"Google it" versus human interaction

I have been noticing an on-going trend to forgo discussions with real people and opt for using google as the go to place to answer whatever question your heart desires.  Back a few years, prior to google, individuals that possessed knowledge were valued.  The holding and retention of information created discussions among individuals.  These discussions eventually turned into friendships, friendships turned into relationships where none existed and so went the world.  It certainly can be argued that the advent of the internet and its social media appeal gives rise to more opportunities to discuss matters and seek out and create more relationships easier and faster.   It is the quality of the relationship that sounds the tornado warning.   Now enter Google, literally at our finger tips, to ask and answer questions at break neck speeds. Why bother having a discussion with anyone except you and your device?  How intimate.



So why is it so important that we have real conversations with real people?  Human nature is the answer.  I can explain the concept of high tech high touch but it may be moot given we live in a world where device interaction is more important than human interaction.

I believe speaking directly to people and knowing how to "read" them will be a skill that will be taught in the future.  So maybe its time to raise up your head, take a look around and speak.  The world will be a better place.

Why Marijuana Should Be Legal

Over the last few decade it has been interesting to watch our federal government continue to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug. If it wasn't such a serious offense it would be laughable. Actually it is laughable and STUPID! The DEA defines Schedule 1 as substances, or chemicals as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote (https://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml)

There is little doubt today that marijuana has a host of medicinal affects for a host of ailments in different parts of the body including the mind.  Even in backward states, like Georgia, the state has legalized medical marijuana oil use for certain medical conditions after parents of afflicted children embarrassed the legislators by leaving the state, splitting families creating undue economic and emotional  hardships, to states where it was legal in order to treat their children.   But the federal government through militarized agencies, like the DEA, spy, plot, survey, interrogate, arrest, imprison and other tactics against its own citizens who choose to use marijuana continue to classify in the same class as Heroin.

From NORML  (http://norml.org/component/zoo/category/recent-research-on-medical-marijuana)

Humans have cultivated and consumed the flowering tops of the female cannabis plant, colloquially known as marijuana, since virtually the beginning of recorded history. Cannabis-based textiles dating to 7,000 B.C.E have been recovered in northern China, and the plant's use as a medicinal and mood altering agent date back nearly as far. In 2008, archeologists in Central Asia discovered over two-pounds of cannabis in the 2,700-year-old grave of an ancient shaman. After scientists conducted extensive testing on the material's potency, they affirmed, "[T]he most probable conclusion ... is that [ancient] culture[s] cultivated cannabis for pharmaceutical, psychoactive, and divinatory purposes."

Let me get back to the point of this post which is why marijuana should be legal.  I will keep it simple. I understand there are religious and social objections against legalization and I will not get into them in this writing.  Attempting to change one's opinion that is tied to deep religious or social belief systems is an impossible undertaking, a fool's errand.

1. Stop putting children in jail - This is number one and my number one reason for legalization.  Nothing good comes from jailing kids for marijuana use and selling.  It is less expense to keep kids in school instead of youth detention camps and it is certainly better for society if we keep kids in school instead of prison.

The notion that marijuana is a gateway drug is as ridiculous as saying breast milk is a gateway drug.  Every pot smoker, in all probability, was nursed on breast milk.  Does this make breast milk a gateway drug?

2. Have an alternative to alcohol - Everyone understands, unless their heads are in the sand, alcohol is a very dangerous drug negatively affecting every aspect of life from individuals, families to society at large.  It kills, it creates violence, it affects brains, rips families apart, creates economic hardship and creates huge expense to our healthcare system.  But if you watch the commercials you would think beer is the new "mana" from heaven where all who drink are surrounded by beautiful people all having a great time with no worries in the world.  They never show the aftermath.  Morning news shows on major networks have their co-hosts regularly point out the virtues of wine with many times wine in hand.  There is a certain mind set out there that wine is safe. Crazy if you think about it. The point is society needs a better and safer alternative.  Those who argue alcohol and marijuana are the same or similar are just IDIOTS.  Thank God state legislators, now 26 states, noticed the tax revenue collection potential.  This was enough incentive to make the other issues manageable.

3. Medical Benefits - Marijuana medical studies are being conducted all over the world with many proven benefits being used every day on people of all ages, including children.

4.  Tax Boom - In 2015 Colorado collected more from pot sales than alcohol ...collected almost $70 million in marijuana taxes during that time, nearly double the $42 million collected from alcohol taxes. (http://time.com/4037604/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenue/).  Even small towns are benefitting as seen in this 2016 story - From small towns that barely dot the map to the state’s largest urban areas, revenue from retail marijuana sales is helping communities address homelessness, send children to college, patch potholes, secure water rights and fund an array of projects.

Aurora is using $1.5 million of its revenue from pot sales and fees to address its homeless issue. Money also is going to road improvements and a new recreation center.

Adams County has earmarked more than $500,000 for scholarships for low-income students. Wheat Ridge keeps its revenue in the city’s general fund, and it’s used in a variety of areas. The same goes for Northglenn, where five marijuana stores generated $730,000 in 2015. The money will go toward water purchases and capital improvements to infrastructure and city facilities. (http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/05/27/colorado-marijuana-sales-tax/55118/)

5. Redirect law enforcement budgets - Too much is spent by law enforcement to combat, detain, arrest, imprison and  parole offenders for breaking one of many marijuana laws. From the Huffington Post we find: Marijuana prohibition now costs state and federal government as much as $20 billion a year, an economist told The Huffington Post — and legalization efforts are only just beginning to chip away at that.

That number comes from Jeffrey Miron, a senior lecturer at Harvard University who in 2010 studied the likely impacts of drug legalization, finding that about $8.7 billion would be saved on law enforcement and another $8.7 billion would be generated from taxes on marijuana. Accounting for inflation, that would add up to about $20 billion now, he said. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/20/marijuana-prohibition-costs_n_3123397.html)

It is interesting to note you will be able to smoke medical marijuana in Florida (law passed in 11/2016 election) by if you cross into Georgia you could face several years in prison.  How is this fair?  Terror tops the list when to comes to protecting citizens.  Why are we chasing pot smokers versus re directing resources to fight terror.  What about inner city crime?  Cities, like Chicago, have already had over 500 murders at the time of this writing.  Redirect to fight and solve violent crimes.  Many communities have overstretched police resources.  Having them freed up from chasing kids smoking pot, or anyone for that matter, allows them to focus on severe threats.

This sums it up for me.  Thank you

Immigration Debate

Advocates of harsh immigration laws and policies continue to fail to see the benefits immigrants(legal or illegal) bring and without them they readily dismiss the economic penalties imposed on local governments and business.  Two arguments central to the debate include illegal immigrants are taking jobs Americans want and need and that insuring only US citizens can utilize state services.

The first argument is almost a joke and if wasn't for over 50% of Americans not being able to get out of high school this would not be up for discussion.  Georgia has one of the harshest anti-immigration laws on the books and it also has one of the highest unemployment and lowest high school graduation rates which makes it fertile ground for stewing hate and condemn a whole ethnic group.  Georgia unemployment has not changed since trying to run out illegal immigrants but what has occurred are jobs no one willing to fill.  Three reasons for this exist; lack of training for desired jobs, Georgians not really interested (not capable) in doing the type of work illegals perform and the unemployment generosity of the government sucks out any incentive to work.  Initially when Georgia enacted its first round of anti-immigration laws farmers were left empty handed when it came to hard manual labor usually performed by illegal immigrants.  Georgia officials came to rescue but no one showed up until they bussed in prisoners to do the work.  They lasted less than one week.  OK who wants to do manual farm work anyway.  But what about construction jobs.  Prior to the recession in 2008 I can not tell you how many white, tobacco chewing, overweight, uneducated, white men Georgia officials paraded in front of TV cameras in commercials and announcements deriding illegals for taking what were once high paying construction jobs.  Please note that the high flying build out of America prior to the recession would have been possible without the low cost labor brought in from Mexico and other countries.

Fast forward to June 2013 prior to passage of the new immigration reform bill and the far right has a new argument supporting Americans not taking jobs once performed by illegals.  After driving out many illegals over the last 4 years America is left with no workers and certainly no young workers to perform much of the work.  With mounting evidence Americans will not perform many jobs illegals once performed for example  manual farm labor, due to of difficulty is all wrong.  The new argument is "The pay is not sufficient".  The new argument suggest if pay was high enough American would perform the work.  Illegals drove the price down so low Americans will not work for such depressed wages.  The right sure gives illegals a lot of credit and sway over our economy.  As long as America fails to take responsibility for their presence the problem will never be solved.  As long as America refuses to have dialogue with Mexican Americans over Hispanic issue the problem will never be solved.  As long as the right believes all illegals once naturalized with vote Democratic.  They fail to understand Russians, Irish, Canadians, and other non-Hispanics are here illegally as well in very large numbers.  Texas and Arizona both boasts large Hispanic populations but yet Republicans win the governor's mansion.  If the right really understand they would focus on the 50% of legal Hispanics that do not vote and convert them and not worry about voters that will not be eligible for at least 10 years or two almost three presidential election cycles.   

Immigration Deal is Modern-day Slave Labor

The "gang of Eight" is set to make an immigration deal. 

The deal is mostly about Mexicans crossing the border illegally and the  11 million already here again mostly Mexican.  Yet interesting enough or least a factoid there is not one Mexican American, largest ethnic group in the country, in the bunch.  Most of our Hispanic leaders, at least politically, are not Mexican descent either.  In this  group we have a Cuba born and a Puerto Rican senator.  How many Puerto Ricans have immigration issues and are struggling to get into this country.  With all due respect to our Puerto Rican brothers they do not have the first clue what it means to live in fear having the most powerful country in the world hunting you down separating you from your family to expel you after living in this country as a contributor for 10 plus years. Why are there not any Mexican Americans at the table?  Not even one worker is represented. And make no mistake this is a work agreement not an immigration agreement.  It s is a way to secure cheap labor for this country for now and in the future.  Currently 10,000 Americans per day turn 65.

This deal is not really about providing a path to citizenship to the estimated 11 million undocumented. It is more about this country exercising basic economics by taking advantage of cheap labor from south of the border.  What this agreement seeks is cheap uneducated and unskilled labor with employers never having to provide any tangible benefits to the workers - modern day slave labor.  Even the unions have objected to any undocumented worker (or Mexican worker) having any rights to advance or bring any skill sets to perform electrical work or drive heavy equipment. Most groups and individuals working on the immigration agreement, including the gang of eight, will only agree to move this forward if only uneducated and unskilled labor is allowed.  The US needs a labor pool they can give "the most dangerous, dirtiest, back breaking, with no potential to advance jobs that no one in their right mind would ever dream of doing" to.  After the country's last purge attempt of Mexican labor it did prove many Americans are not willing to work and certainly will not work at the jobs most Mexicans are willing to do.  As an example, labor shortages are being blamed from keeping the construction market from expanding.  Why with unemployment still north of 7% in most states?  Construction was a predominately Hispanic labor market paraded in front of TV cameras by anti-immigrant hate groups as a job killer for Americans.  Now there is a shortage!  Who is going to pick tomatoes, cherries, apples, cucumbers, etc.? 

Most Americans have no idea the mistreatment farm workers have received in this country for the purpose of providing our dinner tables low cost meats, fruits and vegetables. Many families live crowded in one room shacks on blocks with no running water or indoor plumbing of any kind.  Child labor laws are thrown out the window.  One does not have to go to Africa or the far east to lobby against child labor and cruelty just look to our farms and food processors.  Educating their children is seen as burden to American taxpayers with many states passing local legislation preventing children of illegals from attending school under the guise of protecting our children and our education resources.   Although illegals pay taxes they receive no representation.   There is something fundamentally wrong denying children an education regardless of the circumstances.

Since most Americans are blind to the squalor farm workers live in our new immigration agreement will allow, if passed, for more people to live like this.    Heaven forbid we ask Americans to do this work.  Georgia tried this approach and finally tried prison labor paying them a fare rate and they quit.   Because the work is hard, it is hot when performed, and it is required every day 10 hours per day.  Crops do not wait to be picked,  When they are ready they must be picked.  Our new immigration agreement will insure 21st century slavery with the farms acting as modern day plantations.  The color of the skin is close enough. 

I wonder what Congress will do to make sure only uneducated and unskilled workers are allowed.  What kind of test do you give to someone to prove they are to dumb to not want to advance their lives and that of their families.  How does someone design a test so only untalented people with no desire to advance to drive heavy equipment or install electrical wire are allowed to enter our great nation that promises the American dream to any one that works hard and advances?  I guess we are going to have to add an asterisk.  Is it fair for our country to fight for human rights and human dignity when we us the power of out government to repress a whole class of workers through an immigration agreement?  It is fair for our country to work in far away lands to educate and pull people out of poverty and then create laws through an immigration agreement designed to keep an underclass under and an uneducated class uneducated?  What do you think?

Sand Hook Elementary School Massacre - The Wrong Debate

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
Police arrive in front of the elementary school after the shooting.
Location	Newtown, Connecticut, United States
Coordinates	41°25′12″N 73°16′43″WCoordinates: 41°25′12″N 73°16′43″W[1]
Date	December 14, 2012 c. 9:35 am – c. 9:49 am[2][3] (EST)
Target	Students and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School
Attack type	School shooting, murder–suicide,matricide, spree shooting
Deaths	28 total; 27 at the school (including perpetrator) and perpetrator's mother (at home)[4][5]
Injured	2[6]
Perpetrator	Adam Peter Lanza[7][8]

I found this on Wikipedia:

On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, 20, 

 fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members in a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the village of Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut.^[4][5] Before driving to the school, Lanza had shot and killed his mother Nancy at their Newtown home.^[7][9][10] As first responders arrived, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

The incident is the second deadliest shooting in American history, after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. It is the second-deadliest mass murder at an American elementary school, after the 1927 Bath School bombings in Michigan.^[11][12]

The shootings prompted renewed debate about gun control in the United States, and a proposal for new legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain types of semi-automatic weapons and magazines with more than ten rounds of ammunition.^[13

___________________________________________________________________________

As you can read it lead America into the world of gun debate and school safety. How do we protect our children in school?  In this country when mainstream media, or frankly all media outlets, are discussed it is usually refers to liberal versus conservative broadcasts.  Both the left and right see this as the primary debate.  However, this is not the focus of this writing I do want to point out the debate should be focused on how we view news controlled and driven by Euro-Americans (whites) versus minorities and how the coverage negatively affects minority groups.     a discussion for a later time.  However, this is the case in this cowardly crime.  

Immediately after the shooting the whole world wondered how this can happen in America? How can someone massacre children?  Experts were paraded on TV trying to profile the killer and then attempting to understand the mind of the killer.  The media spent countless hours trying to help America come to terms with the shootings.  Everything about the 20 year old was mentioned except for one fact - young white male.  Why was this left out of the discussion?  

Let's go back over the last 15 years in America and look at the timeline of school killings I pulled up from Fox News Insider: http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/12/14/timeline-major-school-shootings-in-the-united-states/

 Below is a timeline of some of the major U.S. school shootings:

Chardon, Ohio, February 27, 2012: A student opened fire in a cafeteria at Chardon High School, killing three students and injuring two others before he was arrested. 

Dekalb, Illinois, February 14, 2008: A former graduate student killed five students at Northern Illinois University before killing himself. 

Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16, 2007: A student killed 32 students and faculty at Virginia Polytechnic and State University in the worst single act of gun violence in U.S. history.

Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, October 2, 2006: An armed dairy truck driver selected the female students at a one-room Amish schoolhouse and shot them execution-style, killing five. The man then shot himself.

Tucson, Arizona, October 29, 2002: A failing student shot and killed three professors and then himself in a rampage at the University of Arizona School of Nursing.

Littleton, Co., April 20, 1999: Two students killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded more than 20 others before killing themselves at Columbine High School. 

Jonesboro, Ark., March 24, 1998: Two boys, ages 11 and 13, fired on their middle school from woods, killing four girls and a teacher and wounding 11 others. 

Add Jared Lee Loughner and James Eagan Holmes to the mix and a visible pattern emerges that very few want to discuss.  What is wrong with young white males in America?

What is the America white culture that produces this type of toxicity? American readily and easily explains Black and Hispanic shooters:  low education, no father figure, etc.  But what confuses them about white shooters.  Why are we, as a nation, not discussing how to prevent young white males from horrific crimes.  Maybe some left better to the white-controlled and dominated media outlets. 

Chavez is Dead!

Enough said.

Shakespeare got it wrong!

In As You Like It, one of Shakespeare's characters, Jacques, said:

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."

Shakespeare was almost right. The world is not a stage it is a sales call. Even a newborn recognizes very quickly that crying outburst bring him food and attention. Any parent that has had children go through the "terrible two's"will testify to the fact that two year olds know that throwing temper tantrums brings rewards (i.e. getting what you want). This is a child's crude way of selling her/his point. This behavior continues throughout our lives as teenagers trying to be accepted, compromising with your parents and teachers, negotiating with your spouse and children and continue until the time we die. We are constantly in sales mode throughout life.

There is not one instance in our lives that we are not negotiating for something from someone. Everything we do in our lives is governed by how well we negotiate (or communicate) our position to get someone to do something for us that we need that they might not otherwise do for us. The problem, however, is that we are poor equipped with the basic selling skills necessary to win most of the negotiations that will be presented during our lifetime.


In all our of relationships business, personal, family, religious, and social we are constantly selling. I use the word "selling" in the sense that if the world is a sales call we are always, by definition, selling. In this competitive world refining and honing your communication skills or selling skills will help you advance in all areas of your life. The next time you are tyring to convince someone to do something or to get you something try using basic selling skills. Learning basic selling skills may help you effectively convey your wishes and have someone act on those desires. And see if this starts changing your life by getting all you ask for out of life.

Remember the world is a sales call.

Too Big To Fail!

The current and past administrations have and are still using a theory that they believe is a fact that there are certain companies (i.e. enterprises) too big to fail. Their failure would result in catastrophic economic harm across the world. These enterprises include financial institutions, manufacturers, insurance companies and others.

What is the basis of this theory becoming fact? Why is bigger better and is there really any company too big to fail? We have a habit in America to "super size" everything. Big, in our American culture, has always been associated with good, with the exception of weight gain. It is not just french fires and soft drinks but in the early 60's we started to see a transformation to big stuff. As we entered the golden age where everyone could attain upper middle class living the concept of bigger is better became the course de jour for everything. We witnessed audio speakers getting bigger and bigger. Cars and trucks getting bigger. This cultural identity unique to the American perspective started spreading beyond appliances, audio equipment, and cars and soon included houses, schools, malls, airports, buildings.

So here we are with schools that encompass blocks and blocks and house thousands of students pretending that there is some magical financial maneuvering that suggest big is good because it is less expensive. Then we build huge airports where it takes longer to get through to the gate than the trip from your home to the airport. The malls went from local servicing of a community to state and then regional service capability. Wal-Mart ate up small town America because big is good and small is bad. Economies of scale was the battle cry.

We became a nation obsessed with bigger is better and this eventually spilled over to our business culture where we started building bigger and bigger companies. We rationalized it as a war in the competitive battle for global markets. If we are to win this battle big is good. We can be everywhere for everyone providing everything.

Was MCI too big to fail? Was Enron too big to fail? Was American Steel too big to fail? Was Sperry too big to fail? Is GM too big to fail? Is AIG too big to fail? Is Citi too big to fail? Is Fannie Mae too big to fail?

Failure is good. It is the counter balancing effect to capitalism. The fear of failure is what puts the fear of GOD on anyone starting or managing a business. I think the global meltdown has answered my question of is bigger better. And the answer is no. Being bigger did not prevent the meltdown or insulate these large behemoths from drowning in red ink. I think the bigger is better experiment as it relates to capitalism is dead. Big is slow. Small is fast. In complex markets speed to change and adapt is more important than size. Size is a hindrance when speed is a large part of the new market dynamics.

Chavez at it again!

In December of 2007 I wrote a blog called "Watch out for Chavez". A basic wake up call to The US to quit ignoring the politics south of our border. Interesting how we pay more attention to countries literally a world away and ignore our own back yard. At that time Chavez was trying to change the constitution to allow him to serve for life. This failed and at that time Chavez vowed to continue the fight. Fast forward to 2009 and we watch, almost unnoticed, Chavez got one step closer to become a monarch for life by having laws passed to remove presidential term limits effectively keeping him in office until 2021.

If the US does not take him out (or anybody take him out for that matter) we have to deal with a mad "commie" that sells us 40% of our oil requirements. Not only do we make him richer every day we also give him more power over a region we need to protect and defend. With a new administration I hope they pay attention to the affairs a little closer to home.

School vouchers

When you ask any parent that has a child in a public school about the quality of their child's school they inevitably determine that the school is of high quality. If all parents believe this where are the bad schools? I happen to live in a state that the performance of the state schools are at the bottom rung of the educational ladder. They have been like this for over 75 years and they keep blaming everyone to everything for their dismal rankings.

There is plenty of blame to go around. Critics blame the legislature, the teachers' union, the teachers, the school board, the federal government, and in the last few years the immigrant population. They are the reason for overcrowding and under performance. Forget about the last 40 years when they weren't here. But they are convenient to blame and don't speak great English anyway so how can they argue back less fear of deportation. Everyone gets blamed, but like the rest of our government, no one is held accountable. Let us not forget the parents and the students who have the most to gain and the most to loose by squandering an education. This,to me, is the root cause of failure - lack of respect and discipline for a system designed to move you forward through education a critical key to success.

So here comes the voucher discussion. The debate has long centred on issuing vouchers (i.e. taxpayer money) for school choice (i.e.private schools) to force schools to compete or else loose students thus tax payer funding. This is a free market idea. I am not a fan of government being in the free market business (look at our banks)mainly because they are so bad at how they form and deliver services, hence bad public school policy leads to bad schooling. Diverting funding from already cash-strapped schools is a no no to most if not all public school advocates. Their claim is public education is critical to the bedrock of democracy and should be supported.

There are numerous studies that indicate public schools perform just as well as private schools and moving kids to private schools does little to enhance their opportunity. We can get lost in the minutia of the debates. but my issue is one of taxation without representation. If you choose to send your child to private school why are you required to pay taxes for a system you do not use? Secondly, why can you not get a tax credit for double paying for education - tuition and taxes? Thirdly, schools are overcrowded today what would happen if all the private schools kids entered public schools? Public schools are saving millions due to the fact that private schools kids do not attend and if they did new investments would have to be made. There is a lot of public money saved due to kids attending school elsewhere. So why not give a little back. For those that believe more money for schools is the answer ignore the fact that there is no correlation between more money and smarter kids. Just as there is no correlation between money and happiness.

What happened with the banks?

Imagine if you will that the federal government believes all Americans have the right to home ownership as an inalienable right as the pursuit of happiness. So in its infinite wisdom instructs the largest mortgage purchaser in the world, Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), to require banks to loosen lending requirements to sub-par borrowers to make the dream of home ownership a reality to those who otherwise could not afford a home. As a sweetener Fannie Mae provided liquidty to insure banks and mortgage companies had plenty of easy money for what would later become and known as toxic loans. The risk was cut out of the equation by Fannie Mae's backing and so went the oversight. Loan committees that recommend granting loans for its borrowers to its bank board of directors no longer had to evaluate risk or health of the borrower. Fannie Mae would bear the brunt of the risk.

But what if CitiBank or any other AAA credit-rated company decides to do just that. Lend to people that qualify by merit (financially capable)and lend to people that do not qualify to satisfy a dream of home ownership with a quota backed by Fannie Mae. So, Citi Bank, that is AAA rated bundles the good loans with the bad loans (now known as toxic loans)to create a loan package that is sold to investors, funds, etc. The loan portfolio has a AAA rated credit grade on it due to Citi Bank even though the loans in the loan portfolio when blended (package) is sub-par at best and certainly not AAA rated loans.

Along comes Lehman Brothers who purchase the loans and leverages them 30 times against their value for borrowing purposes and at the same time have them insured by AIG which became easy because AIG believes the loan portfolio to be AAA rated quality but it was not. So as a result Lehman borrows huge sums of money aginst the bad loans. As the loans become uncollectable the market punishes Lehman and starts putting pressure on them to reduce thier lending. And eventually they run out of money. The loans are brought into question and as the market value of homes erode so does the value of the portfolio. As the loan value dimminishes more pressure is put on Lehman to shore up the portfolio usually by putting up more cash. Cash it does not have because it cannot borrow. So the cycle continues. Lehman seeks insurance releif thorugh it's policy with AIG. Now AIG unravels insuring loans that were toxic. An so does Fannie Mae.


Welcome to the free market. Where is the oversight? Where is the Congress? Where are the internal and external auditors? With freedom comes responsibility. Where are the fiscal hawks when you need them?

Political (in)experience

Caroline Kennedy is making her pitch to be the next senator of NY replacing Hillary Clinton as she moves to a cabinet position. I do not know whether or not Kennedy is qualified or not. This is not the topic I want to discuss but rather the schizofrenia of the American public and how short our memory is in relation to politics and the problems associated with it.

The big question "Is she qualified?" This seems to be the question the media and the pundits are fixated on. I really don't get it. We just went through 8 years of a congress receiving its lowest approval ratings from the public since inception. We had a president that has over 68% of Americans dis-approving of his job performance and we just elected a new president that only had 2 years of Seante experience. Is experience really an issue?

How can the public forget so easily? We, as Americans, want term limits to bring in fresh blood. We want to stop corruption and graft that make so many politicians wealthy ( see Bob Dole - poor Kansas farmer and came out of the senate a millionaire). We hate anyone in office that sets records for the amount of time they spent in the game. We have too many old white guys that have been at it too long but yet when it coms to what we need - a fresh, inexperienced voice- we reject it on the grounds of inexperience.

If its experience we want then recruit or elect the same hacks that have brought us to the brink of economic collapase, made us the bullies of the world, and have harmed our reputation maybe beyond repair. America, please make up your mind. We need different results by bringing in new and different prespectives. We can not get new results from the same old thing. WAKE UP!

Playing the race card

It has been a while since I decided to write again and much has happened. We have a new black president and many believe this to be good. I think so too but also see this change bringing in a lot of discussion. As part of a story I saw some interesting items with the newsheads in relation to the Illinois Senate seat vacated by Obama. With the Illinois governor possibly headed to jail his choice for the senate has been greeted with less than enthusiasm. But my issue isn't the governor it is the injection of race into the conversation. This discussion really sums up the differences between Blacks and Hispanics and the differences in our value systems. I am not sure who brought up the race card but I have heard it from many sides. Side A say it has to be a Black because a Black held the seat. (so what?) Side B says it should be the most qualified, which makes me think about another senate seat in New York where one of the Kennedy's is vying for top pole position.

Why does this situation define differences between Blacks and Hispanics is because there is another senate seat be given up due to another appointment in Colorado held by a Hispanic, Senator Ken Salazar, yet he is being replaced by a white person by a white governor. Should Hispanics be playing the race card? Are Hispanics playing the race card and insisting on a Hispanic replacement so as not to add to the white washing of the senate? According to what I see and hear this is not the case. As a matter of fact there is little discussion in the "liberal" press or the conservative press. (I liked it much better when we only had one press). Does this mean that Hispanics have no power to command and demand a Hispanic replacement? Or does this mean that whites and blacks do not really care what Hispanics say and do with no one paying attention or cares? In either case Hispanics just do not play the race card a lesson all can learn.

The Religion of money - Prosperity Gospel

Religious conservatives are up in arms after Sen. Charles Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Finance committee, asked for financial records from mega churches selling a version of the bible to their flock known as The Prosperity Gospel. The creed promises that the Almighty rewards the faithful with not only spiritual but material bonuses. In other words, by walking with Jesus wealth comes with it. The power of Jesus has the power to make you rich because God provides for all that seek him. This has been a powerful message for the lambs that are lead to slaughter and the only ones getting rich are the ministers of this message that would make Jesus, who usually rode a donkey and gave up all earthly possessions to preach the word, strike these men down as agents of the unholy.

With the money donated from their flock they purchase private planes, jewelry, and mansions looking more like Hip-hop mega stars or captains of industry rather than God-inspired preachers with messages of hope and everlasting in the after-life. It isn't enough that God, through his son Jesus, promised us eternal life. We want the richness that God has promised us today and we want it in the form of material possession and wealth. And of course the more God loves us and we follow him the more he will reward us with the riches of life. Somehow our fellow preachers lost sight of the message of love, peace, and forgiveness which are the real messages of god and Jesus. These are the rewards God promises us but today they are not enough. We can measure how much god loves us by our W-2 statement, the size of our home, and by how many cars we have.

The message today is that you do not have to wait for the after-life to get redemption and a life of eternal happiness but we can get it all now. We can start this life now and enjoy the pagan luxuries in the immediate consumer world. The only cover charge is a small donation, of course, to my ministry to demonstrate your love for God, and God will reward you because through believing in me you believe in Him. This warped message is being delivered to the poor, distraught, and unfortunate who buy into this. Does their lot in life change? This is a subject for later discussion. My main reason for bringing up this topic is because we are in the midst of selecting a new president. With the Democrats painted as liberals and the Republicans as religious conservatives. I do not believe the faithful belong to only one party exclusively. This brings other dangers when you have one issue voters and deny any other issues facing America are more daunting than spreading Christianity.

Here is the rub: Churches and religious organizations pay no taxes and have no accountability of the money they receive. The defenders of this gift ( remember they do not pay taxes so this means our taxes benefit them) are insistent that the First and Fourth Amendment that preserves religious freedom and separation of church and state allow them to do whatever they want, preach whatever they want, and collect money and spend it however they want. We now know, after 9/11, that religious and charitable organizations actually funded terror campaigns. Would we feel the same way if these were Muslim churches and there was suspicion that they were using their funds for financing terror? But broader issues remain.

The leading Republican candidates are being driven by the conservative right that fights for school prayer, ban on abortion, adding creationism to school science study, and others demanding this country was founded on Christian ideals. Not really but they sell it anyway. Mike Huckabee calls for " take back this nation for God". How do we reconcile the drive towards theocracy with the invasion on these churches finances? Why do we allow churches to deliver political speeches at the pulpit and bus members to political rallies when, as part of their tax free status, they are to refrain from such behavior?

We can not have both in the US. A system that allows churches, whatever their affiliation, to receive tax breaks and operate freely from government intervention and scrutiny and then have leaders of our government bring their religion into the public forums. This leads to electing officials and appointing judges that manage with their religious zeal rather than their knowledge of the constitution and what it stands for. We have seen, in other parts of the world, where the Bible (Koran) is used as the main resource to drive law and rule a nation. This has never been good and has only lead to war on both sides and the degradation of women and displacement of the poor.

When a presidential candidate suggest that you can not have democracy without religious freedom you have to wonder why we are in Iraq. Is religious freedom a prerequisite of democracy? Maybe but it surely doesn't mean that the majority of worshippers can force their religion unto others. We need to look at all churches to insure they follow the rule of law and do what they need to be doing to receive the tax breaks they do receive. Political rallies, endorsing candidates, bringing religion into government should be denied and any church doing so should be stripped of their status and demand taxes be paid. If they want to rally for riches, be a political influencer, or merely be someone taking from the disadvantaged every time the collection plate is passed they do not need chruch status. It is time for Christians who have gotten lost following Jesus to step up and follow God instead.

Invoking the name of God should not be enough to receive secular tax breaks. If the preachers believed half of what they preached they would not need the tax breaks to survive because they would be rewarded, like their flock, by living the Gospel of Prosperity.

Why we can not solve the immigration issues and have a meaningful debate?

As America is attempting to find solutions to the immigration conflict some guiding principles of fairness, logic, and process need to be put in place in order to properly frame the content of the conflict. I use the term "conflict" because the the debate has gone beyond civil and entered the realm of disparagement, hate and bigotry. The arguments are so far divided that compromise seems remote. A significant problem on both sides of the debate is the divide is caused by the lack of validity of the information being put forward thus creating the conflict. Also once the term illegals is associated with criminals and pounded into the minds of Americans over and over through the news outlets the fairness of the debate goes out the window - because criminals have no rights. Well they do and they have.


Not long ago reporting of the news was accomplished by trusted organizations on TV and in print. This changed over time to produce what we have today in the news rooms which is biased and politically motivated news commentary feeding a small portion of the public that align themselves with such broadcasts. We no longer live in a world where news reporting is accurate, true and fair starting at 6:00 PM and fed to the nation as a whole allowing each individual to determine how she or he felt about it. Today we are lead like cattle to slaughter towards pre-ordained conclusions that feed a righteousness that makes us believe we are more American for feeling this way. It is almost impossible for the average American ( 5th grade reading level) to separate the wheat from the chaff.


The Internet has, in a short time, spawned a society that may not possess the mental fitness, the time, or interest to determine what information going around the Internet is true, accurate, and fair. It is now easy, at the speed of light, to send information, many regard as news, throughout the globe. Add email where people of similar thought can reinforce their ideals with emails representing their position and circulate them as gospel. This rapidly spreads hate, bigotry, and superiority thus creating what we see now in America with over 80% of Americans not wanting to discuss any solution for reform of our immigration policy. The discussion for most of these Americans can only begin with "round them up and ship them back then put up a big wall". This high percentage of Americans against immigration leads politicians to acquiesce in to their wishes and begin shaping policy trying to make the 80% happy - surely a justified reaction by politicians hoping for re-election.

The problem with today's debate is we are on a steady diet of opinions and we virtually skip over the gathering, validating, verifying, and disseminating data phases. And when you consider where these opinions are initially formed it becomes very scary once you realize how small groups in America are shaping policy on immigration. This leads to an "anyone can say what they want" mentality with no challenge. This could then lead to information which is defined by the way one party decides to interpret the data. The information is then subject to emotion, religion, or any other matter of the heart that one deems necessary to involve to come up with varying opinions. These opinions are used to make policy. With the technology to move information at the speed of thought there are certain responsibilities that come with this new found method to disseminate information that are not enforced.

A wild wild west type of journalism, like the child predators that uses the anonymity of the Internet to entice young children, radical ideas on immigration by supremacist, hate groups, ethnic cleansers, and bigots using the same anonymity. Combine the anonymity with the speed of data dissemination and one can easily turn these absurd ideas on immigration into American mainstream thought. This approach only serves to confuse the masses and stirs radical emotion and the production of more radical content and its related behavior. As a result 70-80% of Americans are against immigration ( really against Mexicans).

The source of the problem is all this has as its root - bad data and information. Once the politicians started looking at solving the problem they immediately saw they could not solve it the way most Americans would like it solved. So they punted and did nothing. The reason they could not solve it and make Americans happy was because when presented with validated data and information on immigration issues the solutions would have been contrary to the "street talk" that began the discussion on immigration and the original shaping of the policy. This has put a lot of politicians in a quandary. The good and honest ones ( may be an oxymoron when referring to politicians) have punted and been quiet on the issue which leaves the morons and bigots to lead the political debate.

This is a confusing time in America where we fight for democracy and human rights around the world and at home we throw the baby out with the bathwater. We, as a country, oppose ethnic cleansing, but at home we encourage it when it comes to Hispanics. We fight around the world for the helpless, poor and defenseless but at home we attack them, we use abusive language, and fail to recognize immigrants are what made this country great and will continue to make it great. America needs to be honest in this discussion to come up with practical and reasonable solutions to our immigration policy.

With many conservatives opposing immigration they need to ask themselves what would Jesus do?

the assassination of Bhuto - misplaced terrorism

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide bombing that also killed at least 20 others and plunged the nuclear-armed country into chaos ahead of a general election she had hoped to win. (source MSNBC News Services)

Be clear this was not a suicide bomber but a homicide bomber. A murderer that does not deserve the mention of his name. A coward at the end. But this unfortunate event triggered a series of responses from our government. Bhuto supporters continue to riot demanding the Musharraf regime explain how this could happen with elections a little over 2 weeks away.

I am not a specialist or expert in Pakistani political events and neither does our own government seem to be. Backing a military dictator that spits in the eye of democracy and yet only receive lukewarm support only by giving his regime billions of dollars per year as a political payoff. Is he our best bet?

There is little doubt, in my mind, our government thought the frying pan (Musharraf) was better than the fire (Bhuto) and did all it could to point the finger towards terror activity rather than the Musharraf regime. El Qaida or the Taliban surely must have been involved according to our presidential hopefuls and the administration. Supporting Musharrof will only continue to drive a wedge between America and the Pakistani people.

And now we have a woman hailed as a great democratic savior where, she, herself was impeached and forced into humiliating exile. Was she any better than Musharraf? Is she the beacon of light that was bringing democratic principles to Pakistan? If this were true why is our own government, staunch defenders of democracy, siding with Musharraf? Has our government been making payments to a regime not committed to democracy? How can we justify spending billions in Iraq to build a democratic nation when the friends we side with are no more democratic than Iran or North Korea?

And now look at our political candidates for President falling all over themselves condemning terrorism and repeating that same old tune we have to "continue the fight on global terror" . Of course, at this time, less than a day after the assassination, there is no evidence that el Qaida or the Taliban had anything to do with this but yet they sing the same old refrain.

The administration would love nothing better than to blame terrorist. Why? First it takes the heat off their boy Musharraf, who commands a volatile country that he has little control over. Second, if you do not have a war on terror you have to create one. This is great news to be spun so fast that your head spinning couldn't keep up. The political war machine in bed with the industrial war complex using our tax dollars to profit. Now we can allocate more tax revenue to a more ardent fight on terror. According tothe adminsitration this event confirms that we can not be vigilant enough. More money to build more bombs to fight somebody with no country, no uniform, and no honor. Fight the war on terror before it reaches here.( Even though they have already indicated we will be hit not if but when and they have already given up on soft targets - that means you and me).

But the looming question for me is is this really about terror or just another power hungry mad man doing all he can to stay in power? Or is it simply a lack of opportunity for people, under repressive and corrupt governments, to get the basics of life. Consider Pakistan with its largest city reaching over 16 million inhabitants. Twelve million cannot find work and are in extreme poverty but yet their government is corrupt and spends on military equipment versus human needs. Bhuto, herself, was run out of the country on two occasions for corruption and bilking millions from state coffers. The second time in 1996. She ended up spending 4 years in prison. Can a former convict really be a beacon for democracy? How can we defend ourselves when we pump billions in war and not in economic opportunities for the these people? Isn't obvious given the poverty that any offer to strap on a bomb for a payment to the family can be easily justfied. If we do not impove the human condition stopping the war on terror will never be won.

This is a form of economic terrorism created by their government. Economic terrorism survives through graft, corruption, spending on the military complex versus basic needs. This prevents people from entering the economy in a meaningful way. As a result they suffer and can not make enough to survive. This in turn creates mayhem and starts bringing down the fundamental underpinnings of democracy. Democracy is hard pressed to survive without economic freedom, the creation of meaningful employment, and peace to allow you to move and flourish in your environment. This makes it easy for people like Chavez and Musharraf to take control and rule with an iron fist. It also enables anyone with promises to stir enough emotion to have major outbreaks of civil disobedience that eventually lead to the downfall of governments and democracies.

Our government hands out money to these dictators to spend on war equipment and not to help its people be creating jobs, living free from repressive authority, and living in peace. This is what democracy and economic leadership can bring but instead in these countries the powerful survive at the expense of the poor.

Immigrants Pledge

While many immigrants can not stay here nor can they leave here kind of stuck in a political limbo riddled with government inaction. As our government and nation wrestle with the immigration issue I advise immigrants to make a pledge so Americans can see that the majority are hard working, GOD-loving, and family value based people.

With all the mud slinging going on in this debate most Americans do not know what to beleive. Do they pay taxes? Do they want to learn English? Are they the reason for overcrowding of our schools? Should we also blame them for our health-care crisis? And the list goes on. Are these valid gripes or just diversionary tactics used by our government and interest groups to sway our focus away from the real pressing issues of the day.

Shifting blame also seems to be an agenda item for those that feed the media distribution network. I believe immigrants, regardless of documentation, want the same things all people, inlcuding Americans want which include safe neighborhoods, able employment, good schools, freedom to worship, freedom to work hard, and freedom to love. To that end I am propsoing an Immigrant's Pledge to be given by immigrants to the American People as a symbol of his/her respect for this country and the desire to make a better place for all that are here and coming.

Immigrants Pledge

As a visitor and awaiting the road map to legal status I remain an immigrant in this great country. While I am here I pledge the following:

1. Pay any and all taxes due respective governments as any citizen is required.
2. Make any and all efforts to assimilate into the US culture while maintaining my individual and ethnic identity
3. Obey and honor all laws in effect
4. I pledge I am not wanted by law enforcement or am I a refugee of the law in any other country
5. Do all I can to quickly and effectively learn the English language
6. Willing, and if, able to serve in the armed forces of this great country and inspire my children to do in kind
7. Make every effort possible my children go to school, stay in school, and learn in school to have the best possible chance to be a productive member of society.
8. Work as hard as I can to achieve the dream many Americans have before them and now I
9. Believe in one Almighty GOD
10. Make America proud of me with its legacy on immigration

Signed ______________________ Date ___________________

Wetback versus the "N" word

Welcome to racist Americans in main stream politics. Georgia has to be one of the dumbest states in the country when it comes to electing its politicians or they are getting exactly what they ask for: dumb ass white ignorant racist that can't pick on blacks anymore move to Hispanics so they can continue the generational bigotry handed down with each Budweiser. If the state were a person the racism and ignorance it wreaks would demand a thorough washing of its mouth.

Unfortunately Georgia is headed by a governor that can only deal with illegal Hispanics only if they serve our country in the middle east and come back dead. Only then will he use this scene for a photo op and press conference and quickly promote them to citizen post mortem. How tacky is that? Then on deck they have Senator Chip Rogers teaming up with an avowed racist as a political consultant to help fast track legislation so Georgia can put up signs around the border "Immigrants not welcome, especially if they are Latino".

These guys are bad enough and certainly dumb enough but the clean up hitter just stepped out of the dugout and here is what this God fearing American had to say about his neighbors from the South: "It's going to get worse as the criminals move in from Atlanta and based on what I see, the wetbacks from down south, we're going to have more and more all the time," Head said.

82-year-old County Commissioner William Head said this at a meeting in Carroll County. If this wasn't enough he told Channel 2 he has no intentions of making an apology. He said, "They are illegal immigrants, they are wetbacks. I'm sure they don't like that terminology, I really don't care. I owe no one an apology. I stand by what I said."

First consider he was probably educated in Georgia which means he did not receive one and secondly, the education he did receive was handed down from his "daddy" - like son was probably also a racist. He has no idea he offended every Hispanic in the country and what makes matters worse is that the Black community in Atlanta, home of civil rights, took no offense to the word and did not mention it as a slur to human beings everywhere. I suppose in the US the only word that is considered repulsive is the "N" word. I do not use it out of respect but I wonder if the respect Blacks want is even paid back in kind.

Mr. Head should be removed from his position. Mr. Head should not have a public forum to teach our future leaders that ignorance and stupidity are qualifications for Georgia politicians. The people of Georgia should be embarrassed and horrified but they are not. The Hispanics of Georgia need to take note of this and stop allowing people to be mistreated and start expressing their anger and mis-trust of a government hell bent on using any method to re-install the new Jim Crow laws of yesteryear - Jose Crow. Being an "illegal" does not justify or make it right for another human to use cheap and abusive language particularly from community leaders. Wow what about asking him to speak to your kids at school.

The Black political machine can take out a sitting chairman in the US senate but they won't lift a finger to help defend basically poor, hard working, God-loving people.

These poor people literally get "taxed with no representation" and it is only cowards that go after defenseless people looking for hard work. The tax revenues are never separated in two piles one for legals and one for illegals so they can send this illegal money back from where it came from. No, they simply let it go into the one for "legals" coffers and spend it to attack and denigrate a whole group of people. This guy probably doesn't have a clue that a part of his paycheck comes from these "illegals".

The only good news is that taking pot shots at people that do not speak English works both ways. In one way it makes them an easy target because they can not defend themselves. In another way they did not understand what he said because they do not speak English but more importantly they were probably watching Telemundo and not channel 2.

Other words probably OK for Georgia leaders to put in practice are Kite, Jewboy, slope, chink, and dago. This way when they finish driving out all the Hispanics out of Georgia they can start on these. Then they can come full circle and start all over again with Blacks. This is what our boys are fighting for.

Head's fellow commissioner Randy Simpkins said he felt it was unfortunate Head made the comment but Head has been on the commission for 7 years and in that time he has never known him to be racist. Well Mr. Simpkins now you know!

Is this really a gun control issue?

Ten people died in two shooting rampages on opposite sides of the United States on Monday night.

An 18-year-old carrying a shotgun, a handgun and ammunition opened fire on shoppers in a mall in Salt Lake City, the state capital of Utah.

There was no apparent explanation for the shooting spree, which killed five people and wounded four before police shot the teenager dead

In Philadelphia a gunman burst into a business meeting and killed three men and critically injured a fourth in what appeared to be a dispute over money.
He left two other men bound with duct tape but unharmed. Reports said the gunman killed himself after trading shots with police.

source: Ed Pilkington in New York Wednesday February 14, 2007 The Guardian


Some of the worst shooting incidents inside US schools and universities in recent years:

August 1966: Charles Whitman is one of the most notorious names among America’s mass killers. In August 1966 he climbed a 27-storey tower at the University of Texas in Austin and shot passersby on the campus below before being killed by police. Fifteen people were killed, including his mother and wife, whom he had shot the night before. An autopsy found he had been suffering from a brain tumour.
October 1997: A 16-year-old boy stabs his mother, then shoots dead two students at a school in Mississippi, injuring several others.

December 1997: A 14-year-old boy kills three students in Kentucky.

March 1998: At Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, two boys aged 13 and 11 set off the fire alarm and killed four students and a teacher as they left the school.

April 1998: A 14-year-old shoots dead a teacher and wounds two students in Pennsylvania.

May 1998: A 15-year-old shoots dead two students in a school cafeteria in Oregon.

June1998: Two adults are hurt in a shooting by a teenage student at a Virginia high school.

April 1999: Two heavily armed teenage students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, rampage through their school in Littleton, Colorado, killing 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 24 others, before committing suicide

May 1999: A student injures six pupils in a shoot-out in Georgia.

November 1999:A 13-year-old girl is shot dead by a classmate in New Mexico.

February 2000: A six-year-old girl is shot dead by a classmate in Michigan


March 2001: A pupil opens fire at a school in California, killing two students.

January 2002: A student who had been dismissed from the Appalachian School of Law in

Grundy, Virginia, kills the dean, a professor and a student, and wounds three others.

April 2003: A teenager shoots dead the head-teacher at a Pennsylvania school, then kills himself.

May 2004: Four people are injured in a shooting at a school in Maryland.

March 2005: Jeffrey Weise, a 16-year-old high school student guns down five students, a
teacher and a security guard at Red Lake High School in northern Minnesota before killing himself. He also killed his grandfather and his grandfather’s girlfriend elsewhere on the Chippewa Indian reservation.

November 2005: A student in Tennessee shoots dead an assistant principal and wounds two other administrators.

September 2006: Duane Morrison, a 53-year-old drifter, takes six female high school students hostage in Bailey, Colorado, after entering Platte Canyon High School, claiming to be carrying a bomb. He sexually assaulted them and then shot one, fatally, before killing himself when police arrived.

September 2006: Two days after the Bailey killing, a 15-year-old student kills his school’s principal in western Wisconsin after telling another student “you better run".

October 2006: Charles Roberts, a 32-year-old milk truck driver takes hostages and eventually shoots 10 girls girls aged seven to 13, killing five, before shooting himself. Roberts had indicated to his wife over the phone that he had dreams about molesting children.

April 2007: A gunman kills at least 31 people in a dormitory and classroom at Virginia Tech university before being shot dead himself.


source:Timeline: US shooting sprees By Tom Leonard in New York for Telegraph.co.uk


Is this really a gun control issue or are other forces at work that no one wants to address? With the exception of a shooting on an Indian reservation, all the other killings were, overwhelming for the most part, young white males. Should we be afraid of white males?

In this country when you turn to the immigration debate invariably the discussion turns to all the crime illegals create that have no business being here. It is easy to take isolated cases and play them throughout conservative radio and whip up their listeners ( overwhelmingly white) to continue to create the illusion that illegals continue to burden our country. When the fact remains many are law abiding people ( then they argue how can they be if they are here illegal? - a broken circle to be sure). I am not sure of the public relations commotion they want to create with the news of illegals committing crimes. Is it to turn the spotlight on illegals to continue the "march of the penguins" to get them out of our country. Or is it to hide the real perpetrators of crime white males? Statistics are like a whore, once you get them down you can do anything you want with them and pencil-whip them to produce the results desired. It is very common to see crime statistics reported in percentages. It is easy to sway the asses, I mean masses to believe the statistics based on percents leads them to believe that blacks and Hispanics commit more crimes than whites, do more drugs than whites, and generally, as mud people, are just simply undesirable at any level. With most educated by the public school systems they can not do the math to calculate what the percentages quoted by government and media sources to understand the numbers behind them.

From 1976 to 2005 --
86% of white victims were killed by whites
94% of black victims were killed by blacks

Of all homicides in the US 50.9% are committed by whites and 46.9% committed by blacks. Where are the Hispanics, probably under white but insignificant to break out. With 75% white on white and 75% black on black. Only 25% cross racial lines. source Department of Justice http://ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/race.htm

The conclusion is that most people kill their own kind. But the other conclusion is that the crime issue is not a Hispanic one. The string of murders over the last 50 years committed by white males certainly sets a pattern that has to be recognized and discussed. There is some sort of meltdown in the social fabric within the white community that turns, far too often, teenagers into mass murderers. Why are we not alarmed? When is the focus of crime going to turn away from those who commit a small percentage of crimes to those that commit the bulk of them? America does not have to look towards the influx of minorities to blame for the rampant rise of crime when all it has to do is turn around and took a good look in the mirror to find those responsible for the degradation of the social fabric of America - good ole white America.

note: Most of my dear friends are white males. (Why wouldn't it be this way with over a 150,000,000 of them in the US.) Don't get me started about the onslaught of young white females raping young teenage boys in schools.