Tag Archives: illegal immigration

No One Ever Is To Blame

Posted on by Standard 1

U.S. Capitol, Senate Office BuildingsIt must be great to work for the federal government.

The pay is outstanding – the CBO says wages and benefits for almost all federal workers are much higher than for the same jobs in the private sector.  Federal employees  get extra paid days off, like extra holidays, personal leave time, snow days, sick days, etc.  They get full pay for not working whenever the President chooses to shut the government down rather than live within a budget.  They can take early retirement from their federal jobs after 20 years if they are 50 years old.

Heck, while private sector managers work 45 – 55 hours per week, the upper-half of the federal food chain works only about half-time.  I have offered a standing challenge for many years (and done the exercise myself many times):  pick any manager-level federal employee, at random, from the government phone directory and call his or her office after 2:00 pm on Monday through Thursday, or after 12:00 pm on any Friday.  You will never, never, never reach that person.  Never.  Try it!

But the best thing of all about working for the federal government is: nobody ever gets fired.  Once you land a federal job, you will get your full paycheck, pay raises, ever-growing benefits, and bonuses for the rest of your life, no matter how poorly you perform.  Turnover is virtually non-existent.  Even the guy who was written up for farting at employees 61 times in 17 days was not reprimanded.

Jeff Neely, the GSA executive who helped put together the million-dollar conference in Las Vegas for his 300 hard-working office jockeys, is a rare exception – he actually got fired.  But he was reinstated eleven months later with full back pay.

My Congressman, Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), at one of his outstanding recent town hall meetings, told us, “The Veteran’s Administration has 330,000 employees and only about 500 have been fired in the last ten years.”  Meanwhile executives in the VA received bonuses based on fictitious reports about their pristine performance while soldiers died waiting for health care.  Director Eric Shinseki was powerless to fire anybody, and committed political hara-kiri by resigning.

Congressman Mulvaney told another stunning story about a meeting he had with an upper-level HUD executive.  He was grilling her about some problem in her agency, and she was having none of it.  “Don’t give me a hard time,” she said.  “I don’t make that much money and it doesn’t matter whether I do a good job or not.”   She had absolutely no fear of discipline from a United States Congressman.  Is that job security, or what?

And it’s not just the mid-level federal employees who are totally unaccountable.  When pressed for evidence that she knew would implicate her in a world-class corruption scandal, IRS director Lois Lerner made up a story about seven simultaneous hard-drive failures that ate her e-mails.  The odds of that happening are one in 79 billion.  Nobody has been held accountable.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is made of Teflon, too.  She never has recanted the lame excuse that terrorists murdered our Libyan ambassador and his brave defenders because they were upset about a Hollywood video.  One of the terrorists admitted planning and executing the Benghazi attack, but knew nothing about any video, and the CIA was listening in on terrorist phone activity during the attack, which never mentioned any video.   She still deflects questions about her failure to provide adequate protection after it was requested, saying “what does it matter?”   And nobody has even asked yet why the ambassador was in Benghazi in the first place.  Not only is she not accountable for the fiasco, Clinton is the current leader in the 2016 presidential race.

President Obama carries a long list of excuses for the many failures of his administration.  Most of them blame his predecessor.  The latest failure is the border crisis that resulted from his open invitation to illegal immigrant children to enter our country and enjoy the amenities.  When he finally did go to Texas to meet with Governor Perry, who is trying to deal with the situation, he spent most of his time shifting the blame.

I seldom agree with John Boehner any more, but I jumped up and cheered when, in utter exasperation with the Obama administration, he cried, “He’s been president for five and a half years.  When is he going to take responsibility for SOMETHING!”

But hey, it’s the government.  No one ever is to blame.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

Doctor says you’re cured but you still feel the pain
Aspirations in the clouds but your hopes go down the drain
No one ever is to blame.

Howard Jones – No One Is to Blame

 

 

I want to thank all the many great songwriters and performers who inspire and enrich my blog topics.  This is one of the best “fits” – music to message – yet, I think!  Here’s a great live performance by Howard Jones, very much enjoyed by his audience. 

 

Hooray! Liberal Democrats Might End Their “War on Children”

Posted on by Standard 2
illegal-immigrant-children-packed-like-sardines

Photo courtesy Breitbart News

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson (D-Texas) handed out lollipops to the hordes of illegal immigrant children squished into detention centers in Texas this week.  Is this an omen?

Could it be that LIBERAL DEMOCRATS ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT CHILDREN?

5-star liberal Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said, “If you believe as we do that every child, every person has a spark of divinity in them, and is therefore worthy of respect — what we saw in those rooms was [a] dazzling, sparkling, array of God’s children, worthy of respect.”

What’s that, Nancy?  Year after year, liberal Democrats have waged a WAR ON CHILDREN.

Millions of babies (babies are children, aren’t they?) died as Nancy and the liberal Democrats promoted abortions and fought tooth-and-nail every attempt to save unborn and about-to-be-born American babies.  1,350,000 per year.  One killed every 24 seconds.  War on children.

Graduation rates continued to nosedive as schools failed yet another generation of children by wasting their valuable time on social nonsense and political propaganda pumped into the curriculum by liberal Democrats.  The world-competitive, productive, job-ready curricula of physics, advanced math, history, and grammar has been crowded out of our childrens’ class schedules by gay rights, global warming, and diversity/victimhood.  War on children.

And what could be more damaging to a child than knowing that his mother is not willing to provide him with food?  Liberal Democrats believe schools must provide breakfast, lunch, and in some cases weekend and summer meals to children because otherwise they would go hungry in spite of $400+ per month food stamp subsidies.  Failure to feed one’s child is egregious, criminal negligence.  Liberal Democrats not only tolerate this abuse, they encourage and subsidize it.  War on children.

Our children face a bleak future, because our liberal Democrat leadership does not think our economy matters.  We could be the energy leaders of the world, with full employment, low costs of production and consumer prices and a growing economy.  But the liberal Democrats are willing to forego the prosperity of future generations to preserve their political power.  War on children.

But now, NOW!  Suddenly liberal Democrats love children.  Their immigration / border policies have resulted in a “humanitarian crisis”.   Now we must care for the children.   My God, man, have you no heart!?  They are just children!  You can’t turn them (and their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, drug dealers, gang bangers, terrorists, and lepers) away from our border!  They need our government support!  They depend on us!  And they will VOTE for us!

Isn’t it reassuring that finally, after all these years of WAR ON CHILDREN, the liberal Democrats have had a change of heart?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

Some day, yeah
We’ll get it together and we’ll get it all done
Some day, when your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We’ll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day, when the world is much brighter

 Ooh Child (Things Are Gonna Get Easier) – The Five Stairsteps

 

Thanks to “Soul Train” and Don Cornelius for presenting so many great musical groups!  I have not had cable or satellite for a couple of years and I catch Soul Train on the Bounce channel every once in a while . . .

 

 

Illegal Immigration – Problem Solved!

Posted on by Standard 1

We conservatives are repeatedly blasted in the press for being too rigid in our positions.  They say we impede progress because we refuse to negotiate with our political opponents.  Today I am going to reach across the aisle.  I’m now willing to compromise with the liberal Democrats and the spineless, shivering Republican leadership in Washington, DC.  (I’ll probably skip Eric Cantor, no time for lame ducks.)

Today I agree with the liberals: let’s continue Obama’s open-border policy.  All the hordes of undocumented Central American and Mexican aliens walking across our southern border?  Let ’em in, I say.  The 60,000 helpless illegal immigrant kids expected to enter our social welfare system this year?  No problem. illegal-immigrant-children

“Well,” you ask, “what are we going to do with all of these uneducated, destitute adults and wave after wave of homeless, hungry children?”

I have the answer! Let’s send them all to Washington!

We recently visited Washington, DC and saw hundreds of very large. solid federal buildings with plenty of space, good heat and air-conditioning, modern bathrooms and food facilities.  Surely our liberal friends in Washington would have no problem inviting the people they so cherish to share their space, their food, and their bathrooms.

The Capitol building, for instance, has many large open areas.  Since President Obama is pulling our armed forces out of the Middle East anyway, he could move all the unused beds and equipment from the barracks right into the Capitol complex, so the immigrants could share space with the congressmen and senators.  Harry Reid would love having the kids running around and playing in the offices and chambers.  Heck, Nancy Pelosi would probably volunteer to do some diaper duty in the nursery!

And on our visit we also saw many thousands of federal employees, almost all of whom vote for and support the liberal Democrats.  I’ll bet they support open borders and unrestricted immigration, too.  They wouldn’t mind giving up their jobs pushing elevator buttons, sweeping the halls, and queuing up lines of tourists to these poor, needy Central Americans, would they?  Our federal government workers are so highly skilled and motivated that they could easily get jobs in the private sector.

Federal officials, you can stop busing load after load of illegal kids from Texas to Arizona.  Just send them to Washington, DC where they will be wanted and loved.

And what a great example those compassionate DC people will set!  Why, I’ll bet the Hollywood liberals will follow suit and open their homes and workplaces up to the incoming hordes of homeless immigrants, too.  The new hombres y mujeres would be welcomed to take over all the jobs on the sound stages and studios, and the Democrats who currently work there could go milk cows in Wisconsin or something.  I’ll bet some of the immigrants would make great actors and actresses, too.  Who needs George Clooney and Tom Hanks?  We can all read subtitles.

You know, I think I like this “compromise” stuff.  The DC bunch can get what they want: lots and lots of illiterate future Democrats, right there in Washington, DC where they can be cared for and controlled.  Meanwhile, out here in the states we can have jobs for our taxpaying citizens and balanced budgets in our governments.

Problem solved!  Send all the illegal immigrants to Washington, DC where they can live together with their superheroes.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why
Why can’t we live together?
Everybody wants to live together!
Why can’t we live together?

The Wizard of IM – Immigration, That Is

Posted on by Standard 1

wizard-of-OzTin Man:  “If I only had a heart – I would see poor immigrant families risking their lives to follow the yellow brick road to prosperity in the United States.  They borrow money from their families in Mexico and Central America to pay a “coyote” or some other shyster to get them over the border, and  If they survive the trip, many end up working for slave wages and living in the shadows.  Some fathers leave their wives and children behind, sending their pay back home to feed the family and pay off debt.  Those who bring their families with them dodge immigration officials and hostile neighbors who don’t want them in their neighborhoods and schools.”

Scarecrow:  “If I only had a brain, I would know that the US economy can’t afford the loss of millions more jobs.  The huge influx of low-skilled immigrants only pushes down wage rates, and the cost of social services for them is unsustainable.   And our open border allows more than just immigrants to enter the country – do we need more drugs, crime, and terrorism?”

Cowardly Lion:  “If I only had the nerve, I would stop worrying about getting elected.  I should be doing the right thing for the future of our citizens, their kids, and even our neighbors who want to live the American dream.  I would come up with a plan that protects the security and prosperity of legal Americans, creates a sensible way for productive foreigners to share and contribute, and allows families to improve their lives through effort and ingenuity.”

Dorothy:  “I think I’m still in Kansas.  Why is everybody speaking Spanish?”

Wizard:  “Don’t look behind the curtain!  Nothing to see here!   I uh, I’m the Wizard, and everything will be, umm, all right . . . oh blast it, I don’t know what I’m doing!”

Well, there’s the script.  You can choose your own favorite actors to play the parts (I have a favorite for the Wicked Witch, too).

Unfortunately, there is no resolution to the plot.   Everybody is looking at the symptoms instead of the cause of the problem.

It’s understandable that people want to move here – we have a rich history of opportunity and economic success due to our free market economy, honest government and commonly-held values.  Even though these staples of our American heritage are at risk, enough of our founding fathers’ wisdom still remains to make the United States a leading attraction to the world’s strivers.

There is only one way this story can have a happy ending.  We have to deal with the reason why Latin Americans want to leave their homes and move to the United States:  their own governments are corrupt and dysfunctional.

What prevents our political leaders from devising a plan to help our North American neighbors improve their own nations?  Cost can’t be the problem – we are apparently willing to risk all of our wealth – and that of our children and grandchildren – to allow them to move and stay here.  It’s not that the people of other nations don’t want to be like us.  If that were true, they wouldn’t be risking all to be here.  And it can’t be that we don’t want to exert undue influence on how neighboring countries manage their affairs.  We don’t seem to have a problem meddling in other parts of the world.

If we are going to spend a bazillion dollars accommodating people who leave their own countries to come here, why not try spending a half a bazillion to make their home countries livable?   We might even find out that our neighbors can help US with some things if we treat them like friends instead of poor cousins.  Obviously, some regime changes would be in order in some of these countries.  Maybe even in ours.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn’t, didn’t already have

Tin Man – America

Here’s a great clip from an amazing but somewhat overlooked duo – America.  Enjoy.

Tell Me Again – Why Do You Support Amnesty and Illegal Immigration?

Posted on by Standard Reply

ramirez10So tell me again – why do we want to offer amnesty to illegal immigrants and encourage even more legal and (mostly Mexican) illegal immigration?   (statistics from Mark Levin’s outstanding book “Liberty and Tyranny”, comments by me)

  • Mexico only requires school attendance through the eighth grade.  One third of Mexican immigrants to the US have not graduated from high school. Any wonder why our literacy statistics are headed south? Or why the flood of unskilled and uneducated immigrants is pushing down pay rates in the US?
  • One third of immigrant-headed households are on at least one major welfare program.  No problem, we can just print more money, right?
  • One third of immigrants lack health insurance.  These are the uninsured “Americans” that we are compelled to cover under ObamaCare.
  • Over one half of Mexican immigrants are here illegally.  If our federal government and “sanctuary cities” do not enforce immigration laws, we encourage even more illegal immigration.
  • 9 percent of the population of Mexico was living in the US in 2004, and in 2007, 27% of Mexico’s labor force was working in the US and sending home $20 billion per year.  Mexico’s corrupt government and dysfunctional economy cannot sustain its growing population, so they export their labor force to the US, and the proceeds are sent back to Mexico – representing a major proportion of that nation’s income.
  • One out of five students in 2006 was Hispanic, and at current growth rates by 2050 the majority of US students will be Spanish speakers.  The stress put on US schools by immigration is reaching crisis proportions.
  • More than 55 million individuals in the US speak a language other than English at home – 34 million speak Spanish.
  • The current level of assimilation of all recent immigrant groups is lower than at any time in US history, and Mexicans are the least assimilated of any group.  Immigration no longer produces the “melting pot” of grateful and talented immigrants who became patriotic Americans and made our nation great.  Instead, we are rapidly becoming a balkanized, polarized country.
  • Mexican adolescents are imprisoned at rates 80 percent greater than the general immigrant adolescent population.  The US already has by far the greatest incarceration rate in the world.
  • Hispanic women have the highest unmarried birthrate in the country – over three times that of whites and Asians, and nearly 1.5 times that of black women.  We already know how destructive the increased number of unwed mothers is to our economy.

I will be accused of racism for reporting these truths.  Believe me, I have no ill will toward Mexicans or any other ethnic groups.  My only aim in presenting this argument is the economic survival of the United States.  Mexico certainly does not allow illegals to cross their borders.

The percent of US residents actively working is now at an all-time low.  Wage rates continue to decline.  Our competitive edge against other nations is gone due to our relative lack of skills and education.  What could possibly justify encouraging and allowing more unskilled and needy immigrants to move in?  If we stopped the flow of low-wage unskilled workers into our economy, businesses would adjust – they would increase labor rates and/or efficiency.  As long as we tolerate the status quo, businesses will take advantage of the profit opportunity – and the immigrants.

Obviously there is only one justification for amnesty and tolerance of illegal immigration, and it applies only if you are a liberal politician or bureaucrat who cares nothing for the future and security of American families.  You want to accumulate as many bodies as possible to be dependent on you, to vote for you, and to keep you in your permanent political positions of power.

Ugly, isn’t it?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

 

Tell me why you cried
And why you lied to me!

Tell Me Why – the Beatles

 

 

Amazing colorized footage of the Beatles from their first movie “A Hard Day’s Night”

The United States of Thunderdome

Posted on by Standard 1

thunderdomeMost Americans think our nation is superior to others.  We believe that our system of government, based on the world’s finest constitution and a reliable set of laws, makes the United States a better and more secure place to live than, say, a dictatorship where laws are made and enforced at the whim of the political elite.

Don’t look now, but our current administration and department of justice shreds our constitution and our federal laws on a daily basis, and we either don’t see it, don’t get it, don’t think we can do anything about it, or just don’t care.

[Wikipedia] Immigrants can be classified as illegal for one of three reasons: entering without authorization or inspection, staying beyond the authorized period after legal entry, or violating the terms of legal entry.[46]

Section 1325 in Title 8 of the United States Code, “Improper entry of alien”, provides for a fine, imprisonment, or both for any immigrant who:[47]

  1. enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration agents, or
  2. eludes examination or inspection by immigration agents, or
  3. attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact.

So illegal immigration is illegal, right?

[Wikipedia]Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, known as the Supremacy Clause, establishes the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, and U.S. Treaties as “the supreme law of the land.” The text provides that these are the highest form of law in the U.S. legal system, and mandates that all state judges must follow federal law when a conflict arises between federal law and either the state constitution or state law of any state.

So federal law trumps state law, right?

And yet yesterday thousands of illegal aliens lined up at DMV offices all over Nevada to get their “driver privilege cards”.  The Nevada legislature and Republican governor Brian Sandoval passed a state law last year that not only authorizes licenses for illegal aliens, it also prohibits the DMV from sharing information about the criminals for immigration enforcement purposes. 

How is this possible in the United States of America, a nation that looks down on North Korea and Iran and Belarus and Ethiopia because of the superiority of our constitution and the reliable enforcement of our laws?

Colorado legalizes the recreational use of marijuana even though it is clearly illegal under federal law.  Our president changes major provisions of the Affordable Health Care Act without legal authority or even consulting congress, and the nation accepts it as law.  States pass laws disallowing gay marriage and are overruled by liberal courts who have no authority to create or abolish laws.

For the first time in our nation’s history, our laws are no longer sacrosanct.  They are not even meaningful.  As this trend evolves, and nobody knows who has authority and which laws will be enforced, we grow closer and closer to anarchy.  Why is illegal immigration okay, but illegal tax evasion is not?  If the president can create or change laws, or choose which ones to enforce, why can’t a governor?  A mayor?  A policeman?  If illegal use of recreational marijuana is okay, why isn’t illegal use of heroin, or LSD, or cocaine okay?

an·ar·chy

noun \ˈa-nər-kē, -ˌnär-\

: a situation of confusion and wild behavior in which the people in a country, group, organization, etc., are not controlled by rules or laws

Welcome to the United States of Thunderdome.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side Looking for something we can rely on
There’s got to be something better out there
Love and compassion, their day is coming
All else are castles built in the air
We don’t need another hero!
We don’t need to know the way home!
All we want is life beyond the thunderdome . . .

Thunderdome – Tina Turner

The New ‘Immigration Reform’ – It’s A Mistake!

Posted on by Standard Reply

Mexican WalmartWhile living in Montana for many years my opinions about illegal immigration were based on what I heard in the media.  Montana doesn’t have an illegal immigrant problem.  I saw the growing numbers of Mexicans and Central Americans when visiting western cities like Denver, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City, but still didn’t have any first-hand experience.

For the last few months I have been traveling full-time throughout the Southeast, based in Charlotte, and have gained some perspective on the issue.

Shortly after arriving here, I was shopping at a WalMart store and was struck by how many people were speaking Spanish.  It seemed at times like I was the only English-speaking white guy around.  I don’t know what proportion of these immigrants are illegal – some may be here on current visas.   But it is likely that a good number of them either crossed the border illegally or were born to someone who did.

These foreigners have money to spend.  And that is the centerpoint of my curiosity and interest.

The media paints us conservatives as racists, bigots and homophobes who have no tolerance for people who don’t look and speak like us.  There are a few who fit that mold, but I think most are like me – concerned about the fiscal integrity of our nation and worried about the economic futures of our children.

Does it bother me that there are so many foreigners in the frozen foods aisle?  Not in the least.  I find them to be friendly, hard-working family people.  What bothers me is that laws exist to protect U.S. citizens, and it is clear that a lot of law-breaking is being tolerated – even encouraged – to a greater degree every day.  What is the economic impact?

I have a soft spot for anyone who works hard and takes care of his family.  So when Hector came into my store a few days ago to buy a $6,000 dump trailer, I enjoyed learning about his roofing business.  He had two of his ten employees with him, and they spoke no English.  We had earlier outfitted his shiny new Ford truck with expensive accessories and this was the fifth trailer he had bought from us in a year.

When it came time to pay the bill, Hector, as always, pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills that would choke a horse.  The sixty C-notes he peeled off to pay for his trailer barely made a dent.  It made me wonder if the two guys with him were actually bodyguards.

Hector has built a great business and is making a lot of money.  We need entrepreneurs in the United States, right?

Not like Hector.

He is obviously not paying taxes – his wealthy customers pay him in cash because he charges less than his native-born, honest, tax-paying competitors. He is not paying workers comp, or unemployment, or insurance bills.  He does not provide health care for his employees.  Hector pays his men minimum wage or less –  they have to work for low wages because any legitimate business would be in big trouble if they hired illegal workers.  But it works out because they receive all kinds of government benefits, including food stamps, medical care, subsidized housing and education for their children.

Hector is doing great.  So is his family.  And his employees are much better off here – they buzz the aisles at WalMart, chattering in Spanish with big smiles on their faces.

At the same time more and more of our own under-educated citizens have given up on work.  They are encouraged to stay home and collect welfare, plus the same food stamps, free medical care, subsidized housing and education for their children that Hector’s employees get – all paid for with money either borrowed from the Chinese or printed out of thin air.  American entrepreneurs who would start businesses as tradesmen and employ other Americans are beset with regulations, taxes, fees, and red tape.

Our political leaders continue to claim that we need illegal immigrants to do the work that “Americans won’t do.”   Even Republicans in the nation’s capital are beginning to embrace amnesty and “immigration reform”, totally abandoning the laws that were created to protect U.S. citizens and our standard of living.

It’s a serious mistake.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

We’ll not fade out too soon, not in this finest hour
Whistle your favourite tune, we’ll send a card and flower
Saying it’s a mistake.  It’s a mistake!

It’s A Mistake – Men At Work

Immigration and Cowboy Boots

Posted on by Standard Reply

bootsLike all guys from Montana, I love my boots.  When you get a pair of boots that fit just right, you want to keep them wearable as long as you can.  I needed new soles and heels, and quickly – I was starting a new job in a couple of days.

I found Lee’s Shoe Repair on the web and called.   In a deep Chinese accent, the shop owner said, “You bring them over, we take care of you.”  I grabbed my old boots and took off.

Mr. Lee is getting on in years, and is probably a fairly recent immigrant to the United States.  I don’t know that he is here illegally, but he sure could be.  His English is passable, but broken – he had trouble understanding me, and I him.  He said, “I have you boots on Saturday.”

“No, Mr. Lee,” I pleaded.  “I need them by the end of business tomorrow.  I’ll pay extra if you can help me.”

Overhearing the conversation, a husky young guy stuck his head through the doorway from the workroom and drawled, “Hey, no problem there, buddy.  I know how important a man’s boots are.  I’ll git ’em done for you by tomorrow.”  He showed me a better kind of sole that would be more comfortable for long days on my feet.  Relieved, I left my boots in his skilled Texan hands.

The next day I returned to the shoe repair shop and was greeted by Mrs. Lee, a gray-haired lady with bright eyes and a smile as big as China and Texas put together.  The Texan cobbler came out to say hello, too, and I slipped him a ten-spot as a thank you for the rush job.  Mrs. Lee said, “You need insoles so your feet don’t get tired.  I won’t charge you for them.”

I thanked her, marveling at the extraordinary care and pride this couple and their happy Texan employee put into their work.  Then she slipped into the back room, returning with a wrapped package of her special home-made fruit and cinnamon bread.  “You take this,” she smiled.  “Good luck with your new job!”

A week later, I stopped in to the neighborhood Bank of America across the street from Mr. Lee’s shoe repair shop to find out why I had not received my order of checks.  I had been told ten days, and after three weeks they had not arrived.   Annoyed at being bothered, the assistant manager checked his computer and said, “Looks like they were never ordered.  I will put in a new order and you should get them in about ten days.”

I looked him in the eye and asked, “And the magic words when your company screws up are . . . ?”

He gave me a puzzled look.

“How about, ‘I’m sorry?‘” I said.

“Oh, um . . . of course.   I’m, uhh . . . sorry.”  He looked like he just ate a mouthful of worms.

I went across the street to thank Mrs. Lee and the Texan again for the great job they did on my very comfortable boots, and the delicious fruit bread.   Her eyes twinkled, and there was that big smile.  “You wait, I give you ‘Happy Candy’!  You take it!”  I left her shop, chewing her delicious Happy Candy, and reflecting on the difference between these two businesses a few hundred feet apart.

I’m still developing my thoughts on immigration.  And on the Big Bank bailout.

Tom Balek – Rockin On the Right Side

Rockin' On the Right Side

These boots are made for walking
And that’s just what they’ll do
One of these days these boots are gonna
Walk all over you!

Are you ready boots?
Start walkin’!

These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra

Watch this video, if only to see the MINI-SKIRTS!  Those were the good old days . . .