Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Immigration - Washington's Latest Mess
Exercise: 2 Mile Run. I know I know - lame but it has been awhile and I need to ease back into things especially since my knee and back have been hurting a bit. A result of a lack of exercise no doubt. At least the weather is getting nicer so it will make it easier to get back out there and unlike previous winters, I actually lost 5lbs rather than gaining them.
You know I just love how the Head Overpaid Office Monkey in the White House has gone on with his bad self blah blah about this temporary guest worker program to make people think he's really doing something for the people who want to come and live here. In reality all he's doing is ensuring that we have a constant supply of workers who are willing to come here and work for below minimum wage pay so everyone else's wages stay depressed and we can live off of the tax they pay in and will never be able to claim back. How else do you think social security has been able to stay solvent this long? About the only real change his plan would make is say they are here legally rather than illegally. Whoohoo more free money for Bushie and we all know how much he loves that. At least when I lived and worked in London on a temporary work visa, I got the "perks" of some of the tax I paid in. Every paycheck 10% went to National Insurance and should I have had to go to the doctor, it would have been covered. Now I know we do have free programs these people can and do take advantage of but come on. If we're going to let em in then kick them out, take some of that money they are making for us and put it to use by setting up decent benefits for them while they're here.
In my opinion, if the guy (and congress for that matter) really wanted to do something about getting control on illegal immigration, they would go after the companies here who are offering the jobs rather than the people hopping the fence. Of course they would never do this. Many of those companies are the ones who support their political careers and we wouldn't want them to have to do without now would we? Oh the wonderful greed that runs rampant through DC.
In addition, had NAFTA worked as it was designed to, the Mexican government would have a much harder time with their "ethnic cleansing" of the very poor. Of course getting the asshole president out of there and replacing him with someone who actually cares about the people rather than him or herself would help.
Personally, after going through the process to be a temporary worker in another country and the immigration process to bring Chi here, I don't blame people for hopping the boarder illegally. It's nothing but a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit aimed towards those with money and making Uncle Sam some extra green that I can only imagine is even more inefficient than it used to be since Bush rolled the INS into Homeland Security. What's so stupid is that these people are coming here because their living conditions where they are suck and they want a chance at a better life yet the government extorts money out of them to do so. Ok let's think about this....if they had money to begin with to pay the kinds of fees we are talking about ($1000 upwards - and remember the exchange rate isn't working in their favor), how likely would it be that they would literally be dying to get in here? I'm thinking not nearly as much as they are now. I mean hell, why do you think Chi and I chose to live in the US rather than the UK? - the money and opportunities course. Had they been better in the UK, we would have gone there. Oh and don't even get me started on all the paperwork crap you have to fill out. You think doing a "simple" tax form is tough? HA! Try some of the immigration forms I experienced. I'm well educated and I still found them confusing as hell! And this bit with Bush saying he's doing this to protect us from terrorists - OMG that's just too funny! Bush wants to fight the "bad guys" with paper. *RE*
You really want to get a grip on things. Cut the salaries of the high paid political figures, lower or do away with the horrendous fees, and streamline the process to make it more efficient. Better yet, help countries like Mexico build a stronger economy instead of ripping it out from under their feet like we've done in the past and are continuing to do and I would be willing to bet border hopping wouldn't be nearly the problem.
And now for something completely different.....
This past Friday I went to the optometrist to pick up the pair of glasses I had on order. I finally broke down and got another pair since the ones I had were over 10 years old, my current contacts are still in really good shape, and I didn't want my insurance money to go to waste. I mean since the cost was completely covered, I figured what the hell. Anyway, when I was picking out a pair of frames, I was having a hard time finding anything I liked and wished they had something shaped like my sunglasses. I eventually settled on a pair which were ok although I wasn't overly fond of the color. The funny thing was though after I got them, I compared them to my sunglasses and I'll be damned if they weren't practically identical in shape. LOL
American Idol....
This show took an interesting turn this evening. Mandisa was voted off. Now I knew she wouldn't win the competition but I didn't expect her to go this early on. Personally, I think Elliott should have gone. I never have cared for his performances and I really don't understand why the judges seem to think he's so great. He's got a nasty little warble in his voice that just grates on my last nerve. ICK!
Journey/Lep Tour....
Well it seems there are people who are very interested to know if I am going to any of these shows and which ones. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I've decided to keep it on the down-low this time around just because I can so :P
Otay....I think that's about all for tonight.
Til next time.....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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