much as it wants to, cannot possibly blame all their woes on the US, the US certainly does not help and pits people and countries against each other whenever they can to "stabilize" the region.
I can't wait to see what is decided in the case of immigrants. My guess is that there will be a few more protests and boycotts and whatnot, and then the problem will be swept under the rug like it's always been. Government is very quick to tire and throw up their hands when finding a solution to a pressing problem starts to keep them at work past 5pm. And then they wonder why there are people in this country who don't want to work. On top of that, they try to persecute the people going out every day to do the lazy people's work.
jueves, marzo 30, 2006
The Flying Spaghetti Monster
Just as there are those who believe in Intelligent Design as an "alternative" way of explaining evolution, there are those who believe that the world was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Since both theories have about the same amount of evidence to back its claims, the folks at www.venganza.org wrote the Kansas school board to ask that the Pasta theory also be included as part of the curriculum since they were going to include the other theory.
Really this is too funny and you just have to go to the site yourself!!!
Be touched by his noodly appendage!
Really this is too funny and you just have to go to the site yourself!!!
Be touched by his noodly appendage!
More violence in Guatemala
Yesterday at about 3:30 pm, Guatemala time, the husband of one of my mother's best friends from childhood was shot dead in the street as he left a restaurant where he had had lunch with his wife and grand-daughter. I didn't think the victim was the man we knew, because there must be hundreds of other people in Guatemala with the same name. I didn't realize until I went to the Prensa Libre website and saw the article with the picture of her sitting on the sidewalk next to her husband's lifeless body.
My mother told me that the authorities did not bother themselves with taking away his body until 4 hours later, so the man's wife sat there all afternoon protecting his body. God only knows how it was that the assailants didn't kill the wife and the granddaughter, and I can only imagine the state of shock that the family is in right now. The wife is very stoically making arrangements for the funeral, to which throngs of people are expected to attend, but has yet to shed a tear. For me, when someone close to me dies, it takes a couple of days for it to really sink in, and that's when I let it all out. But I can only imagine, and I hope I never have to experience for myself, what I would feel had that person been killed right in front of me as we talked about being so full from lunch and then I had to watch him dead and bleeding for four hours.
And now for the funny (not ha ha at all) part: witnesses to the murder there on the street caught one of the assailants in his car and beat him and sent him to the hospital, and that seems to be the only reason he was caught. The other guy ran off and the cops didn't really knock themselves out giving chase.
So, for those of you who really don't know anything about Guatemala except for Tikal and Antigua, the hippie hang out, this is how Guatemalans in the city live these days. This is what they have to fear as they walk innocently down the street. This is why I can't go anywhere in the city by myself. This, folks, is real corruption. Whatever corruption on the part of Bushco we complain about is really not that bad compared to other places where people are murdered because of their job, where people get their pensions taken from them by the government and can get mysteriously "taken away" because of what they believe at any time. I may have a lot to say regarding our government, or lack thereof, but I'm glad to live in this country, if only because it is one of the last countries in the world where I can go to the supermarket whenever I want and be relatively safe.
My mother told me that the authorities did not bother themselves with taking away his body until 4 hours later, so the man's wife sat there all afternoon protecting his body. God only knows how it was that the assailants didn't kill the wife and the granddaughter, and I can only imagine the state of shock that the family is in right now. The wife is very stoically making arrangements for the funeral, to which throngs of people are expected to attend, but has yet to shed a tear. For me, when someone close to me dies, it takes a couple of days for it to really sink in, and that's when I let it all out. But I can only imagine, and I hope I never have to experience for myself, what I would feel had that person been killed right in front of me as we talked about being so full from lunch and then I had to watch him dead and bleeding for four hours.
And now for the funny (not ha ha at all) part: witnesses to the murder there on the street caught one of the assailants in his car and beat him and sent him to the hospital, and that seems to be the only reason he was caught. The other guy ran off and the cops didn't really knock themselves out giving chase.
So, for those of you who really don't know anything about Guatemala except for Tikal and Antigua, the hippie hang out, this is how Guatemalans in the city live these days. This is what they have to fear as they walk innocently down the street. This is why I can't go anywhere in the city by myself. This, folks, is real corruption. Whatever corruption on the part of Bushco we complain about is really not that bad compared to other places where people are murdered because of their job, where people get their pensions taken from them by the government and can get mysteriously "taken away" because of what they believe at any time. I may have a lot to say regarding our government, or lack thereof, but I'm glad to live in this country, if only because it is one of the last countries in the world where I can go to the supermarket whenever I want and be relatively safe.
miércoles, diciembre 14, 2005
Balls of Steel
That transit workers union (TWU)has, collectively, balls of steel.
First of all, they threaten to strike at what seems like EVERY holiday season. A compromise between them and the MTA is usually reached at the eleventh hour, but not before the networks are getting TWU ass tattoos and terrorizing the city almost as much as the TWU themselves.
Second of all, the transit workers simply do not deserve any kind of raise except the basic cost of living. Why? In short, they suck. Why should they get the 8% raise they are wanting when the rest of us had to wait ever so patiently for that basic cost of living increase, and by the way, we got less than the increase calculated, when they already are paid fairly? I read an article yesterday in the NY Times about this train conductor or whatever who makes $47,000 a year and owns a building in Brooklyn which allows him to pay $600 rent, in addition to the revenue he gets from his tenants. So apparently, I am supposed to feel sorry enough for this man and others like him that I should stand by idly and let him and his drinking buddies walk off a job they don't do that well and inconvenience 4 million subway riders who are in the same boat as the transit workers or are even worse off during this holiday season of perpetual hope. Give me just a small break. For the past week, they have been slowing down subway service to prove their point, thereby alienating millions of people they could have had on their side if they had shut the fuck up and continued to do their version of a good job. On top of everything, I have to walk my ass to work in the freezing cold on Friday morning if the union is not satisfied with what the MTA gives them, and then walk to Penn Station on saturday morning to try and get home for Christmas. Roger Toussaint, the president of the transit workers union, is basically a publicity hog who misleads his union members into thinking a walk-out will benefit them in any way and loves to get his rich ass behind podiums with Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Randi Weingarten (the leader of the Teacher's union), talk about how he spits on Bloomberg's suing the union (at last, Bloomie does something) and then go home thinking he's doing his union a favor. Does he let his union know that they will not only lose their pay for as long as they do not work, but they also have to pay the city hefty fines for each day they are on strike? I think if they knew that they would think twice, and with all hope, Toussaint will be kicked out of there soon, by his own union.
On the other hand, I am a big supporter of the right of workers to unionize and demand fair treatment. If bosses are going to get together to plot how to disrespect and berate their workers, there need to be unions so underlings can fight back against unethical people. I wish I could do that. Being in a union is quite a cushy situation that too many people still don't have the right to be in. However, it seems to me and just about every other New Yorker other than Al Sharpton (and I don't even know if he really is one of us) that the TWU are treated very fairly already, and any further demands they make are just a power grab. The MTA, for their part, instead of doing what they think is such a charitable thing by introducing special holiday fares, for whatever reason they did that, should have set aside their surplus and given special holiday bonuses to the transit workers if for no other reason than to shut them up. So I'll concede that the MTA has been really shitty to their workers. But that's not a surprise given the the MTA is a shitty organization anyway. In conclusion, whatever the transit workers get paid now is coming out of the pockets of every single subway rider in the city who by the way also pays taxes, in case you all forgot that pesky fact. This special holiday fare crap, that I'm not even "eligible" for, by the way, is in fact just buttering us up for another increase sooner than we think. So thanks, TWU and MTA, and happy fucking holidays, greedy Scrooges.
First of all, they threaten to strike at what seems like EVERY holiday season. A compromise between them and the MTA is usually reached at the eleventh hour, but not before the networks are getting TWU ass tattoos and terrorizing the city almost as much as the TWU themselves.
Second of all, the transit workers simply do not deserve any kind of raise except the basic cost of living. Why? In short, they suck. Why should they get the 8% raise they are wanting when the rest of us had to wait ever so patiently for that basic cost of living increase, and by the way, we got less than the increase calculated, when they already are paid fairly? I read an article yesterday in the NY Times about this train conductor or whatever who makes $47,000 a year and owns a building in Brooklyn which allows him to pay $600 rent, in addition to the revenue he gets from his tenants. So apparently, I am supposed to feel sorry enough for this man and others like him that I should stand by idly and let him and his drinking buddies walk off a job they don't do that well and inconvenience 4 million subway riders who are in the same boat as the transit workers or are even worse off during this holiday season of perpetual hope. Give me just a small break. For the past week, they have been slowing down subway service to prove their point, thereby alienating millions of people they could have had on their side if they had shut the fuck up and continued to do their version of a good job. On top of everything, I have to walk my ass to work in the freezing cold on Friday morning if the union is not satisfied with what the MTA gives them, and then walk to Penn Station on saturday morning to try and get home for Christmas. Roger Toussaint, the president of the transit workers union, is basically a publicity hog who misleads his union members into thinking a walk-out will benefit them in any way and loves to get his rich ass behind podiums with Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Randi Weingarten (the leader of the Teacher's union), talk about how he spits on Bloomberg's suing the union (at last, Bloomie does something) and then go home thinking he's doing his union a favor. Does he let his union know that they will not only lose their pay for as long as they do not work, but they also have to pay the city hefty fines for each day they are on strike? I think if they knew that they would think twice, and with all hope, Toussaint will be kicked out of there soon, by his own union.
On the other hand, I am a big supporter of the right of workers to unionize and demand fair treatment. If bosses are going to get together to plot how to disrespect and berate their workers, there need to be unions so underlings can fight back against unethical people. I wish I could do that. Being in a union is quite a cushy situation that too many people still don't have the right to be in. However, it seems to me and just about every other New Yorker other than Al Sharpton (and I don't even know if he really is one of us) that the TWU are treated very fairly already, and any further demands they make are just a power grab. The MTA, for their part, instead of doing what they think is such a charitable thing by introducing special holiday fares, for whatever reason they did that, should have set aside their surplus and given special holiday bonuses to the transit workers if for no other reason than to shut them up. So I'll concede that the MTA has been really shitty to their workers. But that's not a surprise given the the MTA is a shitty organization anyway. In conclusion, whatever the transit workers get paid now is coming out of the pockets of every single subway rider in the city who by the way also pays taxes, in case you all forgot that pesky fact. This special holiday fare crap, that I'm not even "eligible" for, by the way, is in fact just buttering us up for another increase sooner than we think. So thanks, TWU and MTA, and happy fucking holidays, greedy Scrooges.
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