December 31, 2010

Good bye 2010! Greetings 2011...


Cheers to:
new beginnings
fond memories
unconditional love
friendships that feel
productive workplaces
relationships that hold
children who care
places that nurture
words that pacify
ideas that intrigue
nuances that excite
touches that tingle
universal health care
nameless ties
minds sans boundaries
technology that facilitates
immigrant workers who weather all worries
globalization that makes differences disappear

a rock bottom economy that can only get better
a winter that makes us think spring
a hand that heals
a gaze that guards
a heart that warms
and a hug that holds promise.
......

...and that list is endless, so do add your own : )

Happy New Year!

Here are some contributory additions:
a Feliz Ano Nuevo ( Berenice)
a comfortable religion (Georg)

December 12, 2010

Sarah Palin's Run for Presidency - Palaver on a Non Issue!


I am putting myself in the line of fire here, but I am willing to take it on because I believe in the sanity and intelligence of the American electorate, and because I have great respect for the American Presidency. I believe that the American electorate is neither naive nor stupid to want a simpleton like Sarah Palin to govern the country that the entire world calls the superpower, and that we as citizens are so proud of, and also love so much. I am amazed and saddened by all the debating and talk about Ms. Palin's claim to presidency, something that we all know is not even remotely possible. Yet the discussions and debating continue, and I am tired of having to listen to them, and I also feel as if they are an insult to my intelligence. We are a proud people who take immense pride in our nation. Why do we then want the rest of the world to make light of the American Presidency? Which American would jeopardize the interest of this land that he holds so dear? This is, after all, our ' land of the free and the home of the brave', and we Americans 'can see', and our 44 elected presidents are proof of that 20-20 vision!

I wish to apologize to fellow Americans who seeing the complete senselessness of the Sarah Palin claim, wonder why I am posting on it. This is clearly a non-issue for any thinking American. Ms. Palin's run for presidency, if it ever comes to be, will be an embarrassment to the American public, and Americans know it. The issue has been blown out of proportion by the media, worldwide, and we know why. The media always resorts to sensationalism when it finds itself in a vacuum of things-to-report, especially when the next day's deadline hangs ominously close and there are pages that need filling. It is unfortunate that journalism in a capitalistic society sometimes has to sacrifice its ethical core. As a result, non-discretionary readers often get mislead into believing all that they see and hear in the media as the gospel truth. Such happens to be the case with the Palin story, and that is all it is , a story; one that will run its course among the uninformed and the politically naive, but eventually it will die its natural death, and may not even make it into the annuls of US history.

The United States of America is 'a leading political and cultural force in the world', and is termed so for a reason. We, as a people, have exercised our freedom wisely and consistently for close to three hundred years toward the betterment of this country. We have always elected a leader who has had a proven track record in public service and had a sound academic background. Who in his right mind would think we would do otherwise this time?

December 08, 2010

The "Dream Act" Passes in the House of Representatives!


The US House of Representatives passes the "Dream Act" with a 216 'Yea' and 198 'Nay' vote. It is to be voted upon in the Senate at 11 AM tomorrow!

Listening to the House debate over the Dream Act on CSPAN this evening, made it evident that some of the congressmen and women representing us are pretty vacuous and ill informed, even on those issues and causes that they call their own!

For example there were Republicans who said
  • the Dream Act would give illegal immigrants preferential treatment over American citizens!
  • the Dream Act beneficiaries would petition for their parents' naturalization right away!
  • the Dream Act provides 'amnesty' to illegals!
Clearly, these people had not done their homework on the Dream Act or they would not have said all of the above. Yet they did, and sadly enough, what they said may have been accepted as the truth by a majority of American viewers. After all, channel changing is our national pastime, and not very many of us would have stayed long enough to hear the rational and impressive rebuttal of Howard Berman, who pointed out the misrepresentations made by his colleagues, and then provided the accurate information in its stead.

The Dream Act will be voted upon in the senate tomorrow, and if passed, this "legislation would give hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants a chance at becoming legal. The requirements state that, to be eligible, a person must have been brought to the United States before he or she was 16, been in the United States for five years, earned a high-school degree and be attending college or be in the military."

However, I wouldn't hold my breath over the outcome of tomorrow's vote!