I actually wanted to title this entry "Sometimes, It's the White Liberals Who Get on My Nerves" but since I am not certain of this guy's race - although I venture to say he's most likely white - I'll edit myself for accuracy's sake.

Part of the problem is that some white liberals carry with them racist attitudes and they end up bubbling up in the weirdest of places.  And it's usually the weirdest of places because, unlike other non-liberal whites, they try not to sound act or be racist.  Which is a good thing.  Having good intentions is 90% of the way there.

But you have to cringe when you read entries that start like this one:

Wow, We Nominated The Black Guy

"The Black Guy"?  Barack Obama has been trying his best to get past race or at least try to make race as irrelevant as possible.  He has shown, smarts, charisma, resilience, and an uncanny ability to inspire people.  Even Mr. Latino Pundit himself is an Obamaniac.  And now that he has all but won the Democratic nomination for President he's "the Black Guy."

I thought it was a poor choice of words but then there's this little nugget here.

For quite some time, the Democratic Party struggled with a "loser" image nationally. Given its minority heavy, downtrodden heavy, freaks and geeks membership, it isn't a huge secret how it developed that negative brand. . .  A shift of electoral power toward the Democratic Party actually means a broad shift toward more pluralistic control of our government. The minorities, the downtrodden, and the freaks and geeks are taking over.

So, being a Latino automatically lumps you with the "downtrodden," the "freaks," and the "geeks."  And you're born with a "loser" image too!!  But that's OK because we're "taking over."  Good grief!

I never thought of myself as a freak, for being a Latino, that is.  The verdict still out on other stuff.  And I never wanted or expected to "take over" anything.  I'll leave that to Pinky and the Brain.  The only thing I've ever wanted, expected, and demanded - and will continue to do so - is the opportunity to do the best I can with my God-given skills.  That's all.  I find this whole thing unintentionally insulting, but insulting nonetheless.

And this is a guy who likes us!

OK, so you want to bust illegal immigrants entering or residing in the U.S.  We can talk about whether it's a good idea or a bad idea, but you can make a reasonable argument for it.  But busting illegal immigrants who are on the way out to Mexico?

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. border authorities no longer apprehend illegal immigrants only as they enter the country. Now they're catching them on the way out.

At random times near the Tijuana-San Diego border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have been setting up checkpoints, boarding buses destined for Mexico and pulling off people who don't have proper documentation.

That's messed up.

Vincent Bond, an agency spokesman, said departing immigrants are fair targets.

"If our officers come upon people who are here illegally . . . regardless of whether they're leaving the country, we detain them, make a record of the fact they were here illegally and return them to Mexico," Bond said.

A record?  They come to the U.S. and get fake IDs, fake SSNs, and fake documents.  What kind of record do you expect to build based on that?  "Yes, please line up mister . . .  er . . . James McGinnis.  Yeah.  The one who's 5-feet and 4-inches, looks like Pancho Villa's slender brother and says no hablo inglés.  We suspect he may not be who he claims to be"

I mean, it's one thing if they're looking for someone who has broken the law here - and I mean a law other than entering and staying illegally since they are well on their way to cure that when they're arrested.  Of course, there's always a "rationale" behind it:

Rick Oltman, spokesman for Californians for Population Stabilization, said he hoped that the crackdown on departing illegal immigrants would be expanded to other exit points across the country.

He said apprehended immigrants who returned home to Mexico would become "ambassadors of enforcement" and might help deter illegal immigration.

"Each one of these people will then report increased enforcement to family and friends when they do get home, and that will give them second thoughts about sneaking back into the U.S.," he said.

"Ambassadors of enforcement."  What a crock.  The only thing that's going to do is to have people get off the bus to Mexico and make a dash for it.  Can you just picture the Border Patrol Agents running after illegal immigrants who want to leave the country?

Lets use some common sense on this one: these measures can have no other practical use beyond harassing illegal immigrants.  If you are really concerned about illegal immigration, you dedicate a lane for these people so you can get them out of the U.S. quicker, not waste taxpayer dollars creating a record that won't help anyone with anything.

It turns out Forrest Gump was right: stupid is as stupid does.

2 Tough Questions

Question 1:

If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who
were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had
syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?


Read the next question before looking at the response for this one.


Question 2:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts.
Here are the facts about the three candidates. Who would you vote for?


Candidate A
Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologist
He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.


Candidate B
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in
college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.


Candidate C
He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an
occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.



Which of these candidates would be our choice?


Decide first... no peeking, then jump over for the response.

...let's have some fun!  A Japanese IQ test, purported to be given to perspective employees.  Can you get everyone across the river?  (Click on big blue circle after jump.)



The following rules apply:
* Only 2 persons on the raft at a time.
* The father cannot stay with any of the daughters, without their mother's presence.
* The mother cannot stay with any of the sons, without their father's presence.
* The thief (striped shirt) cannot stay with any family member, if the Policeman is not there.
* Only the Father, the Mother and the Policeman know how to operate the raft.

To move the people, click on them. To move the raft, click on the pole on the opposite side of the river. The solution is possible! THIS IS NOT A TRICK!

You gotta think just what the 'original' Fidel had stuck up his ass?

Since finally succeeding his ailing 81-year-old brother, Fidel, in February, Mr. Castro, 76, who appeared before hundreds of thousands of Cubans at a May Day rally on Thursday here in the capital, has been busy with a flurry of changes. In the last eight weeks he has also opened access to cellphones, lifted the ban on Cubans using tourist hotels and granted farmers the right to manage unused land for profit.

The Meatrix.

What a crazy, crazy world we live in: $55 for a bottle of water...and you thought gas was more expensive! 

(Watch the video.)

That is Spanish for "folly" or "nonsense," which is precisely what the pro-Commonwealth party in Puerto Rico is trying to put forward as its political platform.

I will start with the usual disclaimer I make every time I discuss this issue at Telling Stories: when it comes to Puerto Rico, I am and have always been pro-Statehood.  I don't see Puerto Rico's status as a "cultural dilemma" or a matter of national identity.  When it comes to Puerto Rico's status, Puertoricans are being asked to make a political decision.  If P.R. votes for statehood, I'm fairly certain that the next day Puerto Rico won't have a majority white, blond, blue-eyed population, people won't jump out of bed speaking English, El Yunque won't be a snow-covered peak, and Puerto Rico won't be any more or less racist than it is now.

I also believe that if at any time I believed P.R. couldn't or shouldn't become a State, the only true alternative left is to become an independent nation where Puertoricans have full control of their affairs.  Again, not a matter of culture or nationalism, just a matter of political self-determination.

What I hate is the current colonial status.

And what I really hate is the idea the pro-Commonwealth party is now putting forth that there is room for "improvement" in this relationship.  Even the headlines don't make sense:

Soberanía bajo control federal

Which translates to "sovereignty under federal control."  If it doesn't make sense to you, welcome to the club.  That's nothing more than wanting to have the cake and eat it too.  And what's more, there's no room under the U.S. Constitution for such a creature:

Some in Puerto Rico have proposed a “New Commonwealth” status, under which Puerto Rico would become an autonomous, non-territorial, non-State entity in permanent union with the United States under a covenant that could not be altered without the “mutual consent” of Puerto Rico and the federal Government. In October 2000, a few months before President Clinton established the Task Force, the House Committee on Resources held a hearing on a bill (H.R. 4751) incorporating a version of the “New Commonwealth” proposal. William Treanor, who held the same position in the Office of Legal Counsel that I now hold, testified that this proposal was not constitutional. . .

The effect of this legal conclusion is that the “New Commonwealth” option, as the Task Force understood it, is not consistent with the Constitution. Any promises that the United States might make regarding Puerto Rico’s status as a commonwealth would not be binding. Puerto Rico would remain subject to Congress’s authority under the Territory Clause of the Constitution “to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory . . . belonging to the United States.” Puerto Rico receives a number of benefits from this status, such as favorable tax treatment. And Puerto Rico may remain in its current Commonwealth, or territorial, status indefinitely, but always subject to Congress’s ultimate authority to alter the terms of that status, as the Constitution provides that Congress may do with any U.S. territory.

What's even more interesting is that the pro-Commonwealth supporters don't even realize - or don't want to realize, since colonialism hurts - is that, from the beginning, the relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico is not a relationship between equals.  Here's what the governor proposes:

Lo que plantea el desarrollo del ELA, fundamentado en la soberanía del pueblo de Puerto Rico, es que nos sentemos de tú a tú . . . y que en ese diálogo franco, con ciudadanía americana, se tomen los acuerdos que se tenga que tomar de hasta dónde es que llega la jurisdicción . . . Que esté claro que el poder último de gobernarnos y tomar nuestras decisiones está en las manos de los puertorriqueños.

Which translates to,

What the development of the Commonwealth grounded in the sovereignty of the people of Puerto Rico proposes is that we [the U.S. and P.R.] sit down and negotiate as equals . . . and that as part of that earnest dialogue, with American citizenship, whatever agreements that must be made are made to determine how far the [federal] jurisdiction reaches . . . Let it be clear that the ultimate power of self-government lies with the Puertorican people.

So, what the pro-Commonwealth crew wants is for the federal government to (a) give up its control over P.R., (b) to reach an agreement where U.S. citizenship is non-negotiable, (c) to enter into an agreement about how far the feds can go to apply federal law, and (d) with the government of Puerto Rico having the ultimate say on whether those laws apply to it and its citizens or not.

You tell me: disparates, yes or no?

Love this....


Hat tip to Majikthise.

Go there for the interview.

Ever since the birth of my daughter, I've been thinking a lot about money...you know, those S's with the double line through it ($$$).  It's been gnawing at me and gnawing at me, just like that little mouse probably has been doing around the apartment that I haven't caught yet! 

Let me tell you, the human mind amazes me, it puts pieces of the 'puzzle' together in ways you just can't understand:  I was watching the old boob tube today after a nice dinner, and for some reason I stopped at channel 66, The US Senate.  Bush and Fox were clipped talking about how great NAFTA has been for trade between the two three countries (US, Mexico and Canada).

Okay, piece one.

I am subscribed to a financial email newsletter, and today I happened to read it instead of deleting it.  What caught my eye was this"  "The New American Currency."  Fired up Google and this is what I get:

CNBC Interview with Stephen Previs about the Amero.

This video highlights a very serious concern which none of our media is looking into. The Amero is being looked at as the defacto currency of the North American Community (or Union).

Steve Previs: One thing the people who are dollar-based need to focus on is the Amero. That’s the one thing nobody’s talking about that’s going to have a big impact on everybody’s life in Canada, the US and Mexico. If you google it you can find out all about it. The Amero is the proposed new currency for the north American community which is being developed right now between Canada the US and Mexico to make a borderless community much like the EU and the dollar, Canadian dollar, us dollar and the Mexican peso being replaced by the Amero.

Interviewer: You really think that will get any leeway?

Steve Previs: You may want to visit a couple of web sites to see how far along it is. The Canadians are pretty upset about it whereas the Americans apart from the Texans are the only people who know anything about it the rest of the public is really with their heads in the sand on this one. Click here for more.

Source.

And your really, REALLY need to read this.  Canadians are upset; WAKE UP AMERICANS, the dollar is going down the tubes!

This is the reason I don't give too much energy into racism, immigration, and the border - they are all side notes and distractions to this bigger back room deal.

Donate $5.50 and have a tree planted in Indonesia, and watch it grow on Google Earth: www.mybabytree.org

Buy a Tree for the Rainforest - Get a KML

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) offers you the opportunity to buy a tree which will be planted in a rainforest in Sebangau National Forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. In return, they not only plant the tree, but give you a Google Earth KML file in return with the location coordinates of your tree. Theoretically, as Google continues to update with higher resolution satellite and aerial imagery, you should be able to watch the growth of your tree (and the others who donate trees) over the coming years. To get started, you simply go to the web site mybabytree.org. They have a very cute animation that will guide you through the process, and you can use Paypal to make your donation. You can see the location and list of trees purchased so far here . Borneo is another location, like the Amazon, where rain forests are disappearing due to logging at a frightening pace.

When I was young I used to go to my Uncle's house in Far Rockaway, Queens for weeks at a time.  He had an indirect positive influence on me - his books!  They were everywhere: on the floors, on shelves, book cases, in boxes, in closets.  My fondest memory is of these two towering book shelves on each side of the living room entrance he had filled with books.  I would stare at them sometimes in awe thinking that there were secrets in them.

In a time when the environment is a hot topic books these days may be getting a bad wrap.  We know they are the product of processed timber and thus must take some toll on our forests, but if you think about all sides of the environment you would line your walls with them!

MySpace is a winner in any demographic, which I guess leaves some wondering why it would go after a specific demographic and cater to it thus so...in this case Spanish speaking Latinos.  I think I could understand the surface argument of what the writer is saying:  why not have a universal MySpace.  But...in what Language?   Assuming that the same strokes are for all folks is ignorant and plain wrong, in other words you are living in a dream world.  Reality is there are many Latinos in the US who prefer to speak Spanish (not to say anything of those in the islands, South and Central America).

So why not a Myspace Latino, and a MySpace Korean...why not a MySpace in every language?  A true social network appreciates our differences and seeks to unite them, not wipe them out.

Sidenote:  Isn't it strange that computer applications such as MySpace is now part of our Culture?