What would you pick?

If you were exiled in a tropical paradise for the rest of your life and you could only have these items:



1). One Album

2). One Person

3). One movie

4). One food

5). One Book



What would be your choices? Choose wisely, forever is a long time!

Illegal Aliens

People have the wrong impression when it comes to illegal immigrants in the U.S. workforce. For Starters, they are not taking jobs from hard working U.S. citizens. There is not an employer in this country that would not welcome the idea of an English speaking, legal workforce. The notion that Mexicans work for pennies and are virtually slave labor is a myth. In the construction field where I reside, Mexican workers are paid well, and most of them don't allow themselves to be over worked. They are not hired because of wages, they are hired because they want to work, they want to make life better for their families, and they want to help their families that are living in poverty in Mexico. If U.S. workers want these jobs, then they need to compete for them, Because I want to work with the best suited person for the job. In the 14 years that I have worked in this town, I have worked with a few dozen Mexican workers, and a handful of U.S. citizens. We would hire the first person that would apply for a job, we didn't search out immigrants, but they were usually the only ones that would apply. Some groups would have people think that Mexican immigrants are mindless creatures that we are taking advantage of, when, in fact, their only hardship is that they don't speak the language. If people want to end illegal immigration, the answer is not a wall, the answer is more ambition by the native work force. I don't like not being able to communicate with the men that work with me, but it is better than listening to someone whine because he thinks he works too hard. I'm sure that some get taken advantage of, just like with any other group of people, but I don't see that much of it. My only problem with illegal immigrants is that they drive without licenses, and get around paying all of their taxes. I think that we should allow Employed immigrants a way to stay in the U.S legally, making sure that they have licenses, insurance, and that they pay taxes. If they don't have a job, or proper documents, or valid licenses, then they should not stay here. I am not for a total open border policy, I am for providing myself with the best possible crew that I can work with.

The World Trade Center

When I was a kid, my mother and father got divorced and my father rented an apartment about 15 minutes from New York City. It was about 1972, and I was about seven years old. On weekends my brother and I would go stay with our father, and in an attempt to entertain us, he would take us into the city on Saturdays. The Twin Towers were still under construction(If I remember correctly, the one tower was complete and the other was still being built), and we would go down to lower Manhattan, pay 10 cents and ride the Staten Island Ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island and back again. It is a wonderful vision that I have never forgotten. You Know, it is funny how most people reacted to the Towers when they were new. The common view was that were an eyesore on the NYC skyline, two big boxes with no character, not like the Chrysler building or the Empire State Building. It took a long time for people to accept the new buildings. I remember when the 1976 remake of King Kong came out and got criticized for using The Trade Center instead of The Empire State Building. Eventually the Twin Towers took their place amongst NY's other Landmarks, and they looked over harbor for another 25 years. I moved south in 1995 and began working in construction, One sunny warm September day, a man that I didn't even know asked me if I had heard what was going on in New York. I turned on the radio and listened for a while, and decided that I just needed to go home. I called my relatives in Jersey to make sure that none of them were in the city, and I went home to watch the news coverage. It is a strange thing, in one lifetime I watched the buildings rise and fall, I watched people that hated them,cry over their absense, and I saw a country become more united than I could ever remember. That December I went to ground zero and it was one of the saddest experiences of my life. I don't know why I thought of this today, or if anyone else is interested, but I just felt like posting it.

Love and Marriage

If two people of the same sex want to get married, how does that affect me? Marriage is what two people want it to be. Some people get married because they believe it is a holy union. Well, many of the holy people that I have encountered in my lifetime have gotten divorced, so that really negates these peoples opinions on same sex marriage, because it is obvious that their sacred vows were never taken seriously. Some people get married so that they can get some tax benefits , or because it makes life more convenient. These people shouldn't object to same sex marriage, there is nothing for them to protest about, based on their own marriages. Some people say that it is harmful to children, having two moms or two dads. I say that two loving moms trumps an abusive mom and dad. Basically, the people that totally oppose gay marriage are the ultra conservative Republicans, that feel that God endorses their lifestyle and condemns anything other than that. HMMM! Sounds like the Taliban. Look, I am not comfortable seeing two guys kiss, I couldn't even make it through "Brokeback Mountain", but for me two say that two people can't have love for one another because they are the same sex would be racist. I have heard many people say that if gay marriage is legal, then it makes traditional marriage mean nothing. When I go to work I don't worry about what other people are doing, I do my job to the best of my ability and then I go home. Why can't other people just do their own things and let other people do what makes them happy? Maybe same sex marriage is not the issue, maybe everyone minding their own business should be!

Radio Talk

I listen to alot of talk radio during my daily grind, some sport, some political, and some stupid humor, but it cracks me up how vicious these people get over almost nothing! According to Sean Hannity, if you do not worship Ronald Reagan like he is Jesus Christ, then you don't even have the right to say you are a great American. Laura Ingraham attacks a persons appearance when she disagrees with that persons politics. Bill O'reilly goes crazy over the fact that someone does not agree with him, then says he'll give that person the last word, and then he cuts the person off half way through the last word and belittles them again! All these talk show hosts are so brave because they have all the power, if you bring up a point that they can't debate, then they cut you off. Sports talk is no better. All the sports shows do now is belittle athletes, management, coaches, and even fans. Some talk radio genius is always calling for some coach or GM to get fired for one incident. These coaches have families to feed, do you think its fair to rip him from his job because he called for a bunt in a hitting situation? The fact is that talk radio people are wannabes. Sports talkers are people that always wanted to be athletes, Political talkers would all like to be office holders, and guys like Bill O'Reilly try to keep convincing themselves that what they say really matters.

12 Angry Men

I noticed that quite a few people have "12 Angry Men" listed as one of their movie favorites. If you have not had a chance to see the remake, it is very good. I'd say as good as the original. I think it was an HBO production. Jack Lemmon,James Gandolfini, Hume Cronyn, George C. Scott, William Petersen, Tony Danza, Edward James Olmos, and a few more well known stars made up this all star cast. This movie was not really just a remake, it was more of a tribute. For all you "12 Angry Men" fans, if you have not seen this version, then you should check it out!

Jersey Guy

You know how Jeff Foxworthy had his bit "You might be a redneck..." Well I was thinking the other day about my life in New Jersey. Now, I don't live there anymore, but I will always be a Jersey guy. Here are some facts about Jersey guys:

1. The F word is used in just about every sentence.
2. We hate pumping our own gas(in Jersey it is illegal)
3. Raviolis and meatballs are on the thanksgiving menu
4. Flipping someone off is an acceptable driving practice
5. We are always right, even when we are wrong
6. We tend to view the rest of the country as being uninformed(I don't anymore)
7. We don't get along with New Yorkers
8. We tend to be Yankee fans(so much for hating New Yorkers)
9. Jersey guys complain alot
10. And last, but not least, we are damn good looking! LMAO

Terrorism with flavor

While it is true that there has not been an attack on the U.S. since 9/11, the terrorists accomplished one of the things that they set out to do, and that is to make our citizens afraid of everything. Everytime there is a major accident or food poisoning outbreak, there are always people saying, "Was it terrorism"? Right before Bush won the second election, every day they were giving out terror alerts, after the election, the whole terror status thing disappeared, or at least it seemed to. Remember when the two snipers were shooting people in the DC area, and everyone assumed that it was a middle eastern man? I only bring this up because, the other day, in the town that I live in, we had a terrorism scare. A business owner found red powder on his entrance steps, and he swept it up. It was breezy that day and it got kicked up in the air and a few people inhaled it. It burned their nasal passages, and caused respiratory problems. Haz Mat crews quarrantined the area, cleaned up the harmful substance and closed a major road and several businesses. All the victims later recovered, proving that even if inhaled, chili powder is probably not fatal!

What is your favorite movie? TAKE TWO!

Well, I don't know what happened to my replies from the original movie post, something got screwed up and everyones responses got erased. So, once again, I will say that the original Jaws was my favorite movie. I love many other films, but I think that the last hour of Jaws, when the three men are on the boat, hunting for the shark, is the best sequence ever put on film. The ending was a little silly, but aside from that, it is still my favorite. What is your favorite?

Don't Butcher Good Movies

Lately there have been some good movies on tv. Goodfellas was on last week, the Godfather was on yesterday, The Thing(John Carpenter's version) was on yesterday, Jaws was on last week, and there were a few others in the past few months that I half-heartedly watched. It is hard for me to watch these movies on tv, unless it is a pay channel that I am watching. I can tolerate the commercials, but the censorship is crazy! Take "Jaws" for example, people will say that kids should not hear Brody say "shit", so they cut the word out. The movie is about a shark eating human flesh and people are worried about exposing kids to the word "shit"? I hear 12 year olds rapping about hoes and bitches, and censors are worried about harmless dialogue? I am not promoting showing sex and violence at all hours of the day, but I think that after a certain hour, "Goodfellas" should not have to be butchered to the point that a bunch of NY mafioso characters are going around saying"what the heck". After 10 pm it should be the parents responsibility. If a kid really wants to see or hear something, they will find a way to see or hear it. Parents need to enforce their own rules and values and not let the government do it for them. These movies that are being butchered by censors should not be seen by children most of the time, based on their content alone. Make it easy, show pg stuff before 7, pg13 movies after 7, and R rated movies after 10, and then let us censor ourselves!

Swim or get off the pot!

I can't believe that the world is so uptight that they want to crucify a 20 something year old for smoking pot. Michael Phelps never said he was a saint. He probably has a few beers, he may like porn, he may even hate kids and pets for all I know! He didn't take steroids to improve his swimming skills, he just did what 99% of all college kids do, he smoked pot. OOOHHHHH! Are we that stupid as a society that we are going to try to treat this kid like a criminal? I heard today that they are trying to build a case against Phelps, even making arrests of other people to try to get them to corroborate Phelp's own admission. Lets expose this for what it really is, a group of meaningless people that are trying to make names for themselves by tearing down a famous person. This is no better than people tormenting celebrities. I bet that every one of the people trying to get to Phelps has probably tried pot. It is a plant! It grows like tobacco! It is much milder on the system than alcohol! I'd rather see some guy sitting on his couch, watching t.v. stoned, as opposed to seeing a guy drink 15 beers and puking all over himself. I can't stand the way everyone acts so holy. Leave the kid alone, if you want to bust someone, check your own kids sock drawer, you never know what you might find!

show me the money

There are approximately 350 million people in this country. I am just guessing, but I would say 100 million are probably under 18 years old. Just for arguments sake, lets say that 200 million people pay taxes and pay in more than they get back. Now, our government is ready to shell out trillions of dollars to banks, car companies, and whatever else needs to be bailed out. If Uncle Sam gave the 200 million taxpayers a check for $10,000, that would be two trillion dollars.(If my math is correct) The first thing I would do with 10 grand is pay off some credit cards, thus giving the banks a boost, because I'm pretty sure that most middle class Americans would do the same thing. Some people may get a new car, thus helping the auto industry. Some people would take the money and put it toward refinancing their houses, thus letting them stay where they are, or giving them an opportunity to sell their house without the bank foreclosing. If people were given an oppurtunity to breathe easier then the tight economy might loosen up. Of course there would be people that would blow the money, but it would still be going into some merchants hands. At least things would be moving again. The banks are going to get it anyway, we might as well be the ones that give it to them!

PLAYTIME

When I was a child, we used to go out and play! It was the greatest thing to come home from school, throw your stuff on the bed and head straight out the door to find your friends. We didn't need baseball and football leagues, or organized soccer camps, we just got the same old eight kids every day, and played whatever sport was in season. We hated going home, for dinner, for homework, and most of all, for bed. There was no Nintendo or Playstation, and really there probably would have been no interest. Who would rather sit and play a video game on a warm summer night, than have a nice game of kill the guy with the ball,played by your best friends back porch light? I think that society has ruined being a child, or maybe a good part of my generation has forgotten how fun it was when they were kids. Everything that kids do today seems to involve money and a ride. What happened to bicycles? Everywhere I went when I was growing up seemed to involve me biking or hiking. I'm glad I was a child at the time I was, because children now have it tough. They are groomed for the adult world way to early, missing out on alot of good things, things that they will never know that they missed. God, what I wouldn't give to be 12 again, just for a day!

Health Care

As we all know, I am not a democrat or Republican. I am not for too many government programs that allow low income families to live above my means. I don't have a problem with helping families get groceries or providing deals on housing in order to help people survive, but I don't want to work 50 hours a week, go to the store, and buy hamburger meat and sloppy joe sauce, while the woman in front of me buys rib-eye steaks with her food stamps. If you provide too many hand outs people will become lazy. This being said, healthcare is a different story altogether. Any U.S. citizen that is sick should be able to walk into a medical facility and recieve treatment. We can give banks billions of dollars to bail them out, but we can't help a 60 year old man who has the flu, without putting him in debt. Of course, people will say,"It's not fair to the people that pay for insurance". People that have insurance can choose their doctor, get preventative medicine, and get routine physicals. In this situation, there should be no discussion of whats fair and who gets what for free. We are talking about the welfare of a human being, and making it so people don't have to take out a loan to treat an ailment. It should only be in case of illness, however, if you give people the right to go to the hospital for free, without any restriction, it would be like giving out free passes at Disneyland. Government programs can work, as long as they are kept under guidelines, and not abused. I am not for low income families eating lobster, while I eat tuna fish, but I don't care if we get the same medical care!

When Do We Grow Up?

When I turned 21 I thought that I knew everything. You couldn't tell me anything that I didn't already know! When I turned 30 I looked back at my 20's and said, "What a dumbass I was". I made some of the dumbest career decisions that a person could possibly make. Now, parenting probably had a little to do with it, but, in fairness to my parents, it is hard to get through to a thick skulled young man. I made it through my 30's, and a couple of years ago I turned 40. I don't feel 43, but damnit all, I am! I now look back on when I was 30, realizing that I was also a fool at this time in my life. When do we stop making dumb decisions? Why does everything seem to work out opposite of what you intend? When I am 50, will I think I was a fool at 40? Well, it will all work out in the end. When I'm senile, I won't be able to remember myself ten years earlier. LOL

ATHEIST

Atheist is such a harsh sounding word! People twist the meaning of being an atheist. Atheism is not a belief or religion, rather, it is the lack of believing. A true atheist usually has a certain amount of jealousy toward someone that has a faith in something, almost the way an adult envys the way a child believes in Santa Claus. There is a comfort that atheists do not have. Now, having said that, an atheist does not like being looked down upon with a sense of pity, which happens quite often. I cannot tell you how many times people have told me that they feel sorry for me. This makes an atheist defensive and some times offensive. If you pity me, I will try to ridicule you by trying to make you out to be a mindless follower of antiquated beliefs. If you look at me and say "To each his own", then we can exist harmoniously! Another thing that people believe about atheists, is that we are into evil and murder and total anarchy, just because we don't follow God. Atheist value life more than anyone, for you see, to an atheist, life is all there is. When someone in my family dies it crushes me for I feel that they are at the end of everything. Atheist are not pro abortion, they are like everyone else in the world, they have differing opinions, some are anti abortion for the life value issue that I just mentioned, and some believe in a womans right to choose, but no Atheist is pro killing anything- we value life!

Second Amendment

Oh my God! Government wants to take our guns! This is all I hear from the far right pundits and the avid hunters. No one wants to take away peoples right to hunt or to keep a gun in the house for protection.(Well, maybe there are some people that want to take them away, but that is unrealistic) Any time someone mentions banning assault rifles or automatic weapons, someone always cries about the second amendment and what our forefathers envisioned. Do you think our forefathers envisioned an uzi? When the constitution was written, a musket was the gun to be reckoned with. The second amendment, which the right wants followed to a tee, guarantees the right to bear arms. It doesn't say what kind of arms, therefore I should be able to keep a military cannon and some artillary shells in my front yard, as well as landmines leading up to my house to keep unwanted visitors away. It is funny how people use words to there advantage when it suits them. The constitution was written over 200 years ago when the world was a different place. As the world changes the constitution will need to be adjusted, not totally or drastically, but it must reflect modern society. If our forefathers were a radical murderous group that fought for their independence so that they could rape, pillage, and plunder at will, and they wrote a document saying that we had the right to take women against their will, would we sit around today and say "But thats what our founders intended"! No, I think that we would evolve and grow, choosing our own way. I am not putting down the founders of our country, I am just saying that we need to evolve with the ever changing world. Don't worry Ted Nugent, no one is going to deny you shooting a deer, we just need to try to deny kids from shooting up classrooms.

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