Immigration Reform

So this whole immigration situation got me thinking.

On the way to College Park, WTOP mentioned that a group of kids were in left in a less than ideal situation. Their parents are illegal aliens, but the three children they have were all born in the U.S., therefore being U.S. citizens. The parents on the other hand have been deported, leaving the eldest child, a 16 year old boy, to work in order to take care of his younger siblings. I cannot even say I know how the child feels or even remotely relate to the situation. So even though this being a horrible situation, I completely support the deportation of the parents.

Before I continue, the parents deemed it more fitting to leave their three children here in the U.S., than to take them back to Mexico and live in a bedroom in the home of relatives. The primary reason is that. . . the U.S. will take care of the kids, by providing a far better education, healthcare, and jobs.

This raises a whole mess of issues. The 16 year old boy, is now working to support his siblings, defeating the purpose of him getting an education. They should be plaed in the custody of the state until they are legally able to take care of themselves. This frustration cannot be directed in anyway to these kids, instead, my frustration is at the parents and every other illegal alien.

An immigrant myself, my parents had gone through legal channels to get their visas to relocate to the U.S., they waited close to 10 years! The illegal aliens and migrant workers crossing into the U.S., should have no access to any of the benefits of being a citizen. I probably got to my main point faster than I had hoped, but they cannot become citizens so quickly since they are not seeking political asylum, like Cuban refugees. They do not live in a war torn country or under an oppressive regime. Instead they have the misfortune of coming from a mis-managed country where it almost seems as though their primary source of income is tourists. Consisting of college kids looking to get drunk for one week out of the school year. That is a totally different topic though.

I hardly believe they would count as refugees. From dictionary.com, they define refugee as: 1) a person who flees for refuge or safety, esp. to a foreign country, as in time of political upheaval, war, etc. 2) political refugee 3) From the American heritage dictionary [on dictionary.com]: One who flees in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression, or religious persecution. 4) from wordnet [on dictionary.com]: an exile who flees for safety

To my dismay though, (perhaps I have heard it out of context) while eating dinner I was watching CNN, the democrats were looking to give illegal aliens access to healthcare (emergency care only), children would gain free access to education and lunches and I cannot really remember the rest of the benefits. This would create a whole mess of issues economically, just as introducing a guest working program leading to citizenship.

FROM CNN.com: Bush and most Democrats support creating a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million immigrants already in the country illegally. But many in the GOP fiercely oppose those proposals, labeling any legalization plan as "amnesty."

While, I am against a guest worker program, it is the only one that makes sense. The influx of illegal aliens cannot be stopped, but a method of controlling it is needed. In a more extreme case, I just want to through this idea out there, so that in the event any policital official ever reads this: Use RFID tags implanted subcutaneously on deported illegal immigrants. It makes things simpler in tracking people, although this would also create an issue with privacy and security. Then again would it really, they are not citizens, so in my point of view, their rights in the U.S. are rather limited. Perhaps I have just misunderstood U.S. law.

The Celebration of Mediocrity...hooray?!?

So it has been awhile since I have done anything remotely related to this blog, which is fine by me. The past few weeks, I have come to a realization that we [as a society] celebrate mediocrity. People who have done nothing to contribute to enhancement of life or society, receive a great deal of notoriety. Most recent example is Anna Nicole Smith, her death although tragic, in the sense that she leaves an infant behind without no real guardianship appointed. Her death was covered on major and minor news outlets. Why? She was famous for being a gold-digger, she married an 80 year old man for money. On a side note, I do believe she is entitled to some of the estate, I mean she most likely had sex with the guy. To continue on about my rant of mediocrity: the next person coming to mind is Ms. Spears herself. This may sound insensitive, I find it extremely humorous that this is happening to her. I feel as though she has become the epitome of the 'White Trailer Trash' that many had expected her to be. She has embraced it, good for her. Unfortunately, I have no qualms when a star destroys their lives, I have issues though when a child becomes involved. For the mere fact that once they grow up, the cycle repeats itself and I have to hear the same story over again. How they had it 'rough' because of lack of quality socialization with parents, and the constant exposure to negative experiences. It will only perpetuate the cycle of mediocrity. This being in the media, will only lead to the creation of more crappy entertainment. The cynic within me thinks that there should be a 3 strike policy, just as if it were prison. Three stupid things and you get spayed or neutered to keep the rest of the world from becoming idiots.

Flipping channels, I have come across some shows that fit my criteria of celebrating being average. The Hills, Real Housewives, practically almost any reality TV show, having nothing really to offer. They follow average people, who are either: rich, attractive, rich & attractive, disturbingly slow/stupid. Also, can someone explain why the hell are people so enthralled by Deal or No Deal. There is no real strategy behind it, except guessing your ass off. I try and imagine myself sitting in the audience watching a person eliminate suitcases...wow, how exciting. At least with millionaire, you had to have some semblance of intelligence.

No all this ranting must have some purpose. It does, and I believe have finally reached it. Although, this movie is not the greatest movie ever created, its story was simple and clear. Idiocracy, just showed that our celebration of individuals, shows and movies will yield further generations into the sheer stupidity. Sure, we're average now, but we'll soon be idiots. 

On a side note, I heard about that UMD student that was killed at ASU, although tragic, and condolences go out to her friends and family; I feel completely apathetic about the situation. I do not even know her, so I cannot understand who people at UMD are so freaked out about it, or are so sad. [I guess it would make sense to explain that: I overheard several people talking about it and how it affected them. How they were so distraught even though they don't know her]

I found heaven, and it has a s**t load of alchohol.

After seeing Casino Royale (which I will get to later), on the way home, my brother and I stopped at this place called Corridor Wine & Spirits. I felt like I was 6 again inside a Toys R' Us, or a more common metaphor; a kid in a candy store. The place had imported, domestic, and mirco beers.  They had stuff that are hard to find. some accessories for wine, decanteurs, various cork removal devices in a liquor store. More wines that you could imagine...well overall just a massive selection. Its like Costco for alcohol.

Casino Royale, highly enjoyable, much better than alot of the stuff than Pierce Brosnan made. The seriousness of the movie, was great. Limited gadgets was also good, the ones used made good use. Gorgeous women as usual. Thoroughly enjoyed the bond women.

I be procrastinating.

(Contains Political Banter, from someone who casually pays attention to National News and pays more attention to International Relations. Also, this is based upon memory and is extremely biased. So for those of you who pay a great deal of attention to politics in general, probably very few, I apologize for the incoherence and fragmented thoughts and sentences that is contained within this post. Enjoy and prepare to get confused.)

So its been a long while. Been watching quite a bit of the debates for the Mid-term elections. Was watching the one for the FL gubernatorial race, the reform candidate Max Linn, is a douche-bag. He never answered any questions and was blatantly attacking the other two candidates, while moderator kept reminding him of the rules. Additionally, the senatorial race between Ben Cardin and Michael Steele is kinda funny and interesting. Steele is as indecisive as can be, and well Cardin has no real plans while he is in office. On 'Meet the Press' Sunday morning, he was saying that he would have the troops to start coming home within three months. First off, a three months to get 100000+ troops demobilized and back home is a great thought, impossible, but nice. Second, he was willing to leave a nation in the midst of civil war. Third, when the notion of civil war was brought up, he said that he would seek aid from the international community. The problem there is that, most of the international community won't come near Iraq with a 20 foot pole. Well correction, there have been stides in bringing in international aid. The point is that, it was a futile and shameful way of trying to garner more votes. I also think that Michael Steele is not going to do much better. So I think that Maryland is kinda fucked in this sense.

As we speak I am listening to: The Cure - 'Fascination Street' Great song, so I suggest people check it out. Also if people are interested, Mute Math is going to be at the 9:30 Club this Tuesday; the current cast of 5 Takes (travel show on Travel Channel) is going to be at a bar in Silver Spring, MD. Guys, two of the girls are pretty hot, and for the ladies on of the guys there is a model. There's going to be beer, it is a bar.

Till next time I feel like procrastinating, Cheers.

BBQ...mmm mmm good.