Don't Shoot The Police You Jackass!

I get it.

People are frustrated over recent events in the news.  People are frustrated at many decades of abuse, targeting, profiling and just general bad behavior from people who are paid to protect and serve.  People are angry at the apparent policy of non-accountability for the people in uniform who perpetrate these crimes.  People are resigned that discussions with their children have to include the acceptance that they will not be treated fairly or equally, but that they will endure it with a smile on their faces and a "yes, sir" on their breaths if they want to stay alive.

But you don't get to shoot the police you jackass!

Shooting the police is stupid.  And it's wrong.  For more reasons than just the normal "Thou shalt not kill" thing.  It's wrong because two police officers sitting in their car minding someone's business besides your's are not target practice.  They are fathers, sons, brothers and friends.  They are two men who got up, got dressed and went to work with the thought on their minds that they were protecting and serving today.  They have names and stories; families and histories.  They had futures that included having families, dancing at their daughter's wedding, and holding the hand of their mothers while they ended their long time on this earth and passed into the next life.

And they just might have been the only two people on that police force who were brave enough to fight the good fight, rail against the unjust, and stand in the way of those "other" officers mentioned above who are not walking the correct side of the line.  The fact is that you don't know.  You will never know.  The world will now never know.  You jackass.

I get it.

You had a target on your back.  You got pulled over just about every week just because of the color of your skin.  You got followed when you walked into the store because someone assumed that, because you were black, you were there to loot the place instead of buy a tube of toothpaste to brush the stench of last night's spaghetti and meatballs from your breath.  You got offended when the lady walking by you in the parking lot shifted her purse to her other shoulder - just in case.  And you snapped.  You jackass.

You thought you would be hailed a hero.  You thought you would right the imbalance of social justice.  You thought you, in your almighty wisdom, would set right the wrongs of decades by your one cowardly act.  You jackass.

Instead, you caused a bigger divide.  You caused people, who have already had to do so much justifying, to explain away your sorry self.  You caused people who were standing strong behind you to abandon the fight as a hopeless waste.  You took the hard work of so many who were working for change and flushed it down the toilet so you could "be the man".  You stopped progress.

I get it.

You mother-fucking jackass.

Shoot to Kill?? Line 'Em Up!

Shoot to kill.  I had to check my eyes, clean my lap top screen and then go back for a second look.  Nope, it definitely said "issue the order to shoot to kill".  What on earth could the poster possibly be concerned with?  Child molesters? Mass murderers?  Bazooka-brandishing terrorists?  Nope.  Just those pesky "illegals" again.

Excuse me?  Shoot to kill?  An illegal crossing the border.  Who the hell transplanted me into North Korea while I was sleeping?  How do I wake from this ridiculous nightmare?  How do I get back home?  To my beautiful America.  Land of the free; home of the brave.  Land where "give me your tired, your poor, your huddles masses..." is written right on the fucking statue that sits at the fucking welcome gate.

It is a sad situation that someone thinks the best "solution" for stopping illegal immigration into this country is to shoot to kill the poor individuals who have made what is frequently a life-threatening, and sometimes a life-ending, journey to escape to a better life in the Land of Plenty.  It is a sad situation that someone puts the value of a welfare check over the value of human life.  It is a sad situation indeed to live in a country whose citizens are still snowballed into believing that immigration is the worst problem our country faces on a day-to-day basis by politicians who pad their pockets with war profits whilst diverting the attention of those very same sad citizens away from that fact.

Truly a welfare check costs this country around $40,000 per year.  Out of the roughly 6 million immigrants per year who use welfare services (mainly for food and medical care), most of those are LEGAL immigrants.  Illegal immigrants who apply for welfare typically have a child who was born in the US, otherwise they do not take the risk.  If we very generously said that half of those who apply are illegal (which is not true) that means we are spending $120,000,000 per year in welfare benefits.  But wait, these immigrants mainly apply for only the healthcare and food portion of welfare, not the cash.  So that means they are taking less than $40,000 per year on average.  So that $120,000,000 is actually an inflated number.

Looking at the top receivers of foreign aid (aka money) in 2012, we sent $531 million to Tanzania.  Huh?  Tanzania is even a country?  We sent $1.5 billion to Egypt.  And they weren't even the top recipients.  We sent Israel over $3 billion.  That's right around $450,000 per person in their country.  Per person.  Can you imagine if the government had sent you a check of that amount instead?  But we are complaining about giving $40,000 to a person who is right here in our own country.  Do you see that very neat bait and switch the politicians have pulled right under your nose?

And that's not even war-related.  We are spending $720 million PER DAY in Iraq.  But we are worried about a measly $40k per year.  Surely there are bigger beasts to slay?  Bigger causes that will make a substantial impact on our country's bottom line?  A cause that doesn't requires us to SHOOT TO KILL a poor family that trekked through the life-robbing dessert for two days with no food or water just so that their child can go to school and get a good education or see a doctor?

How about dialing back the random hate just a little bit and focusing on something that actually matters?  Something that can make a lasting impact.  This illegal hate-mongering is like crying because the corner store charged you $3.50 for a gallon of milk, but happily skipping down the street after you just paid $300,000 for a Tootsie Roll and bag of Fritos.

Revenge of the Average Jane

Hollywood - take note! Your plastic parts are no longer appealing!

Ahh Hollywood. You give us entertainment. You give us trends. You give us Mel Gibson (but we forgive you). You are a collection of beautiful people whose job is to decorate our magazine covers and the walls of teenagers everywhere. Beauty at all cost. The pursuit of aesthetic perfection. Personal trainers, diet gurus, and plastic surgeons.

But not so fast. The newest trend with casting agents in Hollywood everywhere is.....average Joe and Jane. Directors are giving casting agents a simple prerequisite - ALL PARTS MUST BE REAL. They are revolting against Botox and expressionless faces. They are aware that some parts are meant to be squishy, wobbly and bouncy. Faces are meant to age. Eyebrows are meant to move up and down. And that no one in your audience can relate to medically created Barbie dolls who no longer bear any resemblance to real life. In fact, some of them scare us with their Frankenstein-like post plastic surgery look.

The issue is becoming the new "hot topic" in Hollywood. Rumors are circulating that directors have passed on Nicole Kidman due to her overuse of Botox. Directors are tired of wresting with expressionless actors. Casting agents are complaining that their are no middle-aged looking women to fill middle-aged roles in movies, TV shows and even commercials. A whole generation in Hollywood has refused to allow themselves to visibly age and represent the large aging Baby-Boomer generation. And the movie industry is fighting back. One casting director, a top one in the industry, says that 99% of her filled roles now go to people who have no visible or noticeable plastic surgery.

Can I just say - it's about time!

For years the entertainment industry has been bombarding us with unrealistic looking people - making us feel inadequate on our best days. They have been brainwashing a generation of young people into lower self-esteem, body image distortions and eating disorders. They've showing us that in order to be beautiful, you have to be plastic-perfect. When did plastic become perfect? One of the most glamorous and recognizable women in the world is Marilyn Monroe. Yet, I can't recall a single plastic part on her anywhere. In fact, her slight imperfections only made her more endearing to several generations of people.

So today I am rejoicing! I'm tossing out my Rolodex filled with the most prestigious plastic surgeons who were meant to carve me up and make me beautiful. I'm boycotting the injections of deadly toxins into my skin in the name of removing a wrinkle. I've tossed the over-done air-brushed-model magazine covers in the trash.

And to those in Hollywood who are dragging their feet on this new revolution, I have only two words for you - GET REAL!

No use crying over split...oil?

Have you seen the pictures from space? There is now what looks like a new continent on our earth. It's not lush and green looking like the others. It's black. Jet black. And it's waving a British Petroleum flag. It grows in size every day - over 40 million barrels and counting. This monstrous black "continent" is taking over the Gulf Coast. BP's latest fix? It stops some of the oil leaking out - and allows them to recoup some of what they are losing. But it does not stop the leak that is still happening - it just slows it. Their latest "fix" is in progress, but we won't know if it works until late August. Until then, the oil still spills. And if it doesn't work, BP is all out of ideas. Hmmm...maybe our government could step up?

OBAMA claims he is in charge and had been in charge from the very beginning. Of course, this is news to our disaster coordinator, Thad Allen. Allen has point blank said that BP is in charge and this mess is their responsibility to fix - not the government's. So I guess that is what was meant by "in charge"? It's always refreshing to see that our leaders are taking charge and excelling at disaster management. It's looks as though, once again, the Gulf Coast is going to be the forgotten region.

BP is only worried about reclaiming lost profits. Obama is only concerned with spreading untrue stories (we call those "lies" Obama) about everything the government is doing to resolve the situation. So who is worried about those who inhabit the Gulf Coast? Maybe George Bush? Maybe George Clooney or Kanye West? With the projected current patterns, it is estimated that the oil residue will spread up the east coast by mid-summer. Maybe when it finally reaches New York the government will care enough to get off their arses and force a resolution or shut BP down. With a spill this large, it will not take long to affect shores of countries besides our own. Who is speaking for them?

George Bush ignored Lousiana for 5 days - Obama has ignored them for 2 months. Wildlife, jobs, and homes have already been affected. The Exxon Valdez crashed 21 years ago and they are STILL cleaning up from that disaster. By the end of this fiasco - this spill is on pace to be nearly 10 times greater. The people of the Gulf Coast once again are going to be devastated by this tragedy for many years to come, yet they have thus far been largely ignored. No celebrity benefits. No nightly news coverage showing the real story of the devastation. But we should not worry. Obama has said he is IN CONTROL.

Maybe Kanye West will come back around to also let everyone know that Obama hates black people?

The Fuss About Immigration

Not since abortion has our country been so divided over a political topic as this one. And the divisions are weird - it's the people against the politicians. Politicians seem to have found one issue with which they can truly be bipartisan, as have the American people. Unfortunately, our elected officials have decided to side against an overwhelming majority of Americans. Americans have repeatedly and loudly stated that they do not support a blanket asylum policy to relieve the illegal alien problem. They are looking at facts, statistics and their emails. They are getting angry and loud! Want to know what all the fuss is really about? Consider the following highlight from an article posted in the LA Times:

From the L. A. Times in 2002
1. 40% of all workers in L. A. County ( L. A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes. This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card.
2. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
3. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.
4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers.
5. Nearly 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.
6. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.
7. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.
8 Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.
9. 21 radio stations in L. A. are Spanish speaking.
10.. In L. A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 3..9 million speak Spanish.
(There are 10.2 million people in L. A. County . )
(All 10 of the above facts were published in the Los Angeles Times)
Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare. Over 70% of the United States annual population growth (and over 90% of California, Florida, and New York) results from immigration. 29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens.

Now, I'm usually not one to rely to heavily on statistics. But when I read those statistics I am well and truly frightened and alarmed! Aren't you? How could we let this happen? How could our government let this happen? How could we let 40% of people in LA work "under the table". To answer in brief - we didn't! It's a lie. A well-circulated lie. It looks like a believable lie. But there was actually no such article. Some "facts" are simply made up. What's worse, there appears to be a number of statistics taken from various sources, then twisted or modified to suit the users needs. Yes, that's right. The American people have all become politicians! And we are using lies and false facts to get all of our fellow Americans on our side.

Here's an example: let's look at #4. Over 2/3 of all births....blah...blah...blah. In 2001, the Department of Health Services reported that 62.7% of all births that year were classified as "Hispanic". Not illegal aliens. Not on Medi-Cal. Just having an ethnic descent of Latin origin. That's quite a stretch, even for politician wanna-bes. The problems with this sort of scam-data is that they mix in a few near-real facts just throw you off. 29% of the people in federal prisons are not illegal. There was a report printed by the New York Times that did indicate that 23% of inmates in county prisons are deportable. Not exactly the same data or meaning, nonetheless it sounds close enough - right? Yet another example - there is absolutely no form of proof that 300,000 illegal aliens are living in garages. Who told them this? Did they walk around and count? And why is it only Hispanic illegals who are being targeted? There are plenty of others to consider.

So what's the real answer? Well, we won't find it in lies. We won't find it in twisted statistics. Most likely, most of us will look to our hearts. I am not a fan of giving asylum to all illegal aliens. I'm also not an advocate of simply deporting all of them. I see no reason we cannot continue to use a case-by-case approach. There are some people here illegally who literally fled for their lives to come here. I'm not all about putting them on a boat or plane and sending them back "home" to die. There has to be a middle ground somewhere.

Newsflash: Our ancestors who came here were at one time "illegal aliens". That's because when our ancestors came here anybody could come here. From anywhere. For any reason they wanted - even if they just felt like it. Of course there had to come a point where the open-door policy was eliminated. But can we not even stop and think about our wonderful country's history and at least understand how this problem came to be in the first place? We are the "Land of Opportunity". We live in the greatest place in the world. Of course people are breaching our borders and sneaking in when official channels have not worked for them. Who wouldn't want to live here?

Money is a huge concern, and the reason the majority of Americans feel so strongly about this issue. We can't afford to put them all on the new Obaaaamaaaa health care plan that they would be entitled to. So they must go, right? We can't afford to keep all of the illegal aliens - yet rounding them all up and sending them back is a never-ending process that could very well end up costing us even more money. How is that beneficial when we are already drowning in deficit?

Can we just send back the criminals? I think that would be a great start! Surely no one would argue that this is cruel or wrong? There is no cost associated with "rounding them up", we have them in custody already. And it certainly would go a long way toward helping Americans find their middle ground with their elected representatives over this issue. It might even turn some of those love-to-hate-them politicians into heroes. I hope that Obaaaamaaaa and his followers (yes, I still call them sheep!) will consider that middle ground when making plans to extend the invites, and send those prison buses straight to the harbor.

OBaa Baa Sheep People

I'll never understand the Obama sheep. The primary problem with the healthcare system according to Obama is the rising cost of healthcare insurance both to Americans and their employers. OK. So he passed this "revolutionary" healthcare bill. Now what? Healthcare will not be cheaper for individuals OR for employers. There's absolutely nothing in this bill that forces insurance companies to lower or cap their rates. But now, it's law that you have to buy this expensive insurance. Give the man a pat on the back. He's smarter than we think. He just bent over America and told us all to grab our ankles - and half the mindless sheep are applauding him for it. How smooth is that? I mean, he could've at least bought me dinner first.

The only winners in this new healthcare bill are the insurance companies. They made two very small sacrifices (eliminating re-existing conditions and lifetime caps), and in return we hand-delivered some 26-30 million new customers. Not only that, but they now get to influence and control your end-of-life care decisions. (As if that tidbit is not insulting enough to the elderly in our country, he canceled some of the healthcare benefits they are currently receiving in order to pay for it. ) Your insurance company and the government get to decide when you should stop fighting to live.

Does this healthcare plan "save jobs" as he has also claimed? I can't see how. He failed to do anything to control the cost of insurance premiums. He's planning to levy an insurance "luxury tax" on any employers who offer you a better plan that what the government outlines as acceptable, which means that employers who decide to provide their employees with the benefit of better insurance will pay a 6% payroll tax penalty. It means some employers will actually be forced to downsize staff to get themselves under the small business cap that will exempt them from providing insurance to all of their employees.

It is true that a few people will benefit from this change. But that vast majority will not. Since when did this country become about sacrificing the good of many to advance a few?

If you don't feel violated and let down enough, just brace yourself. Key democrats are already speaking out about making amendments to this bill so that it will include coverage to illegal immigrants - something that over 70% Americans have repeatedly and loudly voiced that opposition to. Apparently, the voice of the people no longer matters. The ONLY acceptable amendment to me right now is for the Congress to pass an amendment that eliminates the exemptions that were handed out to unions and government employees - including themselves. The outrageousness of those exemptions is one thing that ALL Americans seem to agree on (except for those who were gifted exemption of course).

I wonder how much fleecing Obaabaa's sheep-followers are going to endure before they take off their rose-colored glasses and start seeing real life...

Just because you have the stage, does not mean you should share your big mouth

I've been silent for a little while. Work commitments have kept me busy. And I've been quietly watching to see how things develop on the Obama front. But sometimes things happen that require we put down the toys we are playing with, and take a moment to address the state of things.

Kanye, really? REALLY? You thought it would be a good idea to steal the spotlight and ruin the moment of a lifetime for a 19 year old girl to run your big mouth about...what was it this time....Beyonce didn't win the award you wanted? Jay Leno asked you how you thought your mother would feel about your antics. You ducked your head and muttered a reply. Let me help you out. She would SMACK you upside that no-class head of yours and remind you that she raised you with better manners than that. Enough said. Someone please take the microphone away from that dumb boy. It doesn't even matter if he has spoken yet. Just take it away. He's proven he cannot resist the temptation to share his stupidity. Now can we please move on.

We move on because Kanye was not the only person with a big mouth this week. In fact, this mouth was so big, it did not require a microphone. It shouted out like a coward from a crowd of its cronies and did what? Called the President of the United States (our beloved POTUS) a liar! On national (and now international) television. WTF? Do you live in this country? Were you raised by wild animals? That is the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. He is your leader. It does not matter if you like him - you better respect him. Respect him enough to not shout at him like you are heckling a basketball game at Madison Square Gardens. You're not at MSG. You're in CONGRESS for Christ's sake. Stop acting like a toddler.

We seem to have lost the art of respecting one another as human beings in our beloved country. Kanye gave away his respect by acting like a child. But does anyone, besides Taylor Swift, really care? He's an entertainer. A marginal one at that. But when members of Congress so grossly disrepsect our President, these things cannot be ignored. The United States is disrespected by a very large portion of the globe. Don't get me wrong, when they need our money they will come to our door sweet talking and begging. But the globe does not respect us. They do not take us, or our POTUS, seriously. And why should they. For 8 years it was acceptable for Congress, the media at large, and Amercians in general to ridicule, complain about, make fun of and generally disrespect George Bush. Obama himself was frequently disrespectful to the President. Now that he is wearing the Presidential hat, he may see exactly how wrong and how destructive that is. Unfortunately, the rest of us have yet to catch on. We cannot expect the world to respect our President, and by proxy us, if we cannot respect ourselves enough not to allow our Congressmen to act like toddlers. Whether I "like" Obama no longer matters. He is the President. We elected him. Now we need to respect him and the job that he does. We can respectfully disagree with his ideas, actions, and even his choice of shoes if we wish. We have a Constitution with a Bill of Rights that allows us that freedom. But nowhere in either of those documents does it give us the freedom to be blatantly disrepectful to one another. It's time to grow up people!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Aretha - no one has ever said it better than you.