The Patriot and Patriotic Event Recognition Act

Good citizens of California, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed a great disparity that has crept into our society. It appears that due to nothing more than a choice of careers, citizens of our great state are not treated equally. Is it truly plausible that bankers and public servants are graced with more love of country and more patriotism than those of us who have chosen other forms of monetary compensation? I say NO!

While I do enjoy the hassle free commuting on certain days of the official business calendar, I propose the following to correct this great injustice. A proposition to be placed on the California ballot which should read as follows:

"Any company doing business in California, and employs more than 50 individuals must give time off, or appropriate compensation time off, for any officially recognized federal or state holiday."

We are all Americans, except for those who slip across the border in the dead of night to perpetrate the evil of picking our vegetables and manicuring our lawns, so why should we be denied equal opportunity to show our love of country by having as many three day weekends to swill bad mass produced beer and haul the off road vehicle of our choice to the recreation area of our choice, and talk about how the ACLU and the EPA are ruining the traditional values of our country as the bankers of this nation. I say enough, UNITE IN THIS CRUSADE!

A Rational Immigration Policy

To sanction the practice of entering the United States of American in an illegal manner, or under false pretenses would be to flout the rule of law and undermine the Constitution of the United States at its most basic level. This sanction also presents a humanitarian crisis in knowingly luring individuals in dire economic circumstances into life threatening situations. To summarily dismiss the economic realities of the present day world in general and certain industries in the southern boarder states (and increasingly more northern areas) of the Untied States in particular is delusional. Plus, lets not discount my love of cheap produce which keeps my home state of California in the ranks of the top 10 largest economies in the world. It is also impractical to believe that United States citizens will fill all the unskilled labor job openings that exist in the United States today. To deal with this conundrum, how about a common sense two prong approach:

Deterrence of Illegal Immigration

Any individual or official representative of any entity convicted in a court of law who knowingly employs an illegal immigrant, from a solitary gardener to a thousand garment workers, will incur a minimum of a $10,000 fine per illegal immigrant employed and 18 months in jail.

Any individual convicted in a court of law of entering the United States of America under false pretenses or otherwise in violation of the US immigration law, and is not eligible for asylum
status, will be immediately deported to their country of origin.

Guest worker program

The United States should form a Guest worker treaty with Mexico, and in the future other countries, to import nonresident low income laborers. These laborers would be officially employed, insured, and bonded by the Mexican government. Industries in the Untied States who wish to contract hire guest workers would sign up with the federal government, stating the type and number of workers needed. The federal government would then submit the request to the Mexican government who would then identify and hire appropriate numbers of workers. The workers would enter the United States under the direction of a Mexican agent who would
keep track of the workers until they are no longer needed. These workers would then be escorted out of the United States. Since these workers would be employees of the Mexican government, United States minimum wage laws would not apply, however, standard United States workplace safety requirements would apply. Mexican nationals who participated in the guest worker program would be given special consideration for official and legal immigration to the United States based upon official United States immigration law and quotas.

Here Comes ME

Here comes me is what my two year old daughter yells when running into a room. Seemed appropriate for my introduction to internet open heart surgery. This webspace is being created to vent feelings and frustrations, whatever comes into my head and because myself and my coworkers were told we could no longer discuss religion and politics at work during our so called professional time.

In true corporate fashion, let's go around the table, introduce ourselves and tell what we bring to the project. I work for a large engineering firm as an environmental scientist and computer database programmer. The office is quite politically diverse with red, blue, and gray accurately represented. This leads to some interesting and heated discussions which apparently offended some new hires. In all honesty, my repeated use of the phrase "oh fuck off" probably was at least somewhat responsible for the demise of our lunch hour entertainment. So for that I duly apologize to my coworkers (the one's that agree with me anyway, the others can just fuck off). I hope in due time some of them stop by for a chat, and perhaps the cast of characters can grow some.

Anyway, enough about work, let's talk about me. After all this is my introduction. I'm a 34 year old, balding, asthmatic, homebrewing, slight in stature, nature loving, history loving, father of one, inadequate scientist with an opinion on about everything. And by the way before you start, your wrong. I was raised in a middle class household with three older brothers and one single mother. My father was a pilot in the Air Force for 30 years and was killed driving home from work by a drunk driver a little before my third birthday. I'm still bitter about it, and always will be.

We went to church every Sunday (Protestant Congregational denomination) which to be honest was mostly fun. I made some good childhood friends which I no longer keep in touch with, and honed the skills of sneaking out to get doughnuts at Winchell's across the street without getting caught. I gave up Christianity privately by my twelfth birthday and publicly by my sixteenth. Since then I've enjoyed reading about most world religions and books on comparative mythology. I'm not an expert on any.

I gave up being a Republican by the time I graduated from college. Here's my presidential voting record: George Herbert Walker Bush, Ross Perot, William Jefferson Clinton, Ralph Nader, John F. Kerry. Currently I'm a registered Democrat, but that's just because I wanted to vote in the California primary. I hold no true allegiance to any.

I like Kurt Vonnegut, Edward Abbey, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Who,The Kinks, The Ramons, and most three cord bands that play on full distortion, drinking mead, adulation of my peers and discussing topics I have only a cursory knowledge in.

I fear dying from cancer, a massive asthma attack, or dementia before my 90th birthday. George W. Bush and any body who truly believes they know what the fuck is going on. (Here's a news flash, you don't).

My turn on's are mainly naked chicks.

I have many opinions, and reserve the right to change them at will as new information becomes available. In in that vein, I believe that the only true matters of conversation are Religion, Politics, Science, Music, Philosophy and how great my daughter is.

Now you know where I'm coming from.