Cops: Man can't afford U.S., seeks deportation

Cops: Man can't afford U.S., seeks deportation
Illegal immigrant tells police he can't even pay for his own ticket home.

After confessing to entering the USA illegally and stealing an identity, he was arrested. At his first hearing he entered a plea of not-guilty. Go figure.

taunted at work

Last night I observed a man shopping. What drew my attention was what he had in his shopping cart" a 5-lb bag of potatoes, some tomatoes, a bag of salad mix, and a copy of the weekly ad. Why would that draw my attention?

Thieves aren't the brightest people in the world and in an attempt to cover up for the steaks they intend to steal, they want to appear to be shopping for a cookout. No one but thieves shop this way, from my experience. I looked around for the user of theis shopping cart and saw a man wearing a tan cloth car cap and large oval sunglasses (it's almost 8 pm in Spetember, for crying out loud) who reaches for two packs of steaks without even checking the price or quality of cut. In fact, he wasn't even looking at the meat when he picked the steaks up. He wss looking for someone watching him. I could see the change in the color of his skin when he saw me looking at him.

Maybe next time he will realize that people having a cookout will buy baking potatoes and not 5 pounds of russets, and it takes more to make a slad than lettuce and tomatoes, and to dress like everyone else. Attempts to disquise one elf actually draws attention.

The checkout was extremely busy around that time of night but he had no intention of going through the register. He only waited in line because he saw me up front. He even made the point of walking towards me and yelling "hey" as he waved to me. It was either his weak attempt to intimitate me or to express his frustration at having to wait for another opportunity to steal.

Poor fellow had to stand in line for ten minutes because I was standing there. At 7:58 I walked back to my department to look up my work tools and head to the time clock to punch out. His buggy was still where it was when I left the front end but the man and the two packs of steaks were long gone.

He didn't have to wait so long to steal. I hace no authority to stop a thief--in fact I would get fired if I did. Besides, he is on video tape.

Asia discovery: Bird eating frog

A bird eating frog was discovered in my backyard in Randleman, NC but I doubt it would have drawn any interest from anyone. The picture above is of a small frog trying to consume a house finch. The frog jumped back into the pond with its meal ans drowned.

I had no idea a frog would eat a bird and even less idea that it was a news item.

Now and Then

Reading the comments from the editor of "Our State" magazine in which she mentioned that to her mothers moon pie and a RC or Dr. Pepper was a real treat brought back memories from my childhood.

The kids of today seem to have a disrespectful attitude and an unlimited amount of cash for their petty everyday wants and enjoy a lifestyle that few way back when could even dare to dream about-and I seriously doubt they are any happier with their life than we were back then. Maybe less so, to tell the truth.

I didn't grow up poor, my any means, but we were not rich either. Just average I guess one could say. My dad worked and Mom was a house wife-or stay-at-home mom as one would say now as though that somehow changes a person's dignity for the better.
During the summer and fall somethings we would gather out in the nusery on a vacant lot for a game of baseball but most often we wrapped a sock around a rock and cover that with black tape and played sock ball in the backyard.

For supper, we drank tea, lemonade, or kool aid. No soda was ever served at our house and that was true for many of the homes back then. About the only time I had a soft drink was on Saturday after playing a tough game of baseball and dad would take us to the store and we could get a snack and a soda. I usually got me a Lott-a-cola, the only pop in a 16 oz bottle back then.

My first real job back then was at a grocery store. Sometimes my dad would tell me stories of when he was my age. He worked for some local farmers in the cotton fields and he said he made $1.00 a day plus a meal. I thought how lucky was I. I wasn't fed but I was making 75 cents an hour. I couldn't imagine working for just a dollar.

I've seen a bumper sticker that said "I have more stuff-I win."

Judging how much life has changed just in my lifetime I would have to say maybe to that one--but probably not."

pregnant teenager murdered at her birthday party

Police say the 18-year-old was attending the party at her best friend's home around 2 a.m. Sunday when she asked several uninvited guests to leave.

Witnesses tell the Boston Globe newspaper the men left the second-floor apartment but once they were outside one of them fired several gunshots at the three-story building in Hyde Park, a diverse neighborhood in the southern part of the city.

Maybe this answers why college students shuldn't be allowd to carry guns in school. I'm all for law0abiding citizens having weapons at home but not in public and not under the age of twenty-one.

Asked to withdraw

The New York Times which originally reported the request on its Web site, said that it was President Barack Obama who asked Paterson to withdraw.


I'm sure this isn't the first time that Washington officials have interfered in state politics b ut isn't it up to the people of New York to dicide who they want for governor? If Pateron is weak, would he still win the primary?

Maybe I'm not right on this issue but somehow it seems very wrong to me. Maybe this country needs to find a way to do away with party politics because lately, the system has really begun to stink. It's always had a bad smell but know the stench is becoming unbearable.

Obama first, W. last

This country is so proud of itself for electing a non-white to be president we think it's a big deal Obama is the first. With the population mix of this country changing rapidly, there is the possiblity the George W. Bush could become known as the last white President of the USA.

Say what?

"And the state is paying two security guards $800 a day each to protect him."


I don't make that much a week. Where can I get a job like that?

Joe Wilson a racist?

According to Jimmy Carter, racism was behind Joe Wilson's "you lie comment" and maybe it was. Why is it so easy for people to decry whites as being racist when they disagree with a black person or object to an incident that seems to favor one of another race but no one cries racist when the situation is reversed. A perfect example is Kayne West grabbing the microphone from Taylor Swift and decrying the fact that Beyonce had a great video. What if Beonce had won that one and a white dude had grabbed the microphone from her and started singing Taylor Swift's praises. There would have been cries of racism.

The truth is, we are all racist. You can deny it all you want but if everyone examines themselves closely, one will find many examples of decisions based on preferences for one's own race at the expense of another. That's normal and natural.

Pretty women get much better service at the grocery store that unattractive women do; well dressed people receive more positive attention than poorly dressed people,
and handsome men are more likely to receive a promotion than their less good-looking counterparts. That's a fact of life. That's not racism. you say, but but the truth is, it goes to the same mindset. People react more positively towards other people they feel more comfortable around or would like to spend more time with.

Maybe Americans are afraid of Obama because they perceive his policies of redistribution the wealth. One one hand it seems blatantly wrong to take from one who has worked hard, worked smart, and are making their fortune and give that to people who aren't as successful. Then again, if one looks at the hundreds of years of oppression and prejudice some people faced and the opportunities denied to them. maybe it would seem reasonable that the wealthy got their opportunities because of the color of their skin instead of the natural selection of abilities. Maybe Obama is justifying to right a wrong and level the playing field.

Michael Jordan said a lot about prejudice in his acceptance speech to the Hall of Fame-about shuns and denied opportunities. It's one of the things that made him more competitive. It is one of the things that would make many people give up.

It is a human thing to do what is most convenient for ourselves. We expect certain behaviors from society but we don't necessarily want to follow those same behaviors ourselves. We would love to know that we can get into our vehicles and go where we want and arrive there safely. Yet maybe we haven't check our tire pressure or we drive a little faster than we should or maybe we speed up when the light is ready to change.

As a over twenty-one college student one feels they have the right to drink but as as adult we feel concerned that the university hasn't done enough to curb the growing number of student deaths related to alcohol consumption. Somehow, we feel we are not part of the problem when in fact we are.

The truth is we are all racisst. It's not just whites that are racist. If you are human, you have biased opions and racial preferences. But does that make Jimmy Carter right? Does that make what Joe Wilson said a racial statement? No, to me it just goes to another reason I have always thought Jimmy Carter was the most intellignet idiot I've ever known and the worst President during my life time (and that includes W).

Maybe what Joe Wilson was referring to, even with the provison in the proposed health care bill about denying benefits to non-citizens and non-legall residents, was the fact that hospital emergency rooms still provide care to everyone and are not allowed to ask for proof of citizenship. It's a big loophole that someone has to pay for.

I believe we elected Obama President because he was black. He talked like a white man and white American needed a black President to prove to the world we aren't prejuciced and blacks needed a black person in the white house to give them hope that American is truely the land of opportunity for all.

Now to not support Obama because he is black is just as idiotic as it was to elect him because he is black. He should not have been elcted because of his policies and he should not be supported because of his policies.

BOGO Sales

Everyone likes a bargin but not everyone recognizes one. Not all stores make a customer buy multiple items during a BOGO (buy one, get one) sale but even so, a retailer will sell more of an item advertised that way than if the item was sold at half price or less.

Really!

Backyard moments two

The first shot is of a frog that is attempting to digest a baby bird that drowned in my small pond. The frog eventually jumped back into the pond where it drowned,

The second shot is of a red finch baby taking a nap on my bird bath.

The last shot is of Sandra Bullock who was never in my backyard, unfortunately.

Backyard Moments

These shots are from my backyard.

The first shot is of my lighthouse on top of the waterfall to the big pond. The bloom is from my Hipiscus Tree. The third shot is of three of my Koi: Big yellow (I know it is orange but it was yellow when I got it), Shark (orange with a black top) and Showa. The next shot is of my white Koi with black spots named, what else, Spot, The last shot is of my Sarasa Comet, Sasha.

Observation verified

38 years ago I concluded that children are born prejudiced as a defense mechanism. a recent study seems to verify that six month old kids are prejudiced. Check it out:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/214989?GT1=43002

The case for bigotry

I'd heard many times as a youth that white people were prejudiced because the parents taught the children to be so. I was always bothered by that sterotyped statement because it removed from me the choice of deciding for myself how I would relate to other people but I couldn't prove to myself whether that statement had a ring of truth to it or not. But while in the service, I started observing things that were to lead me to my own answer.

The first thing I noticed happened while I was at a military base isolated from civilization in a remote foreighn country. None of the locals had never seen white or black people in their lives so they didn't not come with any learned prejudices or favortism towards either race. It was only after a few short months there that I began to hear the locals making derogatory remarks and I asked several why? It was because of the way they acted and related to other people I was told.

I adopted a boy from overseas and I noticed his reaction to me and to other strangers. If a visitor was from his own race he didn't not react or reacted fsavorably but he would cry when I came to near him. With that reaction and other things I observed I have come to the conclusion that prejudical behavior towards another is something we are born with and a trait that has to be educated out of us--not something that has to be taught.

No one has to teach a child how to lie or to be selfish. We do have to teach the importance of telling the truth and the rewards of sharing. We never have to teach our children to poke fun at fat people, or tall people, or short people, or red headed people, or people with pimples, or ugly people, or dumb people, or nerdy people, or--and this list can go on for a long time. Maybe you don't like rich people or Democrats, or people with tattoos, or people with a foreign accent. We do have to be reminded to celebrate diversity and to appreciate the role each of us plays in society.

One may oberve the behavior of peoples from other countires and know for sure this isn't just a black/white issue in America. When I lived in Texas, everyone's favorite jokes were about Aggies (Texas A & M) but I haven't a clue as to why. I believe that a babies world is so small and it's ability to communicate is so limited, that it's natural defense is to alert its protectors whenever it preceives uncomfort or threat, real or imagined. A stranger approaching a young child who feels vulnerable with most likely have a negative reaction to that stranger. it's an inborn survival technique and as that baby grows other, it begins to learn how to protect itself and how to more accurately recognize what is and what isn't a threat.

This trait isn't a white thing or brown thing or black thing or even a human thing. It is a natiral instinct for survival. Some people develop the ability to judge a person on thier own merits while others rely totally on childhood survival techniques.

There is one other thing I've learned--name-calling and blame placing isn't ever going to solve the problem. It's kind of like hitting the crying baby to make it be quiet. It just doesn't work. Everyone does know what will work but hitting the baby is easier.

Stock market recovery

Experts claim that it will take the stock market five to ten more years to fully recover, which to me is good news. My 401k is up 150% since February which leaves me with a net increase of 20% in my account over it's high just before the crash.

Contaminated Food Products

I always read stories of contaminated food with skepticism, especially those occurring at fast food restaurants and sealed containers, like one in the news now about a frog being in a can of diet Pepsi. I'm more willing to believe a story if it occurs in a regular restarant or in a place like an office where one worker doctor's up the coffee.

One story of contaminated foord involving a drink can I know is true because it happened to me. It was 1072 and I was in the US Navy aboard the USS Midway in the Gulf of Tonkin. One interprising sailor had a small refrigarator in ths quarters and sold soft drinks. I purchased a pepsi from him and I heard a rattling sound while taking the drink back to my bunk. It turned out that there was a quarter (25 cent piece) in the bottom of the can. I was a little shocked and somewhat miffed at having a foreign object in my soda but relieved it was something of value.