Why I Won’t Fly

The answer to why I won’t fly is a simple one: I refuse to be treated like a criminal and am personally offended by the tactics of my government in what is supposed to be a free country.

If you doubt that that’s the case simply take a look at how Transportation Security Agency screeners position would-be air travelers – feet apart, arms extended as they search one’s body with beeping wands or hands. Then compare that with the ‘pat down’ procedures used by real cops. It’s demeaning and, worse yet, puts you in the position of having to prove yourself innocent of any evil intent. Get that? The American presumption of presumed innocence is now gone folks.

If that wasn’t bad enough, now the Feds intend to climb inside your mind. That’s right, a bad attitude toward the thugs who are making you miserable can now net you even more hassles.

TSA has announced SPOT, which stands for a program called Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques. It works by using "specially trained" TSA employees to pick out suspects who exhibit changes in mannerisms or changes in the pitch of a person's voice. If you exhibit those signs expect to be examined more thoroughly.

Let’s look at that more closely. Let’s say you are a woman and the arrogant, badly smelling, TSA screener is running her hands underneath your bra. You are justifiably ticked and you show it. A perfectly natural reaction. However, your gritted-teeth responses are just the thing to trigger SPOT. It’s your day, Cindy, you’ve just moved up a notch on the terrorist scale and your government is going to make the next hours of your life living hell.

I wonder just how civil TSA director Chertoff would be if some slug had his hands down in the Chertoff Jockey shorts? But then, agency heads generally don’t travel tourist class, so it’s probably not an issue.

And, don’t think TSA isn’t an equal opportunity harasser. The agency plans to put its program into train and bus stations. I just wonder what the response to the program will be when it encounters a smoked up schizophrenic trying to ride the hound from Mesa to Tucson.

Fact is, folks, when your government climbs inside your shorts, your bra or your head, no matter the justification, it’s gone too far. Way too far.

Arjay

South of the border, way south of the border, down Brazil way they seem to have found a way out of oil dependance on less-than-friendly Arab states. The Brazilians turned to something they know very well -- the soil, and from that soil came sugar cane and from that sugar cane came alcohol, beautiful, 200 proof, absolute alcohol that cars run on. It too 'em years to get it right, but not as many years as we've had to get it right since the oil embargo of the 70s. There's a lesson there. A guy named David Pogue writing in The New York Times (http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=24) has a neat story about how they did it, along with a nifty twist on a long distance rally.

Here's the bottom line: Oil here is about $70/barrel. Alcohol in Brazil is about $30/barrel. Even Junior can do that math. True, you don't get quite as many miles to the gallon with alcohol but the difference isn't that significant. In a pinch Brazilian cars can run on either ethanol or gasoline.

Now I ask you, how, with a miniscule auto industry compared with the U.S. did Brazil manage to make itself independent from the rapacious ragheads and oil company plutocrats? Fact is, they wanted to. The gumment wanted to, the people wanted to and the auto companies had to.

Given this little story we have to wonder what our central government was or wasn't thinking about from the time Jimmy Carter pointed out our problem? No, don't answer that one, it'll just make you think about other government ineptitudes.

Arjay

How About a Hand Mr. President?

There is an email circulating that, via sarcasm, puts the illegal immigrant situation in a different perspective than what we’ve seen from the bleeding-heart, liberal, TV folks. Without comment we pass it on......

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.

Sonny

Let's Go the Mexican Way

Now here’s an idea....why not just adopt the Mexican version of a Green Card?

That certainly should be fair in the eyes of the illegal Mexican immigrants who are making so much noise in their ‘adopted’ country about their ‘rights’ to enjoy the American Dream.

Enough from me, how about a first-hand account from an American about his experiences working in Mexico....Read it very carefully.

Subject: From the other side of the fence.....Americans working in Mexico

From the other side of the fence.....

Received the following from (Tom O'Malley) who was a Director with SW BELL in Mexico City.

You remember I spent five years working in Mexico.

I worked under a tourist Visa for three months and could legally renew it for three more months. After that you were working Illegally. I was technically illegal for three weeks waiting on the FM3 approval

During that six months our Mexican and US Attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except hers did not permit her to work.

To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies) of my:

1. Birth certificate for Barbara and I.

2. Marriage certificate.

3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.

4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.

5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.

6. A letter from The ST. Louis Chief of Police indication I had no arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in good standing."

7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican Citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on Earth" letter. It was fun to write.

All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right.

Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours accompanied by a Mexican Attorney touring Mexican Government office locations and being photographed and fingerprinted at least three times. At each location and we remember at least four locations we were instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law and that we were required to obey their laws or face the consequences. We could not protest any of the Governments actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four thousand dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When this was done we could legally bring in our household goods that were held by US customs in Loredo Texas. This meant we had rented furniture in Mexico while awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved here that the company paid.

We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates and under contract and compliance with Mexican law.

We were required to get a Mexican drivers license. This was an amazing process. The company arranged for the Licensing agency to come to our Headquarters location with their photography and finger print equipment and the laminating machine. We showed our US license, were photographed and fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly after paying out a six dollar fee. We did not take a written or driving test and never received instructions on the rules of the road. Our only instruction was never give a policeman your license if stopped and asked. We were instructed to hold it against the inside window away from his grasp. If he got his hands on it you would have to pay ransom to get it back.

We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually using the number of our FM3 as our ID number. The companies Mexican accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. It was about twenty legal size pages annually.

The FM 3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after paying more fees.

Leaving the country meant turning in the FM# and certifying we were leaving no debts behind and no outstanding legal affairs (warrants, tickets or liens) before our household goods were released to customs.

It was a real adventure and If any of our Senators or Congressman went through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico.

The Mexican Government uses its vast military and police forces to keep its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their White house or government offices but do protest daily in front of the United States Embassy. The US embassy looks like a strongly reinforced fortress and during most protests the Mexican Military surround the block with their men standing shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect the Embassy. These protests are never shown on US or Mexican TV. There is a large public park across the street where they do their protesting. Anything can cause a protest such as proposed law changes in California or Texas.

Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we are being hard on illegal immigrants.

And then there’s this posting from an American who wanted to buy some property in Mexico. It is equally enlightening.

A few years ago I considered buying some property in Mexico and was told very quickly that I could forget that! I could rent, and that was it!

I guess my feeling is that, if Mexicans who don't want to go through the regular immigration procedures to enter the US are unhappy with conditions in their native land, then vote the rascals out! That not being possible, then create a revolution, same as our American forefathers did.

But for God's sake, stop this illegal entry into this country and then demand, and demonstrate for, "rights." They have no "rights" here, because their presence is predicated on "wrongs."

Steve

Oh, one more thing . . . a popular apology these days is that this is a "nation of immigrants." Quite true: LEGAL immigrants . . . although we may wish to check with Native Americans about this. They may have some feelings about the legality of it all.

*******************************

I sometimes feel we are stupid, naive, and so political we loose sight of common sense of what is good for the country and it's people.......sn

‘Nuff said.

Arjay

All Latins not Created Equal

We don’t expect the rabid illegal immigrants who plan to flood the streets and shut down the economy on Monday to pay any attention to this, but a word to the wise: Don’t Do It
.
No attention will be paid because the leaders of the mob action shout louder and appeal to the crowd’s baser instincts. One of those leaders is Jorge Rodriguez, a union official who helped organize earlier rallies credited with rattling Congress as it weighs the issue.

"We want full amnesty, full legalization for anybody who is here (illegally)," Rodriguez said. "That is the message that is going to be played out across the country on May 1." Mr. Rodriguez may be high on rhetoric, but he’s low on common sense.

Worse yet, the present hordes of illegal immigrants seek a shortcut to the ‘American Dream’ they say they are entitled to. Fact is, the American Dream is available to anyone who follows the law, learns English, studies the Constitution, takes the test and is of the kind of moral character that’s necessary to gain citizenship. Just ask the Cubans.

America during the Marileito boatlift were hit with the dregs of the Cuban jails and insane asylums. You didn’t see the Cubans staging mass rallies demanding their ‘rights." No, the Cubans simply took care of the bad guys within their own community, continued to work hard and pretty much follow the rules and got what they wanted.

Taking a page out of the Jesse Jackson playbook is just not good sense. Basically the blacks when they staged their freedom marches were for the most part American citizens. They were protesting social injustices they felt were inflicted upon them because they were black and because their forebears were brought to this country involuntarily.

Contrast this with the illegal immigrants who, came to this country voluntarily and violated our immigration laws to do it. If they were exploited it was because they asked to be exploited, virtually begging for the low-wage, unskilled, jobs that they now claim as somehow being their birthright. What they are demanding is pure political and economic blackmail, and if our government gives them anything but a good long look at a detention camp and the inside of a deportation bus, then shame on us.

Interestingly, an American citizen can’t even legally buy property in Mexico. Lack of property ownership immediately puts him in a second class of residency. Strangely, we don’t see hordes of Americans stomping through the streets of Tijuana demanding their rights to the "Mexican Retirement Dream.’ What’s wrong here?

If the government had a scintilla of guts it would mobilize ICE teams to go to these planned rallies and round up all the illegals they can find. If the jails fill up we know of a nice, fenced, bean field in Ruskin where they can be kept until they can be whisked back home.

One final item: The argument that they are doing work that no American will do is specious on its face. They illegals have the jobs because they willingly work for less. If they weren’t in the fields working for cutrate wages the wages would increase and Americans who used to have the packing house jobs would come back.

You never have parity when one group doesn’t have to play be the rules of the other group. Billy Bob and Nancy wouldn’t last five minutes in the strawberry fields if they insisted the 4, 6 and 8-year old children had to work with them. School and child welfare officials would be on them like white on rice. Pedro and Inez, on the other hand have no trouble putting their 3, 4, 5 and 9 year-old children to work because it’s a ‘cultural thing." Last time I heard child labor was a cultural thing was in Nazi Germany.

I have Cuban friends, and they are sickened by what the Mexicans are trying to pull. And, if you’ve noticed, none of those rallies are scheduled for Little Havana. Wonder why.
Arjay