A comment I posted on an AJC article…..

I know several people that would do the jobs so many pro-illegal immigration activists have said Americans don’t want to do. Two points about this: 1) It’s not that there are jobs that Americans are not willing to do, it’s that Americans have to be paid this thing called minimum wage…no under the table dealings….it’s that Americans will not do it for as cheaply as someone who is here illegally (and as such doesn’t really have anywhere to turn to should they get shafted).
2) Pro illegal immigration activists continually speak as if the illegal immigrants created these new jobs out of nowhere. These jobs were being held down and worked before illegal immigration became so prominent.

Now as a black man, I’m not gonna scream Mexican go home. But I do have a single question, why have so may illegal immigrants become so politicized here instead of protesting in their home country for better conditions?

So when a white person falls in love with a black person it is called ‘Jungle Fever’….or at least it used to be in the less PC 80’s and 90’s. I think the universal term for any and everybody hooking up is. .. .well. . . .hooking up. If a black person falls in love with a white person is it called a ‘Cave Cold’?

So there are people out there who are idolizing, for lack of a better word, David Blaine. ‘He’s a symbol of mankind going beyond what normal people can do,’ said one observer. ‘He’s got a creative mind like me,’ came another intelligent comment.

Uh, no. The guys is an attention whore. Much like us bloggers but more of an extreme case. Where blogging as an attention whore type activity would rank as a mosquito bite, this guy is herpes. He’s not creative, he’s not intelligent. He basically needs it….attention is his heroin.

Sadly, attempting to drown yourself for entertainment constitutes entertainment these days.

So there are people out there who are idolizing, for lack of a better word, David Blaine. ‘He’s a symbol of mankind going beyond what normal people can do,’ said one observer. ‘He’s got a creative mind like me,’ came another intelligent comment.

Uh, no. The guys is an attention whore. Much like us bloggers but more of an extreme case. Where blogging as an attention whore type activity would rank as a mosquito bite, this guy is herpes. He’s not creative, he’s not intelligent. He basically needs it….attention is his heroin.

Sadly, attempting to drown yourself for entertainment constitutes entertainment these days.

The hardest thing to do is to step back and evaluate yourself. I mean truly look at yourself and figure out what it is you want, what makes you happy, what impression do you want to leave on this world. If you’ve never sat down and done this, it becomes a more daunting task, a task which I face now, as time speeds along.

Triggered mainly by my current work situation, I’m having second thoughts about my chosen field of work. Along with those second thoughts come the obvious questions of what else would I do? Therein lies the problem. For as long as I can remember I’ve always said I would work in computers when I grew up. Never really entertained thoughts of doing anything else. Now, this whole IT thing isn’t exciting me. I go to work because it pays for the lifestyle that keeps me happy. The work isn’t fulfilling, captivating, or at all life enriching.

Perhaps it’s because it seems as if I’ve been doing the same thing for nearly eight years now. So maybe looking into some other area of IT is what I need to do. But I have had several affairs with other technologies but after the initial newness, my attention wanes…quickly.

Maybe I should just start with a list of keywords of things I like or like to do and see if there are any obvious patterns….

The top ten list as produced by Hagerty Insurance is as follows

• Distracted drivers talking on cell phones
• Slow drivers in the fast lane
• Pushy drivers who tailgate
• Drivers who weave through traffic to gain one or two car lengths
• Obnoxious drivers who speed up to keep you from changing lanes
• Hasty drivers who change lanes without signaling
• ‘Road Rage’
• Motorcyclists who race down the middle of a lane, between cars
• Women applying makeup and men shaving
• Drivers who leave their turn signal on for miles

I have to agree with all of them. I am guilty of probably one or two or four. Let’s see: I may tailgate but that’s only if you’re a slow driver in the fast lane so I don’t know if that counts.
I do weave through traffic but I usually get more than one or two cars up so I don’t know if that counts. Plus that is also only when there’s a slow driver in the fast lane.
I usually let folks over but not if they are a)in an unmarked van, typically that signifies slow driver, b) they are getting in the left lane but not passing anybody, and c) if it’s bumper to bumper traffic and you have a vehicle I wouldn’t be able to see around. So I don’t know if that coutns
I do experience Road Rage episodes but of course that’s due to other things on this list….so I don’t know if that counts.

Well when you put it this way……

Dear President Bush:

I’m about to plan a little trip with my family and extended family, and I would like to ask you to assist me. I’m going to walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico, and I need to make a few arrangements. I know you can help with this.

I plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. I’m sure they handle those things the same way you do here.

So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Vicente Fox, that I’m on my way over? Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.

2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.

3. All government forms need to be printed in English.

4. I want my kids to be taught by English-speaking teachers.

5. Schools need to include classes on American culture and history.

6. I want my kids to see the American flag flying on the top of the flag pole at their school with the Mexican flag flying lower down.

7. Please plan to feed my kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.

8. I will need a local Mexican driver’s license so I can get easy access to government services.

9. I do not plan to have any car insurance, and I won’t make any effort to learn local traffic laws.

10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from Pres. Fox to leave me alone, please be sure that all police officers speak English.

11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.

12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, and don’t enforce any labor laws or tax laws.

13. Please tell all the people in the country to be extremely nice and never say a critical word about me, or about the strain I might place on the economy.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all the people who come to the U.S. from Mexico. I am sure that Pres. Fox won’t mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.

However, if he gives you any trouble, just invite him to go quail hunting with your V.P.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

Sincerely, John & Jane Q Taxpayer, anywhere, usa :

So I was reading up freelance writing here on About.com. I came upon the following statement as they were talking about practicing your craft and repetition as a means of bettering your writing skills:

Make this a weekly habit like brushing your teeth.

That’s just nasty. Brushing your teeth weekly? Guess that’s why you would be a writer instead of a speaker. Perhaps it was not meant as I read it but it doesn’t matter now because that’s the way I read it.

Odd thing this morning was. Last night, the news kept telling of us impending traffic doom due to construction and speed limit reduction. Didn’t happen. In fact, traffic was absolutely beautiful this morning. Mrs Xpinionated and I couldn’t figure out just what was going on…then it hit. Hispanics were playing hookie today to protest and boycott. So now we have figured out that Atlanta’s horrible traffic is caused by teachers, parents, and Hispanics. Because if you take just one of those out…the commute drastically reduces!!

Something else odd I thought of today. Instead of so much protesting in this country to make your lawbreaking legal, why not take that energy and effort back to your home country and protest for better living conditions so you don’t have to come to this country illegally?

Lastly, why do Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Do we think Mexico is celebrating July 4th?

Disclaimer: I hope this post doesn’t come off as racist or prejudice. That is the last thing I would want. Just for the record….I don’t like anybody…..

As probably one of the most talked about events for Friday, April 28, 2006, I would like to add Xpinionated’s two cents concerning a spanish version of the Star Spangled Banner, the U.S. National Anthem.

First and foremost, I want to say that I immediately had a mental backlash when I saw the poll on cnn. I assumed that this was being done by a hispanic person living in the U.S. However, from the article I read on ajc.com, the song was actually produced by this British dude….to honor America’s immigrants. Since when do foreign folks rewrite domestic songs? Does that even make sense?

Secondly, this fiasco has forced to me to publicly (as public as a little read blog can be anyway) admit to agreeing with George Bush. He said something that many Americans feel and is somewhat hard to argue against. He said he’s against our national anthem being sung in Spanish. He feels that anyone living here should sing the song in English. Furthermore, he feels anyone living here should learn English. I agree. I’m not saying immigrants need to abandon their culture or language. I’m simply saying that trying to form your own country within a country is . . .well . . it’s rude!

Lastly, how often does an illegal immigrant sing the national anthem? Often enough for them to have a spanish version? Hell, Americans don’t even sing all that often outside of sporting events. And even then half of the time it’s mumbled along with the famous person singing it over the PA. This whole thing almost irks me more than the make illegals legal thing.

Speaking of that, my stand on the illegals thing is that I’m pretty sure I support some kind of immigration reform that allows for immigrants to obtain entry into this country at a quicker pace. The time it takes to get into the U.S. is often an excuse I hear for why so many choose to enter illegally. I’m also in support of providing tax money footed services to TAXPAYERS. If you’re not paying taxes because technically, you’re not even supposed to be in the country, then no services for you. I understand that some of our tax money will go to help people that aren’t paying taxes, but as long as they are U.S. citizens, I can handle that. I’m not in support of some big wall. That’s just kinda stupid. This ain’t China….As far as the economic boycott planned for Monday, I just want to understand. You’re going to skip work to emphasize how hard working you are?

I personally have decided to not celebrate Cinco De Mayo. Don’t get me wrong, I’m probably gonna get a bit toasty. But it will toasty powered by good ol’ budweiser, or red stripe, or Stella Artois, or Long Island Ice Tea, or Rum and coke, or Paul Masson Brandy, or Killians Irish Red, or. . . . . but definitely not by Margarita, Tequila, Corona, Don Pablo. .. . . And definitely no Nachos, or quesadillas