A hot town and other hot spots.

Well the unusual wonderful spring weather ended here in Washington D.C. yesterday as the temperature rose to 94 degrees F. Still, we attended a reception held in the National Zoo for a great organization called Conservation International. A non profit that is attempting to preserve the earths biodiversity and also try to keep as much of the earth as possible in it's natural state they also prioritze the areas of the world that are the most critical areas to be preserved. They call these areas hotspots. It's a worthy goal and a good cause which is why we support the organization.

Too much energy!

I wrote a few months ago about how I repaired and restarted the Solar hot water system that I installed on the roof of my house back in the 1980's. I modified it to provide extra heat into my house over the winter and allowed me to tell the oil and gas companies to shove it. Now with the warm days of spring here in the Northeast it's time to shut the system down as there is steam constantly coming from the storage tank. It's time to shut it down and await the first crisp days of autumn to start it up again. I will still be using solar energy but, during the summer season it will be creating the winds that will carry me along in my travels.
Using the free energy of the sun allows me to be free and enjoy life and that's as it should be.

A Memorial weekend phone call from a veteran.

I found a message on my cell phone from Jacques. I had not spoken from him in over a year but, I'm always glad to hear from him. We met on the waterfront in New York almost ten years ago when I was living on a boat in the west side of Manhattan. Jaques despite his French name is an Italinophile and speaks fluent Italian. I never asked why he was in love with all things Italian. But, I suspect it may have something to do with his war experiences. Jacques was part of the Tenth Mountian Division during World War Two and propably spent alot of time in the Italian Alps though like many WWII veterans he does not talk of there experiences. Jaques must be in his eighties but, still sounded sharp as a tack,
He mentioned that he usually spends Memorial Day along with his fellow veterans on the Intrepid aircraft carrier watching the Air Show and other military manoevers. But, because of the war in Iraq he just does feel like celebrating that way this year. I could hear the anguish in his voice as this veteran thought of our soldiers and the people in Iraq and how what a mess it was. I was glad to hear from Jacque and had to agree with him as we thought about soldiers that are currently in the hell hole that is Iraq and we both hoped they got back before too many more of their lives were lost.

The beginning of.....

I keep hearing on various mainstream media that this Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of summer. I wonder what calendar they are using?

Immigration: The Senate fails the test.

Well, as expected the cheap labor lobbyists of the corporations and the pro-illegal activists have won and the American middle class voters/taxpayers lost thanks to the Senate vote yesterday. It is truly a sad day in this country when our elected representatives ignore the wishes of the people they are supposed to represent.

"This is the most far-reaching immigration reform in our history,"- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.),

Yeah it's far reaching Senator Kennedy into the wallets of American taxpayers who will continue to sudsize the cheap labor through higher local school and social services for the flood that will come just like happened after the the 1986 Immigration "reform" bill.

"Some Americans believe we must find all these millions, round them up and send them back to the countries they came from. I don't know how you do that. And I don't know why you would want to."- John McCain

Here's why you want to Senator McCain. BECAUSE THEY BROKE THE LAW! It's a simple concept Senator McCain so simple even an illegal illiterate immigrant could understand it. But, obviously you and the other Senators who voted for this passage of this bill don't seem to grasp the concept and have rewarded those who have willing violated our immigration laws.

We WILL Remember in November!

The Washington Post has a story on the upcoming voted on the Senate Immigration bill the first line reads:
"The Senate moved to the verge of passing landmark immigration legislation yesterday.."

Yep, landmark it is on how the Senate will have screwed the middle class taxpayers of this country who are already paying to subsidize the illegal immigrant workforce in this country. The Senate bill will only increase that burden on the same taxpayers. The only solution is to Remember in November all those Senators Democrat and Republican who vote for passage of this flawed bill today and vote against them in the upcoming elections. Maybe then both parties will remember they are supposed to represent the wishes of the people who elected them and not the cheap labor and pro illegal immigrant lobbying interests who are pushing for passage of this bill.

Hold on to your wallets taxpayers!

There was an op-ed in today's Washington Post from a teacher who calls for more education for immigrants. Gee I wonder who will be paying for that? We have just had a school buget pass that will raise our school taxes by 9.4% while the U.S. rate of inflation is 3.55%. It's bad enough how much local taxpayers pay for schools now, let alone to have calls for us to pay for the education of everyone who crosses our borders.

Senator Grassley, a Senator who gets it!

While the mainstream media has quotes from the pro-illegal immigrant backers of the Senate Immigration bill there are others like Senator Grassely who don't appear in the mainstream media but, are more in tune with the main street of America on the immigration issue here is an example:

"Senator Grassley also complained about the work requirement in the bill that only mandated proof of employment for three out of the last five years. He lamented that the proof threshold was so low; an alien could ask anyone to attest that he has been employed. Senator Grassley also said he was disappointed the Ensign amendment did not pass and said illegal aliens are getting a benefit they did not expect and had to commit fraud in order to receive it. He added that under the bill, employers get a pardon for hiring illegal aliens and thus get off "scott free" for deducting taxes with respect to those aliens. "

"Senator Grassley then addressed the rule of law. He said the way to get at big crime is to get at petty crime, referring to Mayor Giuliani's policy in New York City. Maybe if we start enforcing our immigration laws and have a realistic program to let people come to work, he said, we may regain the sovereignty of our nation. The Senator continued that this is a guest worker program that takes the form of amnesty, and he could not buy into it. There are a lot of people who commit crimes they can't work their way out of, he said. The amnesty signals "softness" as
to whether we care if people come illegally or not."

We need more quotes in the mainstream media from people like Senator Grassley and less from John McCain, Ted Kennedy and Diane Fienstein. When it's Senators like Grassley who really get it!

The amnesty business.

Hidden in the the Senate Amnesty Bill is the get out of jail free card for the businesses who enabled the illegal immigrants to continue to break our laws without their complicity we would not have the problems we are facing today. Michelle Malkin has the links to another aspect of this outrageously flawed Senate Immigration bill.

Wall Street Journal of blindness.

The Wall Street Journal is great paper as long as you throw away the editorial pages. Yesterday on the train back from Washington I glanced at an editorial that said that Republicans were missing the good aspects of illegal immigration. But, the editorial pointed out the good it was doing not for the U.S. but, for Mexico. The Wall Street Journal editorial pinheads said the "estimated" 20 billion dollars that illegal immigrants send back to Mexico helps the Mexican economy. Yep, the WSJ says it's a good thing the $20 billion flows out of the U.S economy. Of course the editorial does not look at how the U.S. taxpayers subsidize these workers while they are here making money that they send out of the country. They did not mention the cost of the social services, school taxes used by the illegals which even economist Paul Krugman of the New York Times understands that the illegals use more in services than they pay in taxes. Maybe if the members of the editorial board were made to pay for more the services the illegals use through higher taxes they would no longer have the blind spot to the hidden costs of illegal middle class tax payers.

Speaking of Taxis...

I am reminded of another cab ride here in DC when an immigrant Hispanic driver was talking about how he left LA because there was too much competition from the other illegal immigrants. At some point in the ride he broke some traffic law but, nonchalantly remarked if the pull me over I just say nolo comprende and act like I don't know the language. Meanwhile the Senate looks like it is planning on passing the flawed Spector Amnesty bill to allow immigrants like this DC cab driver citizenship. I'm sure he will be saying Hola Suckers if the Senate passes the Spector Amnesty bll.

Helping the enviornment one taxi at a time.

I arrived back in Washington at 1:30 am Sunday morning and got into a taxi at Union Station. The driver was talkative and it wasn't long before we began to discuss gas prices, oil companies, George Bush etc... He said his cab was getting about 9 miles per gallon. I mentioned I wondered why there were no Prius taxicabs in DC. He said Prius ? What's that? I then described the Toyota Hybrid car and it's impressive gas milage. I also mentioned my trip in a Prius Taxi in Vancouver two years ago. He had never heard of it. I then pointed out one in the next lane. He was very interested in it and would look into buying one as a taxi especially at todays fuel prices. I left the taxi hoping that maybe I may have done my little part in reducing our gas consumption and making the enviornment a little cleaner in the future from just a small conversation in a Washington DC taxi.

Don't tread on me!

The Washington Post has an article about how some House Republican seats are in play this election year. But, I think the political chattering class are in for a rude awakening as both Democrats and Republicans could be in trouble depending on where they stand on rewarding illegal immigrants with amnesty. I and other middle class taxpayers of both parties are outraged and motivated to throw out anyone Republican or Democrat who attemps to reward illegals with amnesty as the the Senate seems to be willing to do. Don't underestimate the outrage of the American taxpayer/voter in this election.

Is John McCain really this stupid!

It seems Senator John McCain is not concerned with our money but, is concerned that illegal immigrants get theirs even if it was obtained by fraud and breaking U.S. law. When Senator John Ensign proposed an amendment to the Senate Immigration Bill to:

"To reduce document fraud, prevent identity theft, and preserve the integrity of the Social Security system, by ensuring that persons who receive an adjustment of status under this bill are not able to receive Social Security benefits as a result of unlawful activity. "

John McCain opposed it and when it was bought up about the increased administrative costs to the Social Security Agency to try and match up the contributions to Social Security with the illegal immigrants who used fraudulent numbers and documents. Senator McCain replied that this isn't about administrative costs. He said they were trying to give people a path to citizenship.
Is McCain nuts or what. He is more concerned with giving illegal immigrants citizenship than worried about the cost to law abiding taxpayers. This guy wants to be President? Fat chance!

Habla English illegals?

Sometimes when pressed enough even the politicans in Washington can be pushed in the right direction. This happened yesterday with the vote in the Senate to make English the national language. This is a step in the right direction and shows that are representatives are taking back our county's polices from the illegal immigrant activists and and the cheap labor business interests. Maybe because the Senators are hearing from the outraged American taxpayers/voters. It seems even the Senate is finally coming around and doing something unique i.e. responding to the concerns of the American people. It's about time.
Of course pro illegal immigrant goups like La Raza are upset:
"This is devastating," said Raul Gonzalez, legislative director of the National Council of La Raza, after the English-language vote. "For us, this is a tough issue to bring back to the community."
To which I say TOUGH! If you are in this country you should speak the common language or at least try to. I do try and speak Spanish when traveling in Mexico and Central America. I also try an speak the native languages of the countries in Europe when traveling there. If I lived there you bet I would work to become fluent in the native language of whatever country I lived in. Citizens of this country can and do come from different cultures but, what unites us is a common language. The Senate went a long way to uniting the country and helped to put and end to the free ride that many illegals in this country have gotten use to. It's a small step to show the pro illegal immigrant activists that the voters/taxpayers of the are not going to allow our country to be hijacked by those who so willingly violate our laws by crossing our borders illegally and there is a price to pay for breaking our laws.

While you were working...

Hola suckers! While you were at work yesterday trying to make money to pay your taxes. A group of illegal immigrant activists were walking the halls of congress. Some of them on your dime advocating for citizenship for the illegal immigrants who have broken our laws. Nice work if you can get it. Meanwhile most middle class Americans were at work making money to pay taxes which go to help subsidize the illegal immigrant workforce. While you may not have someone lobbying for you like the illegal immigrats do you should at least take the time to make a phone call, send an email or a letter to your Senators and Congressman to let them know that you are the voters they are supposed to represent especially when it comes to illegal immigration.

The Democrats should not be smiling.

A Washington Post article should not embolden the Democrats as their favaorable ratings are fragile as the Republicans. Especially when it comes to issues like illegal immigration. Many of the Democrats have some explaining to do on the issue. From limosine liberals like Ted Kennedy who along with John McCain proposed an amnesty bill for illegal aliens, to my Senators like Hillary Clinton (who gave a speech at an illegal alien rally), Charles Shumer who help vote the Spector Amnesty bill out of commitee and my Congressman Tim Bishop who sent me an email with his support for amnesty for illegal immigrants. The Dems are not going to get a vote from me and I'm sure other registered Democrats this November if they continue to pander to the illegal immigrant lobby and fail to represent the citizen/voters like myself who elected them.

President Bush's speech last night was too little too late but, that least Washington is waking up to the issue, Even Bush seemed to finally realize there is a problem with the flood of illegal immigrants. But, what Bush says and what he does are sometimes two different things so he and the congress need to be watched carefully. Though there were some interesting revelations.

"We do not yet have full control of the border, and I am determined to change that,"

Are you kidding George? And here I thought all those Hispanic males standing around the street corners in my suburban Long Island community were just tourists.

"For the first time in a public forum, Bush endorsed new procedures that would give illegal immigrants who have lived here for an extended time preferred status in obtaining citizenship.
So let me get this straight. The longer an illegal alien has violated our immigration laws the more the will be rewarded. What kind of message does this send to the community. The longer you hide in the shadows the more you will be rewarded. It's time for Bush, McCain, Kennedy and others in Congress to understand that you do not reward people who have broken our laws. The illegals will understand this simple concept even if the politicians in Washington do not.

Back on land in the land of lies and butt kissing..

I have just returned from a week of sailing in the Bahamas in a complete media black out which lasted until this morning. One of the first things I noticed on my return was that the Bush Administration is still lying. Especially when it comes to domestic spying. Not surprise there actually.
Then there is George Bush's speech tonight on immigration and the possibiltiy of putting troops on the border to stop the illegal immigration invasion across our southern borders. Though it still appears that Bush is butt kissing Vincente Fox trying to assure him that this is only a temporary action. Someone needs to tell President Bush that he is responsible for protecting the borders of the United States no matter how much it pisses Vincente Fox off. He and the pro illegal immigrant lobby need to be made to understand the the United States is a Republic not an employment agency for illegal immigrants.

Time to put on some sailing shoes.

Director of the CIA Porter Goss resigns and another Kennedy making some bad news in a car. Seems like a good time to get out of Washington and do some sailing in the Bahamas. Which is what I plan to do for a week. A total media blackout after Monday for a week. How will the world and Washington have changed in that week. Time will tell.

An immigrant hero.

"There has to be a proper way of doing it. You have to have rules and regulations. You can't have open borders,"

Is that the words of Congressman Tom Tancredo one of the Minutemen on the illegal immigration problem? No, it's the words of Hung V. Nguyen a U.S. immigration agent who was an immigrant himself. Mr. Nguyen is doing more than congress is on the immigration problem and he also has more of an understanding of the issue too as shown by the quote:

"They're using the system against us. They're throwing so many things at us that sooner or later someone will get through," Nguyen, 33, explained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement conference room in a Chicago suburb. "They just overwhelm you. Once they have a little loophole, they keep on doing it."

This is from an interesting article in today's Washington Post about an immigration agent who is was also an immigrant himself. But, instead of being part of the problem he is part of the solution and helping our keep the country secure by enforcing our our laws and my hat goes off to him. One of the unsung heroes of our government.

Illegal immigration something is being done. But, not in Washington.

It's been said that the government closest to the people is the most responsive to the people. That seems to be the case with the illegal immigration crisis facing this country. Still, it is very disappointing to this voter to see the Democrats like Minority leader Harry Reid and my Senators Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and Congressman Tim Bishop abandon the concerns of the middle class voters regarding the illegal immigration issue and pander to the pro-illegal immigration groups. Meanwhile, Republicans like John McCain and George Bush also do not seem to understand the will of the people on this issue too.
It's good to see that voters at the local and elected officals at the state level are stepping up and actually doing something to enforce and control the illegal immigration problem in our country while those elected in Washington continue to play word games with "comprehensive immigration reform" platitudes. Enough is enough! If they would just enforce our existing laws and secure our borders which is what we taxpayers have been paying taxes for them to do there would be no need for any debate. Somehow the people in Washington don't seem to understand that. Maybe they will after November as more and more U.S. voters get more outraged at the Federal Government failures to enforce our immigration laws.

A Day without Illegal Immigrants or Chicken!

Millions of middle class American taxpayers will head off to work this morning to jobs to make money to pay taxes. Part of which goes to subsidize the illegal immigrants in this country.
Millions of illegal immigrants will not go to work this morning in order too protest for the right to citizenship and amnesty after braking the immigration laws of this country and continue to do so.
Why do middle class Americann taxpayers have to go to work this morning while the illegals are able to protest? here is your answer:

"Some major national firms that rely heavily on immigrant labor said they would close for the day. Perdue Farms said about half of its chicken processing plants would close, and Tyson Foods Inc. said nine of its 15 beef and pork plants will not operate."-Washingto Post

About a dozen companies like Perdue and Tyson who use the immigrant workforce are giving their employees the day off so they can go to protests demanding amnesty for the illegal acts committed by the illegal immigrants.
While many off us middle class taxpayers are too busy working to go out and protest like the illegals today but, perhaps we are not to busy to make a few phone calls to the companies who are giving their workers the day off to protest and boycott their products.

Call Perdue at 1-800-473-7383, Seaboard at 1-800-262-7907, Cargill at 1-800-CARGILL (227-4455), Hormel at (507) 437-5611 and Tyson at (479) 290-4000 today to let them you are boycotting them for supporting illegal immigration.