Immigration

[O Really]

Yo Cowboy - did you go to watch Wendy last night? I wouldn't have missed it if I'd been anywhere within a hundred miles or so.

[Cowboy]

Yo Cowboy - did you go to watch Wendy last night? I wouldn't have missed it if I'd been anywhere within a hundred miles or so.

You wouldn't have been able to get in unless you got there very early.
There were a lot of people there.

[O Really]

Yo Cowboy - did you go to watch Wendy last night? I wouldn't have missed it if I'd been anywhere within a hundred miles or so.

You wouldn't have been able to get in unless you got there very early.
There were a lot of people there.

Wouldn't matter. In the lobby, in the parking lot, whatever. It would have been good to have been a part of the experience. Abortion isn't actually one of my top issues, but it's outrageous that the right-wing nuts are so obsessed with it. I applaud Wendy and even if they manage to pass it in the (yet another) "special" session, she's a hero in my book.

[Cowboy]

Yo Cowboy - did you go to watch Wendy last night? I wouldn't have missed it if I'd been anywhere within a hundred miles or so.

You wouldn't have been able to get in unless you got there very early.
There were a lot of people there.

Wouldn't matter. In the lobby, in the parking lot, whatever. It would have been good to have been a part of the experience.

Good for you.
Being an old hippy from the 60's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNtuyQkh7tE, I'm with you in spirit, but the flesh ain't what it used to be.

Abortion isn't actually one of my top issues, but it's outrageous that the right-wing nuts are so obsessed with it.

It's about more than abortion.

I applaud Wendy and even if they manage to pass it in the (yet another) "special" session, she's a hero in my book.

Mine too.
Big time.

[O Really]

"it's about more than abortion"... yeah, that's the real problem, isn't it? These people are women-haters out of fear of losing control. Dinosaurs who don't know they're extinct. Relics of a time that never should have been. And all-round scum bags.

[Cowboy]

"it's about more than abortion"... yeah, that's the real problem, isn't it?
These people are women-haters out of fear of losing control.

You bet your sweet bippy it is.
It's all about government control...as long as they run the government.

These people are women-haters out of fear of losing control.

They hate anyone who isn't one of them.
(it's God's will)
Abortion is just one way to do it and look Godly at the same time.
Voting rights and gerrymandering are more secular.

Dinosaurs who don't know they're extinct. Relics of a time that never should have been. And all-round scum bags.

Dinosaurs can't hurt you.
These assholes can.
Big difference.

[Cowboy]

I miss Molly Ivins.

So do I.
I'd love to see her take on this.

[O Really]

She might have said (again) " It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America."

More Molly here... http://womenshistory.about.com/od/quote ... _ivins.htm

[Cowboy]

She might have said (again) " It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America."

More Molly here... http://womenshistory.about.com/od/quote ... _ivins.htm

She sure had Texas politics nailed:

"Good thing we've still got politics in Texas -- finest form of free entertainment ever invented."

"Better than the zoo. Better than the circus."

[O Really]

Dang lazy Meskins... http://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/econo ... index.html

[O Really]

Reminds me of "Blazing Saddles" when the Guv demanded "haruumphs" from his staff.

Republicans haruumph in indignation over Rep. Steve King of Iowa. In an interview with Newsmax, King said that -- out of the population of young undocumented immigrants -- "for every one who's a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert."

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013 ... rants?lite

[O Really]

The thread is about "immigration" right? Tonight at the Biltmore Heart concert they did a righteous rendition of Zep's "Immigrant Song". Rocked it big time. I'm surprised the GOP hasn't found some way to ban the song.

[Cannonpointer]

That speech was made in 1978 in an address to the Future Farmers of America. Since then, Americans got too damn lazy for hard work and decided that farm work was beneath their dignity. Today, their idea of a first job is 9-5, full benefits with profit-sharing, paid insurance, a desk job in an air-conditioned office, pay for a 40 hour week with a day off during the week, no Saturady or Sunday work, automatic raises regardless of their work record, 2 weeks of paid vacation after the first year, blah, blah, blah, so forth and so on.

I would hire 1 Hispanic over three whites or Blacks anyday of the week; have done it and paid him/her equal or more than I would have paid the former; and the pay was much more than minimum wage. The white or the Black gets a paycheck and you're lucky to see them the next week.

A hispanic worker is conscientious, dedicated to his job, and I've never encountered a dishonest one. They're eager to learn and shoulder responsibility.

The only rule I had is they had to be here legally.

I don't co-sign the lazy American meme. But I do agree that Mexicans and Central Americans are hard working SOBs, and I have also hired them and paid them a bit more than their American counterparts - but only because they damn well earned it.

One of the things I like best about them is what I refer to as the "ojos de Dios" - the eyes of God. They see EVERYTHING. They miss nothing.

Now, I believe this is cultural. I think there are two dynamics at play. One is that life is tough in Mexico, and that breeds watchfulness. Mistakes are expensive in a hard land, so people make less of them. And then there is the coming across the border thing. Only the bold will do it, and those who have are truly invested. Their die is cast and their chips are in the pot - so they're gonna play their hand like it matters.

And by the way, the ones I hired were undocumented. I had no compunction about that. I hired them as line cooks. I am not an immigration agent and I will not play the role. The feds let them in - let them abide in my community. Should I lock them out of honest work and force them to thievery or beggary? Who benefits? Who?

God Almighty never made an illegal human being. I hired HUMANS. I gave honest work and honest pay to HUMANS. I did not work for immigration. I ran pizza joints.

[mike]

God Almighty never made an illegal human being. I hired HUMANS. I gave honest work and honest pay to HUMANS. I did not work for immigration. I ran pizza joints.

All the while you never paid them a fair wage and they needed monetary assistance to afford their food, right?

You're a hoot, cannonpointer. Almost comical.
Well, you would be comical if your posts weren't so disturbing.

[Mr.B]

"God Almighty never made an illegal human being. I hired HUMANS. I gave honest work and honest pay to HUMANS."

"All the while you never paid them a fair wage and they needed monetary assistance to afford their food, right?"

Your question doesn't makes sense, Mike......what part of the underlined above did you miss?

[O Really]

The human rights implications of making Latinos cook and serve Italian food is a different matter.

"Three Guys From Italy" and everybody in there is Mexican
http://www.destinationjerseycity.com/ve ... rom-italy/

[rstrong]

That may be more of an immigrant thing than a Mexican thing. In high school it was the immigrants - from Asia, Russia, the Philippines, etc. - who did their homework and got the highest marks. They got the work ethic from their parents. Later I've worked for immigrants who set up businesses here.

We all know people with grand plans to improve their lives. They're going to move to the west coast. Or to Canada if the Republicans or Democrats win. They're going to save up, quit their jobs and go back to school. They're going to run for office and fix things. But most never do. They're stuck in the inertia of their own lives, unable to drop or stop making new commitments even in the long term. Or unable to save, or put in the extra effort. Or just too nervous about taking a leap into a new life.

Immigration - whether from Europe, Asia or Mexico, legal or illegal - acts as a filter. You get only the people who DO the things they said. Who got over their fears. Who put in the extra effort.

These are the kind of people you want as citizens. The kind who ALSO tend to start businesses and create jobs. It's one reason why for immigration is a good deal for the countries they head for.

[Cannonpointer]

God Almighty never made an illegal human being. I hired HUMANS. I gave honest work and honest pay to HUMANS. I did not work for immigration. I ran pizza joints.

All the while you never paid them a fair wage and they needed monetary assistance to afford their food, right?

You're a hoot, cannonpointer. Almost comical.
Well, you would be comical if your posts weren't so disturbing.

Now you are merely trolling. I paid more than I did for yanks (a buck more, plus a buck per hour bonus at the end of my busy season if they stayed all season long - and they always did). In addition, they were paid in cash, since they had no papers.

They were not eligible for monetary assistance. They were undocumented. Thanks to their hard work and my (and my employer's) fair hand, they did not NEED assistance. I also paid overtime for over 40 hours, and they generally worked 72 hours per week during their tenure, which lasted right at 5 months. They literally made a strong year's wage in less than half a year, working like mules at the pizza line.

Since you want to make such charges, I will be specific. Yanks made 9 bunks per hour. My undocumented guys made 10 - they kept that fact under their hats - and were bonused a buck an hour at season's end. They were paid cash and got time and a half for OT, except for the bonus. The bonus was a buck per hour worked, period. n It usually came to about 1000-1100 dollars.

Do the math. I have given you all of the pertinent information. The gratitude and affinity in their eyes AND MINE cannot be transmitted on an internet forum.

[Cannonpointer]

All the while you never paid them a fair wage and they needed monetary assistance to afford their food, right?...

To be fair:

...But I do agree that Mexicans and Central Americans are hard working SOBs, and I have also hired them and paid them a bit more than their American counterparts - but only because they damn well earned it...

The human rights implications of making Latinos cook and serve Italian food is a different matter.

Lol. Kick em while they're down, I say!

[Cannonpointer]

Immigration - whether from Europe, Asia or Mexico, legal or illegal - acts as a filter. You get only the people who DO the things they said. Who got over their fears. Who put in the extra effort.

You realize that this is DOUBLY true for illegals...

They risked death at the hands of coyotes and cleared a lot more hurdles, faced a lot more fears.

And before you complain that they "cheated," DO please consider that one CANNOT cheat if the game is rigged so that one CANNOT win. In such a game, there IS no "cheating." There is only making or missing one's mark.

There are half a million visas printed each year. Not 499,999. Not 500,001.

Half a million.

And there are several millions needing - desperately, family feedingly NEEDING - to cross that border. There are no cheaters. Just successful and unsuccessful, one wetback at a time.