The Poor is Hated Even of his Own Neighbor

The thing about moving is that it really disrupts your routine. First there's the hassle of loading all of your stuff and shipping it off to a new location, then there's the hassle of unloading it and trying to fit it all into your new surroundings, and finally there's the hassle of readjusting your life to fit in with all the changes. Fact is, for the first few weeks after a move it always feels like I'm staying at a hotel or something - like I'm just here temporarily until I can get back to my real home.

Anyways, the move is done so I figure it's time for me to start blogging again. I don't know why, but that's what I figure. Let's see, what can I talk about.

Well, of course the new immigration bill is all over the news these days. Personally, I want to congratulate the Congress for finally taking on this enormous problem and trying to find some kind of reasonable path to citizenship for all those Phd's and software engineers standing out in front of our local Home Depots. Now America can rest a little easier knowing that our immigrants have the proper job and educational skills they'll need when mowing our lawns or picking our strawberries.

Is it a good bill? Before I go any further let me just relate this little anecdote. Back when I was in the first grade we had a kid in our class who came from Mexico and didn't speak English too well. The only things I remember about him were that he used to wear the same clothes to school every day, and he wasn't in our class anymore when we started the second grade. But even back then, though I was only six years old, I knew what Congress is only now realizing. I knew that he, this skinny little kid with the simple clothes and the heavy accent, yes he was the great problem confronting our country. Who knows how rich and powerful I could have been if it hadn't been for the burden that kid imposed on me. Yes, even at that tender young age I realized that the great obstacle before me in my great struggle was...

Those People.

Let us give thanks that Congress has finally seen the light. Let's face it, all these illegals do is come here and sponge off of hard-working taxpayers like you and me. Right? Take, take, take, that's all they do and give back nothing in return. Right?

It's too bad that Latinos don't participate more in the elections. I mean, they're numbers are going up, but as they approach 25% of the population they still only account for around 8% of the voter turnout (please don't check my facts - they're mostly accurate, I think. Hey, I'm a blogger not the U.S. Census). Whatever the numbers are, it seems that if the Latino participation in the elections were commensurate with their participation in the overall economy, then these balding white guys from Georgia and Oklahoma wouldn't be so quick to insult them. I mean, they talk about 'em like they're some kind of criminal class or something.

As you know I'm a native Californian so this whole immigration debate seems a little pointless to me. The whole cross-border thing has been a part of California for my entire life, and I honestly have to say I've never felt threatened by it. Let's just say I'm kind of multicultural that way, and if anyone in Washington DC thinks that some convoluted point system is going to change the dynamics of what's happening down at the Home Depot, then they're sadly mistaken. People will do what they have to do to survive, and the best this Congress can hope to achieve is to drive immigrant workers further underground.

My suggestion to Congress - I mean if they really want to deal with what's wrong with America, would be to take a good, hard look in the mirror. Now, there's an idea. Maybe instead of walling off the border, Congress should build a gigantic fence around Washington instead. Yeah, give the people some relief from these money-grubbing politicians, and then maybe we can get on with solving real problems.

And you know what, if someone wants to come up here to pick strawberries, then why don't we just figure out a legal way for them to do it.

There, how was that for a blog post. I'm a little rusty, but, yeah...I'm feelin' it.