Wednesday, May 31, 2006

U.S. troops kill pregnant woman in Iraq

U.S. troops kill pregnant woman in Iraq - Yahoo! News (AP)

The other day, the massacre at Haditha, killing old folks, women, and children.

In the meantime, more and more of our troops (and journalists) are killed and maimed.

This whole war has gotten out of hand. No, it was stupid to begin with.

We need to get out of there. We need that "exit strategy." Now.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Justices Restore Exit Exam - Los Angeles Times

Justices Restore Exit Exam - Los Angeles Times

Lots of California news today! (Note also the Enron verdicts.)

I do understand the other side of this high school exit exam issue based on the fact that students don't get a good enough education here in CA, and that we do lack quality teachers, etc. (Frankly K-12 in CA does truly suck - my kids went through it. Too many parties, days off, and movies! What was that? I also have Illinois for comparison - where my kids started and where I went to school. Sooo much better!)

Given that K-12 is really pretty bad here, inexcusably bad here, and that CA is rated near the bottom of all the states (!), retaining the HS exit exam is still a better idea than doing away with it. Perhaps the schools do need that pressure to have the students actually learn something? Hopefully it wil make for less goofing around and slacking, and push administrators, teachers, parents, and students to get down to business already.

Now to improve the K-12 education!

Note that the HS exit exam only required 8th-grade math and 10th-grade English skills... Yeesh!

Comparing the Immigration Bills - Los Angeles Times

Comparing the Immigration Bills - Los Angeles Times

A handy side-by-side comparison of the major points of the House bill and the Senate bill.

Schwarzenegger, Fox to discuss immigration

Schwarzenegger, Fox to discuss immigration - Yahoo! News (AP)

Also, a legal immigrant (the governor of our state, no less) meeting with the president of most of our illegal immigrants.

Some of Fox's words and actions regarding illegal Mexican immigrants are truly annoying. It's interesting timing for his trip to the U.S. just as we're trying to get immigration legislation through our Congress.

Note Fox's encouragement for our proposed guest-worker program. Of course he would support our guest-worker program. Look at the benefits for Mexico and Mexicans - either here or back home - if we were to have a such a program.

It's all rather bizarre.

Fox is well aware of the fact that money sent home to Mexico by illegals in the U. S. is a major source of income for his country.

Fox is also up for re-election soon. Many of the illegals here will be voting in that Mexican election; in essence, it does appear that Presidente Fox is doing some of his campaigning right here in our good old U. S. of A.

Imagine if the tables were turned and our president went to Mexico (or any other country) to campaign among American voters?

What I'd really like to see is a Mexican president who works at making Mexico a better place, a place where its citizens can readily get work at decent wages. Clearly Mexicans would prefer to stay in their own country.

Again, there's much bizarre here.

FWIW, as far as that controversial guest-worker program is concerned, I don't like it for the simple reason that the "guests" wouldn't be "guests", they'd simply stay here, hoping to pass unnoticed, just as they're doing right now. What's the point?

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Mutilated and killed, Iraqi boy is sectarian victim

Mutilated and killed, Iraqi boy is sectarian victim - Yahoo! News

Just one more reason to ask, why are we making such great sacrifices for Iraq?

Yes, we have to fix what we've broken there, but beyond that...?

No, it's not about winning (and how is that defined?) the War on Terror or abolishing Al Qaeda. Our presence in Iraq is not going to accomplish that.

Nor can we stop the Iraqis from killing each other - even children, such as in the headline.

I'm not sure the Iraqis are worth our sacrifices...

Friday, May 19, 2006

"Spanglish" California mocks Senate English push

"Spanglish" California mocks Senate English push - Yahoo! News (Reuters)

Says who?

"...Californians wondered on Friday what all the fuss was about.
Most immigrants embrace English, and Spanish exists happily alongside."
To put it politely - horse hockey.

This is not true of the Californians that I know - and you'll note that I live in California. I even know Latinos who don't agree with this.

Yes, the Spanish language is integral to the geography and history of California. Fine. I even like Spanish - and can hablo y comprendo un poquito, thanks to three years of high school Spanish study - in Illinois!

(Es muy interesante reading those Spanish protest signs and listening to Spanish newscasts these days...)

But none of that negates the fact that English has always been commonly understood as our national language.

These reporters need to interview more people who are not from Mexico - yes, there still are some of us around here...

This whole thing is tiresome - let's get this mess settled already, get the legislation through, then enforced, done.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Senate votes English US national language

Senate votes English US national language - Yahoo! News (AFP)

Hurray!

About time.

Hey, my legal immigrant family made a point of learning English. They didn't know it before they came here. If they can do it... OIOW, there's no excuses for not learning - and using - the language of this country.

NBC 4 - News - Border Crossing Shut Down After Shooting

NBC 4 - News - Border Crossing Shut Down After Shooting

Well, I saw this one coming. Thought it was only a matter of time before violence entered into this.

Good thing the illegal immigration legislation is supposed to be settled and enacted soon!

At a Glance: Immigration Legislation

At a Glance: Immigration Legislation - Yahoo! News (AP)

A great, quick-read summary of what's going on.

Civil liberties debate leaves much of America cold

Civil liberties debate leaves much of America cold - Yahoo! News (Reuters)

That it does is troubling.

I also think that this is due partly to the erosion of education in this country. Just one more argument to press for better education!

Excerpts from this article:

Richard Ben-Veniste, a Democratic member of the September 11 Commission which investigated the 2001 attacks, said the numbers reflected an indifference which was discouraging, but not surprising.

"Unless it directly affects an individual, people are not as vigilant as they
ought to be and perhaps not as educated as they ought to be on the importance of
our constitutional privacy and civil liberties protections," he said.

Other analysts say the polls highlight underlying resignation due to an erosion of civil liberties over time.

"There's been an assault on Americans' privacy. Everything we do in our society seems to be monitored, every purchase we make is collected by private entities. I think people are just used to it today," said Lewis Katz, a law professor and privacy expert at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Senate OKs Border Fence, Back Citizenship - AP

Immigration Full Coverage on Yahoo! News

From the article...

WASHINGTON - The Senate agreed to give millions of illegal immigrants a shot at U.S. citizenship and backed construction of 370 miles of triple-layered fencing along the Mexican border Wednesday, but prospects of the legislation clearing Congress were clouded by a withering attack against President Bush by a prominent House Republican.

Da Vinci Code Review - AP

Yahoo! Movies (AP)

The headline for the review: 'Da Vinci Code' Seen As Cursory and Rushed

Given 2 stars by the AP reviewer

Hmmm.

Read the novel, looking forward to seeing the movie for myself...

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

USATODAY.com - 'Da Vinci Code' backs away from book

USATODAY.com - 'Da Vinci Code' backs away from book

Snippets from the article...

Screened for critics Tuesday in Los Angeles, the film offers more skepticism to the theory of Jesus' marriage and fatherhood than Brown wrote

The movie focuses more on mysticism and spirituality and eliminates the romance between Langdon and police cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou)

Contrary to rumors about the script, there are no scenes of Jesus and Mary Magdalene romantically involved

Monday, May 15, 2006

10 Ways to Lower the Cost of Driving

10 Ways to Lower the Cost of Driving from ConsumerReports.org on Yahoo! Autos

We from SoCal need this more than anyone.

I've realized that it costs ~$12 now to visit my daughter - and she only lives in the next county!

(Maybe we should take the train...?)

Oh, and it now can be cheaper to fly to Las Vegas from here then it is to drive (depending on where you live in SoCal, of course).

Sunday, May 14, 2006

"President" Al Gore on SNL

Crooks and Liars - Al Gore as President on SNL

A reminder why we would have been so much better off!

A little entertainment on Mother's Day.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Senate leaders clear path for immigration bill

Senate leaders clear path for immigration bill - Yahoo! News (Reuters)

It's back.

Best to get this settled and taken care of already.

I wonder if it will happen before the next election?

Sunday, May 07, 2006

GROWING INCOME GAP SUGGESTS SHRINKING MIDDLE CLASS

GROWING INCOME GAP SUGGESTS SHRINKING MIDDLE CLASS - Yahoo! News:

"Then there are the families who are wiped out by a catastrophic illness or injury -- a child's leukemia, a father's fall from a ladder. Even a health insurance policy that pays 70 percent of hospital costs can leave a working family struggling to pay the rest if the bill is big enough. Drug costs for chronic illnesses can also drain the finances of average families.

Neither the president nor his economic advisers seem to see those ugly realities beneath the relatively good unemployment numbers. (For that matter, neither do highly paid journalists in the Washington-New York corridor. On political ommentary shows, they, too, often express surprise that Americans are not more optimistic about the economy.) The income gap keeps growing, and Bush and his team have lost sight of the have-lesses."


All too painfully true - and for far too many of us. Something needs to be done about this situation!

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Moussaoui gets life in jail

Moussaoui gets life in jail - Yahoo! News (Reuters)

"'America you lost!' Moussaoui shouted as he left the courtroom. He clapped his hands and shouted, 'I won!'"

Huh?

Well, consider the source.

It is so good that Moussaoui did not get the death sentence. For two reasons: (1) the death penalty is wrong, period (2) Moussaoui would have been considered A Great Al-Qaeda Martyr Hero in the cause of Islam, killed by the Great American Devil/Crusaders, or whatever it is that they call us these days.

By throwing Moussaoui in jail, then throwing away the key, Moussaoui is denied that "pleasure and glory."

Consider also that he may be one of the least popular inmates in the prison, possibly even less popular than serial child molesters/murderers and the like. Yeah, he'll have fun...

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Calif. Democrats pick Schwarzenegger challenger

Calif. Democrats pick Schwarzenegger challenger - Yahoo! News (Reuters)

Now, back to the upcoming election...

The California Democratic Party endorsement for governor?

It's....Phil Angelides, our current state treasurer.

Trailing in the polls, this is quite a boost for Angelides.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Mexican't Day in O.C.

"Mexican't" is my son's name for this day.

NO se puede?

Well, I made my trip to the neighborhood Jack-in-the-Box, scoped out the block, and sent a comment to Lou Dobbs (my first - this is no habit).

As far as I can tell, there is no difference whatsoever in my neighborhood. It's almost anti-climactic. Maybe the news has hyped this too much? (ratings) Maybe I need a break from the news? (yes)

I got my Breakfast Ciabatta (sp?) from the usual workers who are clearly Mexican - in fairness, Spanish-speaking - immigrants, legal or not. They certainly don't know English well. The Jack-in-the-Box was busy, with its usual long drive-thru line.

Bus stops up and down the block - a favorite of the many Mexican immigrants here - legal or not - were full.

The party's over. Now's the time for our government to get its act together on this illegal immigrant issue and stop stalling. For the sake of immigrants of whatever stripe and legality, and for all the rest of us as well.

Oh, I hear a "Yahoo!", another E-Mail from my irate Latina in-law - she's angrier about the "illegals" than anyone I know. She and her husband are legal immigrants from Chile.

Signing off,

Daughter of a legal Swedish immigrant

[Illegal Immigrants'] Protests could backfire

Protests could backfire - Editorial today from the San Francisco Chronicle


"[it is]...possible that the protests will backfire, and end up hurting the people they are intended to help."


This protest is starting to get a little chaotic, lacking clear and specific purpose and goals.

Kids are only too glad to find an excuse to blow off school and party with their friends, after all. (I actually was a kid once.) But this is not in the interest of their education or their schools.

I've been too busy working, tending to my business, to pay attention to the news throughout the day - I sure hope the protesters weren't wrapping themselves in and waving Mexican flags (or any other flags from countries other than the U.S., for that matter). That is truly and unarguably out of line.

I think what's really needed is more leadership from our government on this whole issue. They're falling down on the job with this - have been for years!



BBC NEWS | In Depth | US illegal immigrants

BBC NEWS In Depth US illegal immigrants

Sometimes the BBC covers our news better than we do.

Good, informative charts here. They show the situation - and the problem - in a glance better than words can.

The charts show the situation "on the ground" here in Southern California very well. I've seen - and heard (the increase in Spanish used) - what these charts show during the period I've lived here (since 1985).

El Dia de Los Illegales? I'm still pissed about today being called El Dia Sin Los Imigrantes/The Day Without Immigrants. My dad and his family are immigrants - this is disrespecting them and other legal immigrants. It's insulting and wrong to treat legal immigrants like this.

I almost feel sorry for McDonald's - they're being boycotted in the U.S. and Mexico today.

LIVE VIDEO - NBC-4 TV, L.A.- Protest Coverage

LIVE VIDEO: 'News Raw'

Our local NBC-TV (Channel 4) is offering this live video and audio coverage online.

This feature - "News Raw"- is available 10 am - 5 pm M - F