Ok, so I got my two cents in on Harry and Henry, two members who have been recently promoting the Kriplekistani cause, and I hope you all enjoyed reading. Today is a special day as well, and not just because I spent what was supposed to be my day off helping a co-worker move from one apartment to another. Today is special because I get to finally tee off on one of the biggest, drum roll please.......curmudgeons to grace the TV screen. Our self proclaimed "populist", the ever uninspiring Lou Dobbs.
All across the nation today on this first day of May, which is for many people across the planet is the unofficial labor day, many illegal immigrants, virtually all of which are Mexican, rallied in support of attaining legal citizenship in the United States of America. These illegals perform a variety of necessary duties. From mowing golf courses, to working in kitchens, and other service area jobs, many of these people have been in the United States for years, many for more than decades.
I myself have had the privilege of working with some of these people, and I am not using privilege in the pejorative sense, I really do value the time I spent with them. Not because they taught me the value of "respecting all cultures" or teaching me that "we're all citizens of the same planet" or anything else ridiculously melodramatic like we were taught in gradeschool. I value the time I spent working with Camillo, Isidro, and Domingo because they reminded me about what it meant to pursue the American dream. Three guys, all with families in Veracruz, Mexico, who worked along side me in a mattress warehouse doing 40+ hours a week, sending half their money home to their families, never uttered one complaint. Never mind the fact that they crossed the Arizona desert, literally risking death to get in this country. We should focus on the fact they came here because the POSSIBILITY (no guarantees in life!) of hard work could lead to a better life for their families. In a country where many of our elders have scolded us for not appreciating what we have, that sounds like a healthy reminder.
Our dear friend Lou, however, seems to feel that we as Americans have a problem with so many illegals in this country. Indeed, there are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in this country, but are they really causing a problem? Lets chronicle Lou's issues. First, he believes many of these illegals are stealing jobs away from ordinary hard working Americans. Second, that by these immigrants being allowed to work in this country, they are driving wages down. Third, and I saved the most absurd for last, that the people profiting from this "reconquista" as Lou has penned it, are the elites who are trying to eliminate the idea of the nation/state as America as we know it. A veritable world without borders is I think the gist of what he's trying to say.
Well, lets try and set all this straight. Stealing jobs away from ordinary Americans huh? Last time I checked, the U.S. unemployment rate was hovering around 4.5%. Thats considered full employment, and it puts to shame many of our European "competitors" who operate anywhere in the realm of 8-10%, which would be considered disastrous here in the U.S. Driving wages down? Hardly. The U.S. federal government sets the minimum wage, and states also have a say in setting their own minimum wage (I believe California's has been higher than the national for some time now). But lets stick with this for a minute. In the event we were to expel all of those hardworking chaps in the agricultural sector, prices would skyrocket. Does anyone here feel like paying $15 for a bag of oranges? Haha, and last but certainly not least, the elimination of the nation state of the United States of America. In the words of Chris Rock's 1997 tour: "Please, cut the f*#king shit."
Its easy to sit in front of a desk, making millions of dollars to tell the American people that illegals are the problem, and that we should all be willing to pay more for goods and services if it means hiking prices. Well, I guess thats the real trick Mr. Dobbs, we don't all make 8 figures a year and declare ourselves "men of the people." You often hear people say "Oh, that person would have been much better off in another time," but the problem with people like Mr. Dobbs is that they'd always be a nuisance no matter the decade, century, millennium. Mr. Dobbs would have been the first to excoriate Henry Ford and his model T for putting all the saddle makers out of business. Lou, its called progress, let it happen.
The fact of the matter is these issues that Lou has with undocumented/illegal aliens, however you'd like to categorize them, are exactly those of how I described him earlier, an old cantankerous curmudgeon (I'm trying my hardest to be nice with the adjectives). Normally, these diatribes would be laughed out of any club, bar, haha and yes, even any outhouse they came across. But considering our humble correspondent has the 6 p.m. CNN broadcast, its not so much a laughing matter. Mr. Dobbs commands an incredibly powerful platform from which to broadcast his, yeah I'll say it, xenophobic rhetoric. Giving fallacious ammunition to one of Kriplekistan's biggest group of supporters, the unions in this country, is having a negative effect, and you can see it everyday around 6:55 p.m. Day after day, Kriplekistanis email in to their friendly Kriplekistani Armed Forces morale officer, Jack Cafferty, with their grumblings about these awful illegals.
(And just as a little addendum, because China is going to cheat by arbitrarily pegging its yuan to the dollar, a little cheap labor on our side never hurt anybody. If our Mexican friends are happy, and we're happy, who's being hurt?)
This argument however, is about more than exposing cooks (however much fun that may be). Its about giving credit where credit is due. What we have is an influx of people who have literally died and are continuing to die to get into this country, just for the opportunity to work hard and in the process make it better. This group of people is known for joining the military and serving with distinction. Its known for its overwhelming Catholic roots. Its known for being extremely hard working under harsh conditions. Honestly, if I didn't know better, that sounds a lot like my Irish side of the family that came here at the turn of the 20th century.
All across the nation today on this first day of May, which is for many people across the planet is the unofficial labor day, many illegal immigrants, virtually all of which are Mexican, rallied in support of attaining legal citizenship in the United States of America. These illegals perform a variety of necessary duties. From mowing golf courses, to working in kitchens, and other service area jobs, many of these people have been in the United States for years, many for more than decades.
I myself have had the privilege of working with some of these people, and I am not using privilege in the pejorative sense, I really do value the time I spent with them. Not because they taught me the value of "respecting all cultures" or teaching me that "we're all citizens of the same planet" or anything else ridiculously melodramatic like we were taught in gradeschool. I value the time I spent working with Camillo, Isidro, and Domingo because they reminded me about what it meant to pursue the American dream. Three guys, all with families in Veracruz, Mexico, who worked along side me in a mattress warehouse doing 40+ hours a week, sending half their money home to their families, never uttered one complaint. Never mind the fact that they crossed the Arizona desert, literally risking death to get in this country. We should focus on the fact they came here because the POSSIBILITY (no guarantees in life!) of hard work could lead to a better life for their families. In a country where many of our elders have scolded us for not appreciating what we have, that sounds like a healthy reminder.
Our dear friend Lou, however, seems to feel that we as Americans have a problem with so many illegals in this country. Indeed, there are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in this country, but are they really causing a problem? Lets chronicle Lou's issues. First, he believes many of these illegals are stealing jobs away from ordinary hard working Americans. Second, that by these immigrants being allowed to work in this country, they are driving wages down. Third, and I saved the most absurd for last, that the people profiting from this "reconquista" as Lou has penned it, are the elites who are trying to eliminate the idea of the nation/state as America as we know it. A veritable world without borders is I think the gist of what he's trying to say.
Well, lets try and set all this straight. Stealing jobs away from ordinary Americans huh? Last time I checked, the U.S. unemployment rate was hovering around 4.5%. Thats considered full employment, and it puts to shame many of our European "competitors" who operate anywhere in the realm of 8-10%, which would be considered disastrous here in the U.S. Driving wages down? Hardly. The U.S. federal government sets the minimum wage, and states also have a say in setting their own minimum wage (I believe California's has been higher than the national for some time now). But lets stick with this for a minute. In the event we were to expel all of those hardworking chaps in the agricultural sector, prices would skyrocket. Does anyone here feel like paying $15 for a bag of oranges? Haha, and last but certainly not least, the elimination of the nation state of the United States of America. In the words of Chris Rock's 1997 tour: "Please, cut the f*#king shit."
Its easy to sit in front of a desk, making millions of dollars to tell the American people that illegals are the problem, and that we should all be willing to pay more for goods and services if it means hiking prices. Well, I guess thats the real trick Mr. Dobbs, we don't all make 8 figures a year and declare ourselves "men of the people." You often hear people say "Oh, that person would have been much better off in another time," but the problem with people like Mr. Dobbs is that they'd always be a nuisance no matter the decade, century, millennium. Mr. Dobbs would have been the first to excoriate Henry Ford and his model T for putting all the saddle makers out of business. Lou, its called progress, let it happen.
The fact of the matter is these issues that Lou has with undocumented/illegal aliens, however you'd like to categorize them, are exactly those of how I described him earlier, an old cantankerous curmudgeon (I'm trying my hardest to be nice with the adjectives). Normally, these diatribes would be laughed out of any club, bar, haha and yes, even any outhouse they came across. But considering our humble correspondent has the 6 p.m. CNN broadcast, its not so much a laughing matter. Mr. Dobbs commands an incredibly powerful platform from which to broadcast his, yeah I'll say it, xenophobic rhetoric. Giving fallacious ammunition to one of Kriplekistan's biggest group of supporters, the unions in this country, is having a negative effect, and you can see it everyday around 6:55 p.m. Day after day, Kriplekistanis email in to their friendly Kriplekistani Armed Forces morale officer, Jack Cafferty, with their grumblings about these awful illegals.
(And just as a little addendum, because China is going to cheat by arbitrarily pegging its yuan to the dollar, a little cheap labor on our side never hurt anybody. If our Mexican friends are happy, and we're happy, who's being hurt?)
This argument however, is about more than exposing cooks (however much fun that may be). Its about giving credit where credit is due. What we have is an influx of people who have literally died and are continuing to die to get into this country, just for the opportunity to work hard and in the process make it better. This group of people is known for joining the military and serving with distinction. Its known for its overwhelming Catholic roots. Its known for being extremely hard working under harsh conditions. Honestly, if I didn't know better, that sounds a lot like my Irish side of the family that came here at the turn of the 20th century.
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