The Battle Continues...sigh

What They Said

BIG BIRD/CHICKEN WARS-HATE MONGERING, STOP IT!

     Sorry I have not written a blog for a while. I am currently working on a project that is taking a lot of time. When it is finished I hope you will all watch and recommend it. I have had so many things I have thought about blogging about while working on this project but decided I would finish it and when finished get back to more frequent blogging. I was not going to get side tracked for anything.

     That's when it happened! I tried to ignore it and did very well for 4 days but I can't any longer. It really has my tail feathers in an uproar. The war between the Muppets and Chick-Fil-A. I just want to get up close to everyone involved and scream in their/your ears "SHUT UP!!!" I have had it.


     This battle is just an example as to what really is beginning to get on my nerves. I have spoken of it before.  It is the hate mongering going on by those claiming to be fighting hate mongering.  I am really sorry but I can not stand hypocrisy. It sickens me!  


     I raised my children to be tolerant of others. They had their disagreements among themselves.  Of course they did. But, I never allowed them to use the word hate when referring to each other.  They knew where I stood on issues. They also knew they were free to develop their own ideas, free from me hating them.  They were taught to keep an open mind. Listen to others, both sides of an issue and make up their own mind.  Now keeping my own mind open (cause I am not a hypocrite) my mind has been changed about some issues by listening to my adult children (I hate to admit this but even a bit by an x-wife). I don't always agree, but I will never stop loving and excepting that they are humans too.

     It is okay not to agree with someone even as far as hating an opinion.  It is sad when that is taken to a level of hating a human being because you disagree with him/her. 


     Now we have the supporters of gay/lesbian marriage crying "Oh CEO of Chick-Fil-A does not agree with us so we won't eat there anymore." On the other side of things we have the anti gay/lesbian marriage crowd crying "Fine! I won't buy any Muppet movies anymore."

     Where is the tolerance on either side? 

    I read what was said I always do before I write a blog.  In this case there is intolerance on both sides. But I must say as usual most of the hate mongering is again coming from the very ones claiming to be fighting hate mongering. Look at the comments around the net with an open mind, you will see what I mean.

   I have been referring to the Big Bird/Chicken war only because it is the top topic right now.  I really am referring to it all.  "I don't like what she said. BOYCOTT HER!" Come on get real people. How many times has this really worked?

     I have my favorite actors. I really love to watch them, because they are great at what they do.  Some of them in off screen real life, I strongly disagree with the way they act/talk.  But guess what I will watch the next movie they make because I enjoy it.  If I thought the acting on screen was terrible but agreed with them 100% of the time off screen, I would still not watch the next movie.

     If you like the chicken EAT IT! If you like the Muppets WATCH THEM! Dog gone it! If you like liberals  BE ONE! If you like conservatives BE ONE! If you don't like either DON'T JOIN THEM! If you don't like Bill Maher' DON'T WATCH HIM! If you don't like Rush Limbaugh, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! Just stop the hate mongering.

     I don't mean to compare you to little kids.... YES I DO! That is what you sound like! "I don't like what you said so I am going to take my ball and find another ballgame."

   Now you kids just settle down! I am going to sit here eating my Chick-Fil-A while watching Fraggle Rock. After that I will get back to the project from which I have been so rudely interrupted by people that don't seem to be able to GET ALONG despite disagreements.

   

A speech given by senator Charles Grassley a Republican from Iowa

 July 17, 2012 

Words are his highlights are mine.

Mr. President, last September, President Obama responded to amnesty proponents, denying that he had authority to unilaterally grant special status to individuals who may be eligible under the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act has been around the Senate for discussion for about a decade, and in different forms. It has been voted down several times by this body--mostly because the leader won't allow for an amendment process to improve the bill; otherwise, it probably could have been worked upon. A few months ago when asked by amnesty advocates to push the bill through Executive order,President Obama said this:

This notion that somehow I can just change the laws

unilaterally is just not true. The fact of the matter is

there are laws on the books that I have to enforce. And I
 think there's been a great disservice done to the cause
of getting the DREAM Act passed and getting comprehensive
immigration passed by perpetrating the notion that somehow,
 by myself, I can go and do these things. It's just not true.
We live in a democracy. You have to pass bills through the 
legislature, and then I can sign it.

  But 1 month ago, President Obama continued his ``we can't wait'' campaign and circumvented Congress, again, to significantly change the law all by himself. On June 15, he announced that the Department of Homeland Security would lay out a process by which immigrants who have come here illegally could apply for relief and remain in the United States without the fear of deportation. So what has changed in the last 9 months, when the President of the United States said last September that he could not unilaterally grant amnesty?
  Before I dive into the details of how poorly planned and implemented the directive of June 15 will be, I have to question the legal authority of the President to institute a plan of this magnitude.
  I, along with 19 other Senators, sent the President a letter and asked if he consulted with attorneys prior to the June 15 announcement about his legal authority to grant deferred action and work authorizations to a specific class of immigrants who have come here illegally. It is important that we get that question answered, because last September the President said he didn't have the legal authority to do it. We asked the President if he obtained a legal opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel or anyone else within his administration. To date, we have not received any documentation that discusses any authority whatsoever that he has to undertake this massive immigration directive.
  I know the Secretary of Homeland Security has discretion to determine who is put in removal proceedings. Prosecutorial discretion has been around for a long time, but it hasn't been abused to this extent. The President is claiming the Secretary will implement this directive using prosecutorial discretion. However, millions of immigrants coming here illegally will be instructed to report to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and proactively apply. This is not being done on a case-by-case basis as they want to make it appear.
  The President's directive is an affront to our system of representative government and the legislative process, and it is an inappropriate use of executive power based upon what he said last September, that he didn't have the authority to do this. The President bypassed Congress because he couldn't lead on immigration reform, and he couldn't work in a bipartisan manner on an issue that involves undocumented young people.
  The President's directive runs contrary to the principle that American workers must come before foreign nationals. His policies only increase competition for American students and workers who struggle to find employment in today's economy. And that unemployment is 8.2 percent official, 11 or 12 percent unofficial.
    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate among the age group 16 to 24 has been nearly 17 percent for the last year. According to a Gallup poll conducted in April of this year, 32 percent of the 18-to-29-year-olds in the U.S. workforce, if not unemployed, are underemployed. The President's plan to get people back to work is to grant immigrants who come here illegally a work authorization. He must be seriously out of touch if he doesn't think there is competition already for American workers.
  Now I wish to talk about how poorly this directive has been thought out. This is the implementation of a directive the President said he didn't have the authority to do in the first place. But if you are going to have an illegal directive, you ought to at least know it will work. It is my understanding the White House informed Homeland Security officials of this plan just days before it was announced on June 15. They were unprepared, and have since been scrambling to figure out how it will be carried out.
  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service--the agency in charge of all immigration benefits, including work authorizations, visa applications, asylum petitions, and employment verifications for employers--will be the agency tasked with handling millions of new applications for deferred status and work permits. Agents in the field are confused as to how to do their jobs and fear retaliation if they don't do the right thing. So in essence, this White House is telling agents in the field to begin a practice called catch and release.
  Last Friday, Homeland Security officials briefed the Judiciary Committee on the directive. Staff of the Judiciary Committee were told that agents of the agency would be required to release immigrants who come here illegally if they fell into the criteria laid out. But what are the ramifications if an agent does not release them but instead uses his discretion to say the person was not eligible and puts them in removal proceedings?
    You will be astounded by the answer we got, because the Department of Homeland Security explained that such an agent would be subject to disciplinary action--disciplinary action if you are doing what your job is required to do. The agent's actions would be considered during their annual personnel review.
   So there will be no discretion for agents, and they will be forced to give deferred action to anyone who comes close to the criteria laid out, even despite their hesitation to do so, or face retaliation from bureaucratic higher-ups.
   It is as though Homeland Security forgot their mission which is:

To ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient
 against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, 
 aspirations, and way of life can thrive.

   Once we overcome the question of legal authority and the reality that there was little thinking put into this plan before it was announced on June 15, we are left to oversee the details of the implementation plan. Homeland Security officials say they will have a process laid out by August 15. We have very little details, but Homeland Security officials did give some insight on Friday in this briefing to members of the Judiciary Committee staff. Here is what we learned.
    We know people under the age of 30, who entered before their 16th birthday, have been here for at least 5 years, and are currently in school may qualify for deferred action. We know there are caveats to the criteria. Some criminal offenses will be OK, and young people can finish their education after they are granted deferred action.
    We know individuals with final orders of removal will be eligible for deferred action. We know these people will not have to appear for an in-person interview to benefit from this directive of the President of June 15. We know they will be granted this special status for 2 years, and those who are denied will not be put into removal proceedings. We know this is not aimed at helping just youth since the age limit is 30. So who are we going to help over age 30, because we thought from the President's announcement, if people are over 30 years of age nobody is going to benefit. We know people under the age of 30 are not the only people going to be considered for relief. Secretary Napolitano said so herself. She told CNN's Wolf Blitzer the following:

   We have internally set it up so that the parents are not 
 referred for immigration enforcement if the young
 person comes in for deferred action

  I was not born yesterday. This administration is not going to give a benefit to immigrants here illegally and then force his or her parents to leave the country, which begs the question, What will they do if the young people are eligible and receive deferred action, but the parent is a criminal, a gang member, or a sex offender?
  Because this program has not been well thought out and because it is being rushed to benefit people by the end of the year, there is no doubt that fraud will be a problem. How will Federal officials who process the applications ensure that information provided by the individual is accurate? How will they verify that one truly entered the country before the age of 16 or is currently under the age of 30?
  Homeland Security officials act as though they are prepared to handle the influx of counterfeit documents that will be presented. The department officials are going to rely on their small fraud detection unit--who already happen to be very busy working every day on other types of immigration benefits--to determine if people are truly eligible. What will be the consequences for individuals who intentionally defraud the government? They need a fraud and abuse prevention plan. Without one they will likely legalize every single immigrant who came here illegally, who is already on U.S. soil.
  The administration will announce more details about this plan in the next few weeks. I am anxious to see if they plan to only provide deferred action to this population. Department officials refuse to elaborate on whether some of these individuals will be able to get advanced parole. That is a special status that allows an immigrant coming here illegally to adjust to permanent residence and then gain citizenship. This administration wants people to believe this is not amnesty and that these people will not have lawful status, but I am watching to see if they try to pull the wool over our eyes and provide a status that allows these people to adjust and remain here permanently.
  Finally, a major flaw in the President's plan is how this is going to be paid for. A massive amnesty program is going to cost a lot of money. So what are the taxpayers going to have to cough up out of their hard- earned dollars to pay for it? Department officials said on Friday that illegal immigrants may not be charged for their special status. The individual would be charged $380 if they choose to apply for a work authorization. They could not assure us that funding would not be redirected from other programs to this initiative.
  To reprogram funds within the Department, the Secretary must notify and gain consent of the majority and minority leaders on the Appropriations Committee. However, when pressed, Department officials could not assure us that they would not bypass the longstanding process and reprogram dollars on their own. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service will be forced to concentrate on this program, leaving employers, foreign workers, and legal immigrants without the service they need to work, visit, or remain in the United States.
  If the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service adjudication staff will be diverted from their normal duties to handle the millions of potential deferred action applications, this can only have a devastating impact on other programs within the Department. I fear this plan will bankrupt the agency that oversees immigration benefits and affect all legal immigration for years to come.
  I fear the President has overstepped his authority again. The President, time and again, has shown no leadership or refused to work with Congress on issues that directly impact the American people. And when it comes to the immigration issue he promised the people in the 2008 election, that in his first year in office he would have an immigration bill before Congress, he has not even presented an immigration bill yet. He insisted he was coming here to change Washington, but he changed it for the worse. He insisted he was going to make this the most transparent administration ever, but Congress and the American people are left in the dark.
   No matter where one stands on immigration, we should all be appalled at how this plan has been carried out. Whether it is legal or illegal is one thing. But when it is not thoroughly thought out, how it is going to be implemented, that is not how the chief executive of a major operation such as the U.S. Government ought to be acting.
   We should all be concerned that our votes are rendered meaningless as a result of the assumption of power on June 15 that the President said last September he did not have. Until we can end this plan, I encourage my colleagues to watch over its implementation for the future of our country. The integrity of our whole immigration system is hanging in the balance.
   This immigration system is very important because the United States has opened doors for more people than any other country in the world to come here legally. About 1 million people come here legally. So we are a welcoming nation. We are a nation built upon immigrants bringing new ideas to this country, making this a very not only colorful country but a dynamic society. We ought to leave it that way. But this change to our immigration system for people to come here legally jeopardizes a lot of people who want to abide by our laws and come here and make our country even richer.
I yield the floor.

Sheriff Joe's Conference

I listened to the whole conference. I was disappointed. I did not hear anything I had not heard before (IT IS FAKE).  I also was extremely disappointed in the reporter that local channel five  sent to report on this conference. He must not have known why he was there.  His questions were off subject.  He missed an opportunity. If he thought the sheriff was "full of it", he should have questioned the findings.  This conference as failed as it was, was to be about the birth certificate.  None of Morgan Loew's questions pertained to the subject.  He seemed lost.  He kept trying to change the subject.  He asked no questions about the findings of the sheriff, other than why should we believe the sheriff.  Unless you watched the conference live, you will not see this.  If you watch the report on channel five I'm sure it'll be chopped up to make him look good.  Sad, sad performance by Morgan Loew.  No new evidence from the sheriff.  Long story short, if you missed the conference, you missed nothing good.

Here is a link if you would like to view the conference.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DzI4A3jCIlE

Next Up 2012 Election

Don't Label Me Liberal

     I may be labeled a liberal. First let me make it clear I do not support Obama Care as written. I do however support a lot of the "entitlement programs". Including more that don't exist. Is it wrong of me not to want to see a single person thrown out into the streets due to having hit a low point in their life? Is it wrong of me to not want to see anyone that needs medical care not get it? Is it wrong of me not to want to see anyone go hungry? I am not just talking about the children. I am talking about everyone. Even the able bodied young person.

     It can happen to anyone. You are working one day and suddenly, no job. No, not everyone automatically qualifies for unemployment. Sometimes they don't at all sometimes it takes time to get it. In the mean time there is still a need to pay the bills and eat. Try being late on a utility bill. If it gets disconnected guess what more fees to turn it back on plus a deposit. Where will that extra money come from? You think they could plead with the utility company and get the extra cost erased? Think again. Try getting a job having been evicted and now you have no home address. Not as easy as you may think.

     I know you fortunate out there are saying "ooooooh poor babies, get a job! That just goes to show how ignorant, spoiled and selfish you are. Even if a young able bodied person leaves the job they have lost and hits the pavement that very same day. Jobs are not easy to come by (or have you not been reading the news). Wait I know you have because I hear you blaming Obama for the unemployment. This is strange since I also hear you calling the jobless lazy.

     But back on subject. I think there needs to be a safety net in place for everyone that does not qualify for any other program and if able to, is seeking work. I also believe at the same time there needs to be a better transitional program in place to help those who have recently lost a job. As in receiving cash benefits while in a structured employment search or training program. Now I would agree that those who have been collecting unemployment for more than a year (sorry guys) are either being too picky or are not looking at all. Then I agree with you and say they need to get off their butts. So, I also believe there should be a time limit for how long anyone can collect benefits if they are able to work. Then you pompous ignoramuses can throw them out into the streets.

  

     I believe as human beings the nature we have within us should urge us all to help others in need. If you are one of those that say don't raise my taxes to help those lazy good for nothings. I believe that train of thought runs along the lines of survival of the fittest and in humans this teaching is indorsed by the satanic churches. So Christians with this attitude... hmmmm you are in good company.

     Are you even aware that in most places there is no help for adults without children to receive any type of benefits? Even disabled cannot receive cash benefits in most places (hang in there we will get to social security soon). There are many women out there having children and for one reason, they are rewarded for it. They get to collect the money as soon as they are pregnant that could have been spent to help them look for work. Now since they have a child (or more) it makes it more difficult and more expensive to work. Chances are at minimum wage they will pay more to child care than they take home. So what has been accomplished. Now in this example had there been some type of program in place to help her get a jump start, maybe she would have chosen a different route than having a child.  

     Now some of you are confused that read my blogs. I usually seem so anti Obama and conservative. Well I don't care for a lot of his policies. I think he among dishonest politicians is the most dishonest. But that does not mean I never agree with him.

     There seems to be a class warfare going on in politics. I hear two classes every day on the news. There are the rich and there are the middle class. Well guess what there is a third class that I have recently joined. We are the poor and we are humans too. Most of us hard working. But we were not as fortunate as you to have had the ability to go to college. We could not get the high paying jobs. But we are here, don't turn a blind eye on us and think we don't vote. To us the middle class are rich. You cry like babies because you don't have enough money to make payments on your new car or boat. You might not have enough to make the mortgage payment on the house you bought, that is way more than you needed. But you have to have the best. Heaven forbid, you might not have enough money to go to Disneyland this year. Raise your taxes? Goodness no!

     Now this blog gets personal. I will make public what I normally speak to close family members only. About 2yrs ago here in Arizona I was working and making pretty good money for my skills. I keep up on the news always have. The big topic going around was the deficit. Cuts were going to have to come to medical programs for adults. If not taxes were going to have to be raised. "NO! DON"T RAISE OUR TAXES!" The majority of middle class and rich cried. I looked at the figures and found the average tax increase would be just over $100 a year. "Take it" I thought. "Help these people out. They too are humans and need medical treatment." I already was giving more than that to a fund at work to help those in need. I could not believe such a fuss was being made over such a small amount. Guess what, taxes were not raised and the needed programs were removed.

     Little did I know soon I would be on the other side of it. About a year later a condition I had been suffering through got worse(and keeps getting worse) I ended up in the hospital and could no longer perform my duties at work. I had to quit my job I had held for 11 years due to health. The end of April 2011 was the last few hours of work I had put in. Leading up to that time in the final couple of months I had only been able to work sporadically. I was disabled unable to work.

     I hoped to get better and would have grabbed the first job I could find. I have not gotten better. I used up all the money I had and emptied my 401k I sold everything of value I had including my car (I am not allowed to drive anyway). The money was gone. How was I going to pay bills now?

     In July 2011, I applied for disability social security. Which by the way is not an entitlement program. It is basically a government run insurance/retirement program, that we are forced to buy into. Over the next several months more and more paperwork was requested and provided. Around February of this year after have heard nothing for a while, I called social security to find out the status. After giving the rude man on the other end of the phone all my information, there was a pause. Then came the question that said it all "Did you apply using your own social security number?" They had lost all records of me. I told him I had my case number, application number, and copies of all the paperwork turned in along with the requests. He wanted nothing to do with it and I would need to start the process over. I have started the process over again.

     Nothing received as of yet. For 15 months now I have not worked. After the money and assets were gone I began living on borrowed money. Some in my situation have no valuable assets, no 401k, one to borrow from. Now those I have been borrowing from are getting tapped out.  We are almost at mid month and I don't know how bills will be paid. I am independent. I don't like to be dependent on others.  Yet here I am both health wise and financially.  The good news is I never bought a great house I could not afford. You can call me trailer trash. I live in a double wide I picked up 10 years ago for about $3500 and fixed it up. So my lot rent and utilities are all I worry about. I think of myself as fortunate compared to some. Where is the safety net for those that for reasons similar to mine end up in situations similar to mine?    Still afraid someone might get a free ride? Then make it a program that requires repayment when they go back to work. Would that make you happy? I could live with that.

     I am not talking socialism. I am talking compassion. If it makes me liberal to love and care about others even though in just about every other case I am conservative than I will wear the label proudly because as God leads the example, I love and care about all.

Note: Due to the removal of ads from my blogs (my blogs are too "controversial"). I have added a donation button at the top of the page. It is embarrassing to say this but please use it. Thanks as always for reading my blogs. Remember just because you don't like one of my blogs, don't stop reading. You more than likely will like the next.