Saturday, March 25, 2006

THE KING AND HIS DELUSIONAL SINKHOLE



'SOMETIMES YOUR WORLD GETS SHAKEN UP. SOME FORCE FAR GREATER THAN YOU COULD IMAGINE AND TOTALLY OUT OF
YOUR CONTROL CHANGES EVERYTHING YOU KNEW TO BE TRUE."
David LaChapelle.


3-28-06
So the White Castle has been having a rough few weeks, let's Hope that the King's World is getting Shook Up. Sinking Poll Numbers and Sinking Support for the King and his ( ahem) "War on Terra". The Numbers are so bad that they can not and have not even been released in recent weeks. Even a trip to the Heartland did not shore up Invisible Propagandized Support. The King and his Henchmen propose new regulations to Improve "Protection" by laying out Some Severe Illogical Dranconian Measures that would turn 11.3 Immigrants into Felons merely because they are trying to Work in this Country. The New Laws would also Penalize, Punish, all those that "associate" with the "Felons". Even people that offer Shelter,Employment, Health Care, Pastoral Care, and Counseling, and Support face being charged as a Criminal, A Felon, and 6 monthes to a year in Prison.

Over the past week Thousands poured into streets around the Country to Oppose these Orwellian Measures. We should remember to use our Fingers, not just our feet, to let our Lawmakers that we do not support this UnAmerican Path.Think about WHAT these Laws will do to America- this is NOT Our America that would enact Such Laws.

This Country was made of Immigrants. And today Immigrants are a part of Our Country. We The People also means them, not just Men in Suits making Irresponsible Bad Decisions.Call and Write and Raise Hell. Our Country Needs Saving. And please remind MrBush that this is Still Written on the Placard, a Poem by Emma Lazurus on Ellis Island that 13 Million people read as they arrived to these shores.To this day when we look at Lady Liberty, the Beautiful Statue that she is, these are the Words we All hear.

"Give us your Tired,
Your Poor, Huddled masses,
Yearning to breathe free.
The Wretched refuse teaming to your shore,
Send these the Homeless, The Tempest-tossed
to me.
I lift my Lamp beside the Golden Door."

There is Nothing about the Door Being Locked by a Greedy King and People treated as Criminals.
Have we returned to a pre 1890's Era, where people are to be treated as Dogs, Baggage and Slaves ????

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
This is Enigma Cafe Blog Round Up.....of March 27th, 2006.
These are all Blogs over on the Enigma Cafe Coffee Counter that need Visits this week.

[1] CRITICAL: PLEASE HELP RUSS FEINGOLD THIS WEEK: MORNING MARTINI , FUZZY & BLUE and KATHLEEN all need a visit- they ALL have posts that explain that Russ needs our help, this week by the 31st in his Efforts to Censure Our Criminal President.

[2] SKEPTICAL OBSERVER : NEWSGUY has some amazing posts there. Great thinker by a Longtime Journalist with
skills and style that MSM has abandoned. ( When I hit LOTTO I am going to give NEWSGUY a Newspaper so he Can Do IT right).

[3] YEP, JUST ANOTHER BLOG By JurrsicPork has a weekly Round Up of AssClowns , how he narrows it down week by week as the List grows and explodes is beyond me, If you enjoy Rodney Damgerfield Edginess with a Boston Smirk. you are in for a treat....

[4]HOW THIS OLD BRIT SEES IT: Written by a wonderful Brit that has Worldly Compassion and Perspective. A Wise Soul to be sure....Cheers.

[5] WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRACTION: Written be a talented fellow in Ohio, who has incredible insight and journalistic clarity.

[6] GRAEME: HOLDING NORTH DAKOTA'S BREATH: Ever wonder what the Heck do people think about in the Dakotas- here is your chance to find out. Graeme is a thoughtful reflective writer.....

[7] NEIL SHAKESPEARE: The great artist contiues his scathing writing and beautiful [ahem] tale of woe sacrificing young starletts with gleeful abandon and caustic Commentary by the Crowds...

[8} LEFT OF CENTER: Truly an Oassis, Beautiful Blog with thoughtful provoking posts. Please give him some Love , as he helped save the Enigma Cafe last week when he contributed ( and created the new Banner).

[9] KVATCH: Thoughful Frog that he is will keep you laughing and also thinking on so many issues, he also should get some hugs as he helped the Enigma with her Tangled Template....

[10] PEACECHICK MARY: Here it is Humor, perspective and wisdom, eat up .....

[11] BONUS ROUNDS: GO PAY A VISIT TO RORY SHOCK OR PT CRUISER.... why? because they are two great blogs that are never the same twice....Enjoy...

HAVE A GOOD WEEK, PASS THE JAM, SHARE THE SUGAR AND DON'T HOG THE CREAM CHEESE AND BE NICE TO THE OTHERS AT THE COUNTER. more later...enigma.

72 comments:

Unknown said...

I am just "LURKING AROUND"

Anonymous said...

Whose car is that????

PTCruiser said...

It's my car. I did it to collect on the insurance. Shhhhhh.

enigma4ever said...

PT: No way that could be your car? I picture you with a much better car....oh, I see that is how you are going to get it....shhh, I won't tell...Please tell me the woman in heals with the pedal pushers is not your woman?

Floyd : Hey there- you lurk all you want- I will put fresh coffee and muffins on...

enigma4ever said...

HEY THERE Enigma Cafe Counter Dwellers:
Please also follow the Riots/Protests in France where Unemployment is so high, that New Dranconian Laws and Also New Transportation Measures are hurting many- including Young, Elderly, Immigrants and creating classes of Disenfranchised, think if it indeed reminds us of ANY new Laws being proposed here....Send them Courage and Support...and read the Le Monde and also the Scotsman to learn more...

enigma4ever said...

Tuesday Afternoon; almost 2pm:
Please watch the Protests in France and learn more they are SIGNIFIGANT.This is indeed a Battle of the People, Unemployment is HIGH: 25% in Under 35, and up to 50% for new Grads, the New Laws proposed would damage a Way of Life and Penalize the Youth there( under 35) and also change the Strata, and divide the Country- with only some sharing in the security and benifits, it is about Worker Rights and Citizen Rights for Millions. We need to Watch and Learn from this. It is about The Populace not wanting Imperial Laws negating their work, their worth and their Needs as a People.

It is not far from some of Immigration Laws Issues that are on the Table here.
It is about the People Speaking Truth to Power.

Unknown said...

unfortunately, the sink hole is taking more than our car. The W, Rove and Co are going to bury us all in there with them.

enigma4ever said...

WINDSPIKE: Hang in there..here's a life perserver...I ain't sinking yet...and I can dread for hours ( I was a lifeguard for years.....)It is time to fight back..it is going to be an Interesting Summer.

Yukkione said...

"I'm Rick James Biotch!"- Dave Chapelle

Sink Holes are most often a product of human error. So is the ABush administration.

Neil Shakespeare said...

Hey, what's that "(ahem)" mean? Are you saying that I don't have beautiful ahemming? Why, I am one of the most beautiful ahemmers in the world. I pride myself on my beautiful ahemming.

enigma4ever said...

NEIL: yes , ahem, you are indeed one of the most respected Ahemers in the Blogatopia Netherlands .....

WINDSPIKE: OOOOPS, I meant to say TREAD not Dread...alhough what the hell these have indeed been five fucking dreadful years....freudian Slip- ah no...reality slip...

LOC: as usual you hit the hole square on...ahem,,that did
not come out right...but you knew what I meant...I think....
( and yes it was said by the David LaChapelle- of videos,movies and photos..he is kinda a profound guy...who woulda thunk??? and he hasn't just filmed Rick -I-feel-good-James...ALSO Beyonce...)

Yukkione said...

James Brown said "I feel good."
Rick James said " she's a very kinky girl..."

enigma4ever said...

LOC: hmmm, well we now know I have music dyslexia- so Rick doesn't Feel Good ? hmm, that is too bad..thanks....

( James is more kinky than Rick- that part I think I have right?..hehe)

oh, great, now I have that song stuck in my head...

Unknown said...

Freudian slip away E4E. Summer will be interesting, indeed.

jurassicpork said...

Can you believe that c*nt Hamsher banned me again from FDL? I left one little comment: "Silence is Golden." That's it. Not only did I get banned again, she even deleted that comment.

I guess she forgot to ban me when FDL moved to its new digs. I'm even re-banned on the old site. I got banned, again, from a defunct site. What the fuck happened to Hamsher when she was younger that she has to devote so much of her time fanatically seeking out and punishing enemies?

For any of you reading this, if you've blogrolled FDL on your sites, take it off now. They can do this to you. A guy on DKos wrote a diary complaining of the same thing. People stuck up for Jane, saying it coujld be a Haloscan error. Uh huh. This ain't no "error."

This is deliberate. The top of the box says that I've been banned. It can happen to you. So if you've blogrolled that worthless bitch, unroll her now.

jurassicpork said...

Yeah, thanks, e4e, but the blogroll is kind of worthless unless you have links, hyperlinks, so these people can go to these places.

What is your ongoing problem with posting hyperlinks? I've given you the html code. You can see peoples' source code by right-clicking, you can go to tutorials that give you this very basic < a href=http://... > code.

enigma4ever said...

JP::: I am so sorry that you are having a problem with FDL, let it go they aren't worth it...and you will notice they have not been on my blogroll for quite a while...since you told me they banned you last time...but you gotta vent , so have a seat and another cup of coffee...

I am sorry, but not ALL of Us gals are like THAT- thank heavens....

Now please know that for me and many that come here the Blogroll AKA as Enigma Cafe Coffee Counter is working fine- people visit and get to Know each other at the Counter....

About the HyperLinks...I treat my Blog- like a Newspaper ....I write my column and Links and Resources are posted at the end...People actually stroll up and down the Counter...they visit each other....
It is not like a Big High Powered Blog- just a little humble coffee shop, a Community.....that is all...
I work hard and make sure to tend to the people at the Counter, making sure that people feel Welcome and Warm and have good folks to drink coffee with ..hell even Lurk...

( And Two Editors actually have asked about publishing the First year of Watergate Summer...so I think it is okay? maybe it lacks Focus to you....but it seems okay to the Enigma Cafe...so if you come here and call my Counter "Worthless"- whelp- you might get served very very cold coffee....capishe ? )

Rory Shock said...

nice post ... always a good spirit and vibe you've got ... and thanks for the kind comment at the end ...

jen said...

oh what a beautiful post! thank you so much!

enigma4ever said...

RORY:Hey there...good to see ya....thanks...we gotta take care of each other...we are living through dark times...but with coffee and good souls we will survive....all of us...

Jenny: hey there ......good to see that little donkey hanging there....I am heading over to see ya'....( I try that is all I can do...)

11pm Tues., Enigma did not get much sleep last night...so I am crashing soon...Take care of each other...

PTCruiser said...

WooHOO! I made the blog roundup! Thanks mucho, Enigma. I feel like I'm in good company here in the cafe.

Graeme said...

Thanks for the kind words. I feel I am in great company, I love reading your blog, keep up the great work

Anonymous said...

Living very close to the border for decades, I'm quite conflicted about a viable solution. But whenever in doubt, I always remember my mother's best advice "consider the source" ... therefore, whatever form of immigrant reform is being proposed by Bush & his gang, I oppose. Period.

And as far as offering help to illegals, my god, these people are suffering & dying just to get here, as much if not more than my ancestors did. Remember Woody Guthrie's DEPORTEE "We died in your hills, we died in your deserts; We died in your valleys, we died on your plains; We died 'neath your trees, we died in your bushes. Both sides of that river, we died just the same."

Thanks for reminding us of what's written on our own Statue of Liberty, Enigma. My ancestors were the wretched refuse & tempest-tossed homeless just a couple hundred years ago. D.K.

Anonymous said...

bigotry and xenophobia are everywhere, but most obvious in the american SW...there was quite a row here a few years ago (post 9/11) when a local city was "threatened" by an influx of somali immigrants who carried the double stigma of being black and muslim (all they needed for a triple whammy was to be gay and they would have been ridden out of town on a rail)...the mayor promptly put his foot in it by calling for restrictions on their numbers, but had to quickly back off and apologize after a public outcry...the immigrants are enterprising, however and have contributed some revitalization to a "downtown" that has suffered from urban blight and decay for years after all the textile and shoe mills closed...

good thng canadians disdain immigration to the USA, otherwise we'd have to deal with subversion by another "foreign" country...

Kathleen Callon said...

Awe shucks... thanks for the pat.

(Sent you an email about Russ a little while ago.) Namaste.

Richard said...

Thanks a million for the blog-roll mention, enigma:it's genuinely appreciated.

And btw, that sounds as though it could turn out fantastic for you -- the possibility of a book, I mean. My fingers are already crossed for you.

gugon said...

Enigma, do you know why your sidebar links / previous posts are showing up at the bottom of the page? My blog is doing the same thing and I want to fix it if I can.

Nice post - I will definitely be checking out some of those.

enigma4ever said...

1pm Wednesday
GUGON: hey there...I think the posts are repaired ( at this point) but they were broken this month- that is true so indeed part of March posts are indeed out of order. I went to Blogatopia and yelled for help.....I will come over and take a look and forward your problems to some wonderful Blogger Folk- okay? ( 6 people helped reconstruct the WS this month- different people helped with different issues- they all are Geniuses ;-)

RICHARD: Thanks for the kind words..and thoughts...About the Book, I have been trying to get an agent/editor for the SILENT FALLOUT ( only Intro is on Blogroll) and instead Interest was shown in Watergate Summer ( they asked if I had thought of publishing it- I said "well, no it is just a blog"...it was kind of a stunning idea...)

KAT: Morning- got phone calls to make for the RUSS man...thanks...

MAINE FRIEND: Thanks....and I don't have any disagreement with what you said- only to say, that what I fear is that some Rascism and "Exclusionism " happens all over, and it is a dark cloud that shadows also that we do indeed have Class Issues and Poverty Issues....it is disturbing- and definently is being Empowered by this Administration...and it 's policies.

enigma4ever said...

DK: Thanks for coming by, and I know that the Immigration issue is huge and so complicated, but Criminalizing it is just so absurd...and senseless. And in a way it is a continuation of other Inhumane Bushco policies- towards, Elderly, Katrina, Disabled, our children ( better "measureup or be left Behind"), Poor, etc etc. The Policy he and his Pupppets are pushing is indeed Nazism. And yeah, I think the fact that it is forgotten that Immigrants MADE this country- and still do is just stunning....

PT:You are more than welcome- you are a Part of the Cafe..contributing new ideas and thoughts and I am always grateful when new blogs arrive and contribute....

Graeme:Same to you good fellow and keep blogging it ...We all are here to take care of each other..Blogatopia is a special place...even if I occasionally spill the coffee and the bagels are stale...

Kathleen Callon said...

I finally emailed you that list. Sorry it took me so long.

Kat

No Blood for Hubris said...

Hi, there. Continuingly charming cafe.

Do you need help with links? Let me know.

enigma4ever said...

NO HB: thanks....think I am okay now with links..for now...

GLENDA: Thanks so much for the update and the phone numbers- very helpful...

KAT: Thanks for the RUSS connections...will post later tonight....

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

Hello, Enigma4...

Hope all is well with you and glad to know that is not your car... Nasty sink hole! Wow...

enigma4ever said...

It is MN Wed nite....and Enigma is going to bed...be nice to each other...and remember to make calls for RUSS and also on the Immigration issue tomorrow....gnite...

PoetryMan : thanks for the sympathy...nope ..not my car...
but if it was I would be rushing to get my new Porsche Cayenne (sigh)...( hey a gal's gotta dream....)

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

Jag, Bluegal! Jaguar! :>)

The (liberal)Girl Next Door said...

As always, you've handled this issue with wisdom, compassion and an appeal to our better nature as a country. We should all read those words of welcome that we have rolled out to the rest of the world and remember that we mean them. Without a commitment to the ideals they put forth, they're reduced to just words. We're better than that, thanks for reminding us.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Enigma, just stopped by to give you a little love & big hug. Tryin to "be nice to others" as you've suggested, but it's hard right now. Ok, back to number-crunching ... all my taxes goin' to iraxis. Doesn't Russ's censure come up tomorrow (3/31)? That'll pull me away from IRS hell, gotta follow that. D.K.

enigma4ever said...

DK: Thanks for your lovely support and hugs and yes Tomorrow RUSS....I am better now...I will slog/blog and write my way through..thank you....( hmm about thos taxes- hang in there lady)

LIBERAL GAL: you are right... and yeah, maybe mrbush should read the "Collosus"...

POETRY MAN: Ohmy you have good taste in cars...wow....purrrrrr ....a jag...wow....( screw the porsche)

enigma4ever said...

VERY LATE THURSDAY NITE...3AMISH....
AND I AM FINALLY CRASHING...
DON'T FORGET RUSS IS ON TODAY 3/31ST- CENSURE HEARINGS- GIVE 'EM YOUR SUPPORT...ALL OF IT....HE IS THE ONLY ONE WITH BRASS ONES....
GNITE FOLKS.....

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

Jags just my dream...along with yours,
I'd assume, yet a horse
Would be my preferred form of transportation...
Another dream of mine, but more realistic in price,
Yet not necessarily in my traveling life.
I mean if Wal-Mart had a hitching post outside
And a big field of plush green grass set wide
For parking lot and less child slave labored by lust
And if the highways were dirt and the skyline
Was filled with wonderment
Instead of smog and construction dust blown
I'd probably ride a horse to Washington DC
And let it be known,
"I have no intentions of being absorbed by tyranny!
I will not stand for your empirical reasoning!
I will not slaughter a people for envy!
I will not stand by while you desecrate
This; our founding document
Or the worlds crust
With your breeding of fear within!
I will ride over you
And beyond you
And spit pity on your shadow as you descend!

Wow... Sorry. I'm bi-polar...
Thank God my horse, my dream, isn't.

pissed off patricia said...

Watched Russ this morning and as usual, he was professional and dedicated. Lindsey Graham looked like a fool with his lack of knowledge about Watergate.

No Blood for Hubris said...

Keep on keeping on, then.

Unknown said...

I still think the whole immigration thing is to take heat off all the other screwups lately..they now say no vote till after the elections..gee..isn't that a surprize :P

enigma4ever said...

DUSTY: meow....I hate to say it but I am certain you are right- I bet they are even praying for Hurricanes at this point...and oh, yeah, I am sooooo Shocked...

NB: headed your way tonight for some reading( like any Friday nite) and yup...we all are still at it...I didn't blow lucnh during the Censure Hearings....it was eerie seeing John "Worse than Watergate" Dean ( felt 14 again)...hmmm deja vu....

MARTINI LADY: welcome back- Blogland is still here...no plovers though...Russ Did GREAT.....Lindsay Graham did indeed look like a Fool ( or was it a Tool ??? ohh well same damn difference...)

POETRY MAN: WOW...from cars to horses....a whole new poem...I went over and read your new poems ...beautiful and I loved how you "switched gears"- brilliant.....

Friday nite.....tired ....MN of April Fools Day...NEW Post tomorrow...and much blog reading to catch up this weekend....( From Condi's sucking straw trip to Bush ooops other memo horrors to more it is a weekend of reading...and RUSS....08)

Unknown said...

Hey enigma,hey Dusty there are so many mess ups anymore you don't know what to blog about. Found an elusive link to day about body armor,it seems the (Army) is not going to allow troops to have private body armor? I have not noticed many main stream news jumping on it yet,I also have an earlier link to the Dragon Skin they are talking about in the article. It would seem that any body armor is better than nothing,but it seems every day you find something new that just sounds stupid in itself. For the Army not to allow private armor is beyond comprehension,some of the families of these soldiers have spent thousands on this because I would assume with the deficit reaching a near 8 trillion dollars we are almost to the limit,giving this rubber-stamping administration.

Anonymous said...

dusty and floyd, the things that swirl up from the mass media on a daily basis do seem to be remarkably coincidental, don't they??...Orwell's 1984 seems to be upon us...nothing like the prospect of making felons out of previously innocent people who would help immigrants get a new start on life, to distract people who are concerned about the overall state of leadership in this country...while those who choose ignorance of the state of leadership contribute to an illusion of its strength...

a conspiracy theorist might surmise the existence of a secret cadre of puppetmasters and propogandists, and while there is more than enough evidence to lend truth to that theory, to me, it is more a symptom of a mass psychosis among the leadership of both political parties...it is simply the more deranged among them who seek to manipulate our daily impressions of what's important...and if they can't invent something for that purpose, then, as enigma mentions, there's always natural disasters...

as an example of this schizophrenic leadership, the recent earthquake in Iran presents another opportunity to demonstrate that "war is peace" when Condoleeza Rice offers "deepest sympathies" and US aid, presumably of the military sort, while, at the same time, threatening to bomb the entire region to oblivion if they don't accept our brand of democracy...

Granny said...

Hi. We each left you a comment on isamericaburning but I don't know if you've been back to read it.

We haven't banned you (or anyone I don't think, even the trolls who turn up from time to time).

We've all had problems with Blogger and that's probably what happened.

Ann

enigma4ever said...

ENIGMA CAFE:
FINAL FOUR IS ON ...HAD TO CLEAN AND DO CHORES BEFORE THE GAMES WILL UPDATE THE BLOG TONIGHT...
YUP I AM ROOTING FOR LSU AND ALSO GEORGE MASON....


( BOTH UNDERDOGS ;-)

Richard said...

Re: Everything in the sidebar slipping down to page bottom. Samething with mine - and everyone elses - when viewed through Internet Explorer as your browser.

I'm the world's worst techie, but someone told me that, a while back. Anyhow, at his suggestion I downloaded Firefox for a second browser - and hey presto!

When I switch to Firefox -- everything appears where it should be.

( /just showing off - heh )

Kathleen Callon said...

Enigma,
Reading these comments is interesting and all, but I'm going through "WS" withdrawal... desperately... need... new... post... just playing with you. Know you're busy, and hope all is well (and Blogger leaves you alone. I'm an HTML moron, so whenever I'm going to modify or save a new and improved template, I always make sure to save the "old" one in a document just in case.)Namaste.

Kat

Justin said...

Hey I like the new look.
And what a sinkhole!

Anonymous said...

richard, Firefox is "da bomb" and I will not ever use Internet Excrementer again! Check out the Mozilla Web site for plenty of great add-ons for Firefox and also consider making Thunderbird your e-mail client...it, too, beats the pants off Microshit!

Anonymous said...

e4e, what's up girl? Over a week now and that car isn't sinking any further. I hope all is well. We miss you lots.

C&L won Best Non-pro blog: HERE is a list of the winners.

enigma4ever said...

Monday 4-3-06
TO THE ENIGMA CAFE: ENIGMA IS TENDING TO A FAMILY EMERGENCY, THAT NEEDS SOME TLC AND NURSING CARE.
WE ARE FINE , BUT ONE OF OUR CIRCLE NEEDS US SO WE ARE TENDING TO THIS DEAR ONE. PLEASE KNOW THINGS SHOULD BE BETTER SOON, AND AN ENIGMA UPDATE WHEN WE GET BACK IN ONE WEEK.THANK YOU. NAMASTE.

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

Okay, enigma4! Call a damn tow truck and get back to posting! Sheesh...:>)

Anonymous said...

OK, here's the thing ... I think we can all see by Engima's last comment above that she has a sick friend who needs tending. There is NOTHING more important than family & friends. She is always so kind & caring of her blog & commenters. Maybe we who follow watergatesummer could leave some hopeful messages here for her to see. Ones that will cheer her up, but won't require her to take time away from tending to her friend's illness. She would do it for us.

Maybe someone even has an idea for a new thread. Afterall compassion is not just a word, it is an action. Unlike our unfeeling Republitards-in-Charge who think compassion is a political ploy that plays well, we can demonstrate real compassion for someone we don't even know. All we need to know is it is a friend of Enigma's. D.K.

Anonymous said...

hear, hear!

whoever is the beneficiary of your care is in the best of hands, enigma...tend to what's important now, the blog will keep...

Unknown said...

Godspeed, E4E... hope your family emergency is nothing serious. =(

Back to the topic at hand... I browsed through some 59 comments so please forgive me if I'm merely repeating anything that has already been brought forth.

I'm originally from California. Okay.. no actually...from Florida, but then California. No wait.. *thinks*... born in Cali, moved to FL... moved back to Cali... moved to Ohio. Okay. Anyway. I'm sort of mixed on the whole illegal issue. Having lived a good deal in the Golden State, I can attest that the illegal immigration problem IS in fact a major problem. It affects costs for social programs, which in turn drives up the budget deficit/taxes ect. Also, in the part of Cali I lived in, there was a very large farming/grape industry that relied on these workers to maintain daily operations. It's been said before and it's true. Americans will not do this sort of backbreaking work at the wages that these large, usually corporate run farms will pay. So here's the conundrum. If the US implements W's guest worker idea, that just allows these farms to continue to exploit their workers for little pay and usually no benefits. If we deport millions of illegals back to a job depressed Mexico, we're not doing them any favors either. So what would be a better alternative? Maybe more money should be sent to Mexico to better develop the country's education and infrastructure? Education and opportunity would mean less illegal immigration coming across the border, would it not? While we are at it, we could eliminate another problem.. NAFTA. NAFTA simply allows coprorate interests to further exploit the Mexican population, and does nothing to improve their standard of living. Instead, it gives Americans cheaper goods and less manufacturing jobs. Such a good deal!

Anonymous said...

Drew (above), you make some good points. Coming from a border state myself, I find myself quite conflicted over the whole issue. About the only thing I know for sure is I don't trust Bush for a solution. Everything he touches turns to feces. I've seen the vans full of illegals being transported up through the "free zone" (1st county above border) by "coyotes" who have bled every last centavo these people have. In the "free zone" they live in the most horrid conditions under tarp-covered nests in hidden cyns, no elec or plumbing. Many of the so-called So Calif Wildfires are a result of their cooking fires. Lots of home burgleries; what wouldn't you do to eat & stay alive? The saddest thing is what gets stolen .. not expensive artwork or jewelry or TVs ... no, BLUE JEANS and COOKING PANS! Think about it. I could go on, it's all horribly depressing. The quality of life for everyone goes down when half the population can't communicate with the rest, so that is one area I would like to see addressed. I have not seen any viable solutions, but know everyone has a stake in this. Even the non-border states will be facing the same problem & soon. D.K.

Dada said...

Whew boy! I learned a lesson this morning. I noticed this growing void in my life most recently. As the mins. turned to hrs. and the hrs. to days, it finally began to hit me the source of this black hole in my soul. Enigma's gone missing! At first, her absence occurred to me when her comments over at Dada's suddenly went AWOL. A couple days went by. Nothing.

But like always, I drove past the Enigma Cafe every morning. (It's on my way to downtown bloggerville.) Same storefront. Nothing changed. Finally this morning, I decided I'd better park the mouse and come inside. To see what's happening. Holy geezuz! Behind that familiar facade, unchanged in over a week, the cafe's abuzz with activity. I had much catching up to do.

And now I know the reason for Enigma's silence. And why am I not surprised it be for such good cause? Well, hopefully, she'll be back soon and whomever she's tending all better. In the meantime, I've learned one can't judge a cafe by its unchanged "Daily Special" sign outside. This place is still buzzing. Unfortunately, I'm going to be a little late to work today...it took me that long to catch up with you all.

Ah, is this off topic?

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

I would like to apologize if my earlier comment sounded crass in enigma's moment of need... It was not my intention. Enigma4 and I email one another and I have apologized to her directly so, and I would like to say that to anyone reading to not take the poetry man's above "tow truck" comment to mean anything derogatory.

I would be one of the first to help her or even you if the need arises.

So, please forgive my commenting without reading first.

Sincerely,
the poetry man...

Anonymous said...

Dada: great to see you here. Glad you parked the mouse! I'm heading over your way now.

Poetry Man: we all want that damn tow truck, don't we? It wasn't derogatory to tap into all our thoughts.

Enigma's friend is so lucky to have her around. Her spirit is flowing where it is most needed, providing a gentle circle of light and protection. A little peace & rest from blog responsibilities may be just what the doctor ordered. The longer I live, the easier it is to see that one day we will all need the compassion of a good nurse & would consider myself most fortunate indeed should enigma be available.

Check out the blogroll! I see Kathleen has some interesting stuff today. D.K.

Anonymous said...

dada, not off the topic at all...in fact your observations on economics on your own blog dovetail nicely with drew's observations about the double-edged sword of immigration and the impact of NAFTA...certainly, there is an economic incentive for most of the people in the world to emigrate to the USA...the land of unlimited opportunity beckons!...but new arrivals quickly find that it's difficult to put a roof over your head and feed your family with the low-paying work that's available to them...some turn to petty crime, as DK observed, or rely on the social supports that are available, but this puts a strain on those supports as drew mentioned...it's not an easy problem to solve, because the nut of it is the unlimited corporate greed which insists on finding goods and services at the lowest price possible in order to enhance their bottom line and value to their stockholders...NAFTA allows them to find those cheap goods and services in other countries, or the corporations take advantage of american citizens' unwillingness to work for peanuts by hiring immigrants who have no direct experience with trying to get by in this country on a minimum or sub-standard wage...the only succor I can offer is this quoted plank from Hunter Thompson's platform of Freak Power during his run for Sheriff in 1970...

"(the goal of this government should be)...to create a place for people to live like human beings, instead of slaves to some bullshit concept of Progress that is driving us all mad"

Kathleen Callon said...

FYI LIBBY FINGERED BUSH!

Anonymous said...

Kathleen, I take heart, but wonder at the exact wording of Libby's testimony. Looks to me like he's saying the vice-prez told Libby that the prez gave him authorization. So seems more like Cheney has given Bush deniability. Still, I'd be happy to see Cheney go down first anyway, then if Bush follows, we won't have to deal with Cheney as prez (banish the thought).

Maineiac, it's eerie how often HST hit the nail on the head, huh? Weren't some of his last published remarks "we will ride back into DC on a trail of bones" ??? As if he had foreseen this whole mess. D.K.

No Blood for Hubris said...

Where are you?

TFLS said...

Hey sweetie - hope you and your family are doing better. Sorry I have been a bit absent lately - but I've been under the weather myself. I'll be praying that everything works out OK for you and yours.

Wonderful post. I agree with your assessment. There is a way to deal with all of this that renders our borders safe and allows our country to thrive by assimilating new cultures and people, you know. Quite simply - follow the Ellis Island model. All are welcome if: they have a sponsor, or a job; they have a place to live or one is being provide them by their employer and there is no criminal record or contagious disease (and we really don’t have to worry about the disease part much these days). As for those already here - the same criteria applies. So not to penalize those who did do the legal thing from the get-go; allow all illegal immigrants the opportunity to apply legally with no penalty for already being here off the books. And you know - every illegal immigrant isn't from Mexico. In the Chicago area, the majority of illegal’s are from Poland. Boston has a huge illegal Irish population. Those people who want to criminalize charity workers are wearing their racism on their sleeves. I say welcome – come try your hand at the American dream; work = advancement. Just remember to check your bigotry at the door.

Anonymous said...

F. Lady (above) has a wonderful singing voice, the embodiment of American tolerance. Brava, encore !!

Me, I'm not feeling so charitable at the moment stuck in my tax dungeon battling the IRS dragon & dreaded AMT hell, trying to vanquish their foul, sulfurish breath in the remaining week til doomsday. D.K.

Anonymous said...

Dear Enigma, wherever you are, I hope you caught Mr. Harry Taylor today standing up & speaking his mind to Bush. It was a moment you would relish. Today a patriot made it into the "free speech zone" and rattled the cage of the beast. D.K.

Anonymous said...

Harry Taylor

Unknown said...

Hey girl..where you at?

enigma4ever said...

Dear Dear Enigma Cafe,
Thank you so much for stopping by...please do know that I am still here..have been so tied up as a Nurse that I feel bad leaving you here with cold coffee...and stale bagels, I have asked DK, Dada and Maine Friend to stop by and try to keep the warmth flowing...New post up April 9th, explains my absence and an apology....Hopefully in the next few weeks my friend will begin the long journey back to health.....but it has a been tenous for him.