Monday, October 31, 2011

Birth Tourism (Anchor babies): Facts not fiction, there is no issue here......


Less than 2% of births in Arizona were to non resident mothers, most right over the border. that is the issue of birth tourism, about 1500 babies.  but the US Congress is actually considering clarifying the 14th amendment to prevent "birth tourism babies" to be citizens.  Which is probably unconstitutional anyway.  There are moms who come from China, and Turkery (the two most popular destinations) to give birth: they are usually 5 months pregnant or so, not showing much (INS may prevent pregnant women from entering country) and they pay up front about $50,000 to stay at a birth center and have their baby (doctor included).  then they fly home with their baby.  the objective, is to have a baby who is a US citizen, so the baby can come and go to the US someday at will.  The objective is not necessarily for the mom to somehow stay here.  Basically, they purchase US citizenship for their baby, and then take the baby back home.  Given the crappy US economy, i'd say this is a great product we can sell, at about $50,000 a pop.  The idea of Mexican moms, wading across the Rio Grande, with their 8 month old belly swelling, murmuring over and over in the hot Sonora desert, "must get to Tucson, have baby, get on welfare, get free college tuition......" isnt true.  Mostly, its affluent women who pay a lot of cash to have their baby here, and then leave. 
But yeah, some women do cross over the Arizona border, have their baby, in order to have a better life.  Wait.....isnt that what my ancestors did?  Immigrate to chicago to have kids and a better life?  What is so Un american about that?  
And dont forget, if an illegal alien gives birth in US, she wants to report it, so the baby has a birth certificate that proves the baby was born in US and therefore a citizen.  so if thats true, where are all these so called anchor babies?  Answer: anchor babies are so small a % of births, its silly to even consider it an issue.  
Birth tourism is real, but there is little proof the practice is widespread, even in border states such as Arizona, where last year less than 2 percent of babies were born to non-resident mothers.
In 2008, slightly more than 7,400 children were born in the U.S. to non-citizens who said they lived outside the country, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The figure was the most recent available. The number includes children born to women studying at U.S. universities, international visitors as well as so-called birth tourists.
It does not include a much larger number of children born to undocumented parents residing in the U.S., which supporters of limiting birthright citizenship also point to as a problem. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that 350,000 children with at least one undocumented parent residing in the U.S. were born in the U.S. in 2009. That is about 8 percent of all births that year.
By comparison, birth tourism is a much smaller issue.
Although up nearly 50 percent since 2000, the 7,462 children are still just a tiny fraction of the 4,255,156 babies born in the U.S. that year.
"I feel a little like they are chasing the Loch Ness monster," said Angela Maria Kelley, vice president for immigration policy and advocacy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning research group in Washington, D.C.
Statistics murky
Arizona does not keep statistics on births to non-U.S. residents, but in 2010, 1,534 children were born to mothers who did not live in Arizona. That is less than 2 percent of the 88,100 total births at all hospitals in Arizona. The number includes children born to women who were residents of other states, such as California and New Mexico, as well as children born to mothers who are from Mexico or other countries.
Most of the births to non-state residents occur at hospitals close to the border, which some suggest is evidence of birth tourists.
And nearly half of all the non-resident births occurred at three hospitals: Yuma Regional Medical Center, with 283; Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital in Nogales, with 277; and the Tucson Medical Center, with 188.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Python killed in Florida everglades - why?

Image: Burmese pythonso a python ate a deer and then had to be killed?  whats wrong with this story? first of all, the deer was dead, the python was just cleaning up the everglades.  second, its what pythons do. third, this is the middle of nowhere, people are not here on foot, they are safe from the python, unless they fall out of the swamp boat, drown, die, and the python eats their corpse.  Last, how did the python get there? someone dumped their pet?  It obviously was there a long time, since it was 18 feet long - obviously thriving, minding its own business.  the story said, they didnt want pythons to move further north....what?  you mean there are more pythons?  My impression is that there was just this one, and it takes two pythons to mate, unless you are Tia Tequila (who is that anyway?)  So a solitary python, who cant reproduce, who has lived in the swamp long enough to grow to 18 feet, eats a dead deer, and has to be shotgunned to death?  Why?  who will eat the dead stuff now?  Bubba and his friend?  WAIT !  I figured it out!  the python was competing with Bubba for dead deer meat - it had to be killed !  

Thursday, October 27, 2011

"He carried yellow flowers...." brilliant Herman Cain campaign ad.

Billiant Herman Cain campaign ad - too long, but brilliant.  He has to connect to ordinary people, at least, those who consider themselves "ordinary" during focus group discussions.  This commercial is very well thought out - dramatic, plays on lots of prejudices (not race, i mean phony politicians, scripted messages, empty slogans). of course this is also very well scripted and phony, but it still works.  Truly a great political commercial, not the "daisy girl," but damn good.  Here's another cain commercial, the "smoking" one.

and here is John stewart parody.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Mitt Momney's underwear: 'nuff said !

Mormon UnderwearI prefer Lindsey Lohan's underwer to Mitt's ....

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Sunday, October 23, 2011

post war LIbya: freedom or more exploitation? Condi Rice's biography on Freedom?


here is a story about european and United Arab Emirates (european arabs) plans for post war Libya.  Don't forget, Italy and Britain stole billions $ from Libya before Ghaddafi did, in fact, Moamar was the last in a long line of thieves.  At least Moamar nationalized the oil companies and kicked the colonialists out - turns out he wasn't much better as far as stealing from the Libyan people.  But Libya is a tribal area, even more unstable than Iraq, so we shall see what democracy brings forth there.  Of course, the plans are not for a democracy: ex Ghaddafi loyalists who flipped sides will be running the police and government services in the short term, in fact, the UAE has plans for that to happen long term.  Libya has no experience with democracy:  remember, just because you have elections, doesn't mean there is democracy (just look at the US in 2000!)

Condi Rick just came out with her Mea Culpa biography of the Bush years:  guess what?  Condi is responsible for the Arab spring, she says democracy after dictatorship can bring out anger, so lets move on after the violence of Iraq and Libya.  Does she really think there is any democracy brewing in Iraq or Libya?  She didn't mention our ally Saudi Arabia, or the UAE dictatorship, or Yemen dictatorship supported by the Saudi's (and the USA).

And Newsweek gives her a pass:  doesn't question a damn thing in her book.  So much for investigative journalism.  Condi Rick is not smart: she is ideological, she sucks up to the right people, she acts like an expert on everything, but she is shallow when it comes to comparative politics and diplomacy.  I mean she hung out with Bush for 8 years, was his closest advisor.  And parts of her book are such bullshit, how she was afraid of a 2nd wave of terrorist attacks on 911, how she saw a plane coming in for a landing weeks later at Reagan Internatinal Airport and thought it was going to hit the White House (the US Congress passed a law making an exception for coast to coast and international flights to land at Reagan airport, so they could be closer to the bars when they got off i guess, they couldn't commute from the other airport like most of us).  so come on, condi, you feared for your life?????  give me a break.

Friday, October 14, 2011

"Will Obama Declare War on Iran because of Attempted Assassination of Saudi Ambassador??!!"

Time Magazine headline above: what idiots.  First of all, the plan was dumb, a used car salesman attempting to hire someone from the Zeta Mexican cartel for $1.5 million to kill the Saudi Ambassador...there is more money in drugs for the Zetas than killing an ambassador, and subsequently pissing off the US and resulting in a war again the Zetas.  I mean, the Zetas make billions each year running drugs to the US, why fu*k with that?  for $1.5 million?  Thats like Dr. Evil wanting $1 million dollars in ransom money.

Second, its not clear if the "government of Iran" even knew about this plot.  First, the government is fractured, with religious leaders and gov leaders not being open with each other, the Iranians dont know what is happening to their right hand and left hand.  Second, if Iran really wanted to kill the Saudi ambassador, then why not pick a an easier Ambassador?  There are easier hits on the saudi's than the us ambassador.

And why would Iran want to kill a member of the saudi royal family?  Maybe because of Saudi Arabia's role in putting down a popular rebellion in Yemen?  A Shia muslim country?  Saudi Arabia is Sunni muslim, and has provided military support to yemen to put down a popular uprising by Shiites against the minority run Sunni Yemen government.

So does this have anything to do with the US?  No.  Other than oil.  Saudi Arabia is our Oil bitch, or, the US is Saudi Arabia's oil bitch - take your pick.  So the Saudi's support repression against Shiites in Yemen, Iran counters by trying to kill a member of the Saudi royal family (who happens to be the Ambassador to the USA living in DC) and that means the USA has to declare war on Iran!!!!?????  Way to go Time Magazine!  What insightful coverage.  What ever happened to investigative journalism?

The US sees the dictatorship of the Saudi royal family as the stabilizing factor in the middle east, an assurance that the US will always have access to oil, and this means we are stuck with the Saudi's, even when they piss off millions of other Arabs who hate the Saudi royal family.  And the US will go to war over this?

I mean, Iran has oil too.  Why dont we just switch sides and become Iran's bitch?  I mean, its all about oil, isnt it?  Who cares where it comes from?

My vote: tell the middle east to go to hell.  Have the US become energy independent.  Its possible.  Every house in the US can be energy self sufficient, we have the technology now, and its not rocket science (or "rock science" as Paris Hilton says).  The problem?  Powerful, wealthy interest groups that want the energy dependence of the US on the middle east to continue, for additional windfall profits for the stock holders and politicians who are their bitches.  Like the Bushs, the Cheneys, like all members of the US Congress, and even.....yes even.....the Obama administration.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Irwin Mainway, designer of unsafe Halloween costumes !

just in time for Halloween, new costumes for the kids.

Human Centipede 2 Ban in Britain Reversed ! "English Ones" can now watch the sequel to the Human Centipede!


T
he Human Centipede 2 had been denied a rating but has now been rated 18 after its distributor agreed to 32 cuts.
BBFC president Sir Quentin Thomas said many would find it "difficult" to watch but that the cut film could "properly be classified at the adult level".
Two minutes and 37 seconds have been removed ahead of its DVD release.
The BBFC said the cuts "address all the concerns raised when the board refused a classification" in June.
Those concerns, it went on, included those "relating to sexual violence, graphic gore and the possibility of breach of the law relating to obscenity".
I am sure we are all breathing a collective sigh of relief to know that our friends across the pond can now watch Human Centipede 2.  Why should only north Americans have the freedom to watch such wholesome entertainment?  I thought the South Park satire on Human Centipede was great....disgusting....but funny.

Monday, October 10, 2011

4 Amish guys go nuts and cut off beards of other Amish men in home invasions.....

here is news report: Four Amish men have been arrested, charged in one of four bizarre attacks on other Amish people.
The attackers barge into homes and use scissors to cut the beards and hair of the victims.
Investigators believe members of the “Bergholz Clan,” which has been described as a group of religious castoffs, are responsible. 
Who are these guys?  The Glen Becks of the Amish world?  you mean there is a cult of Amish who attack others in the regular cult of Amish?  Actually the Amish are no different from the rest of us, just dress differently, avoid use of modern technology that may compromise their close knit community, but they have jealousy and meanness just like everyone else, but this story really is bizarre.

damn rhinovirus!

caught the rhinovirus from daycare last week. but it was worth it:  the children were wonderful.  I wonder if they realize its all downhill from 5 yrs old onward.......I would stay home today from class but i can't lie down without choking, so.......i am wearing a surgical mask today.

Film: Cry of the Snow Lion, about Tibet

here is a great film about tibet, Cry of the Snow Lion.  I havent shown it in political film, although it would be good to show.  No "plot" so to speak, but shows the beauty of the country.  

JJI Exile Brothers: Tibetan Rock Band

here is a Tibetan rock band, although they play traditional music on traditional instruments too.  This isn't rolling stones type "let it bleed" rock, but its good, and their lyrics explore the culture and politics of their homeland. There has been a recent election of a government in exile for Tibet, pissing off the chinese even more i guess.  they aren't asking for independence (not practical, given location of their homeland and the size of chinese military) but at least some autonomy and an end to the repression of their culture.  Of course, reincarnation is against the law in china:  the Dalai Lama will be the last Lama, i guess.  or else the future Lama will get arrested (for being reincarnated).

and then there is the pressurized train that goes to Tibet from Beijing......a train into the clouds....

Sunday, October 09, 2011

romney ad becomes its own parody on SNL

This is a real Romney ad, the laughter is from SNL audience.  Its a real ad.  no need for satire, he supplies his own satire. 

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Favorite planes i have flown- and my dream plane

Piper Turbo Arrow, 200 hp, with AC and window curtains. I cruised at 13,500 feet and descended at 231 mph.  sweet ride.  the turbo light would come on when the boost was too high (psi) and that made me nervous - idiot light, but annoying.  like the engine would really disintegrate (well....if you are stupid enough.....)
1941 Piper Cub Clipped Wing, 80 hp engine.  a hot rod.  almost killed myself in it.  Stalled on short final.  Pushed in the throttle with a death grip, pushed stick forward,  applied back pressure just as ground came up, bounced off the grass strip, stalled again, recovered, plane ok, just separated skin on my hand holding onto the throttle.  I flew missed approach (missed is an understatement) went around traffic again, landed, taxied over to gas pumps, the owner straightened out the throttle with two adjustable wrenches (I bent it when i shoved it forward) and cleaned up blood on throttle with windex, got me a bandaid, and told me to do 3 more landings. It had plexiglass roof, so on a 30degree bank turn, i could look out the roof, and see if the airspace was clear.  very cool.
dream plane:  i found one for just over $50,000, less than 3000 total time, 240 hrs since major overhaul.  Sweet.  I also found a Piper Arrow, 180 hp, for less than $40K, really good shape.  but for another $10k i could get a mooney!  I might buy this when i retire, and just plan on living in a trailer the rest of my life.  I have lived in trailers before, they can be nice, esp if I own a Mooney i can escape with on the weekends...........these are only 180 hp but cruise fast due to airframe and get great fuel consumption (gal/hour).

65 yr old pilot ditches plane 13 miles from Hawai'i departing Monterey Ca


Story below:  how could this guy fly 2300 miles and then ditch with 13 miles to go?  he couldnt conserve 13 more miles of fuel from the plane?  He didnt plan ahead for a trip OVER OCEAN 2300 MILES?????  Extra fuel tank in back seat?  What about a raft?  Pilot from Spain, delivering the plane to Hawai'i from Calif.  Still, he had enough experience to avoid this - he was experienced pilot, should have planned this much better.  i mean yeah, there might be unexpected head winds flying 2300 miles over OCEAN!!!  
Dramatic video released by the Coast Guard shows the plane gliding low over the water and then splashing down. Within seconds the pilot climbs out onto a wing as a helicopter lowers a rescue swimmer, who helps him enter a basket and is hoisted to the hovering aircraft.
The 65-year-old man, who was not seriously injured, was flying solo from Monterey, Calif., when he radioed authorities Friday afternoon that he was running low on fuel about 500 miles from his destination of Hilo, Hawaii, the Coast Guard said. The cities are about 2,300 miles apart.
The Guard sent a plane to rendezvous with the two-engine Cessna and dispatched a ship and helicopter to be ready for a possible rescue, spokesman Lt. Gene Maestas told The Associated Press.
After meeting up with the plane over the Pacific, the Guard's HC-130 Hercules flew alongside for more than an hour, until the aircraft's fuel gave out and it went down 13 miles off Hawaii.

Saturday, October 01, 2011

"To Train Up a Child" by Micheal and Debi Pearl: Premeditated child abuse, this book should be banned!

By now you must have heard of the parents of the 13 yr old adopted Ethiopian girl (named Hannah, pictured above) who beat her, starved, made her sleep in a barn, and then left her outside to die of hypothermia. We all know that we have to obtain a drivers license to drive a car, but anyone (and i mean anyone) can become a parent just by engaging in the primitive mammalian fertilization ritual.  THIS BOOK IS NUTS.  THE PEARLS ARE NUTS.  THIS BOOK SHOULD BE BANNED.  ok, now you are thinking, this guy (me) is a political scientist and i want to ban a book?  Yes.  Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote the 1 st amendment decision that included the concept "you can't yell fire in a crowded theater" (or as Woody Allen says, "you can't yell theater outside a crowded fire").  This concept is imminent danger.  Creating a stampede, creating fear, which results in injury or death is not legally possible.  My opinion:  this book is no different than yelling FIRE inside a crowded theater.  

There is a fear that exists in this country, (esp in isolate, rural areas), that the greatness of our nation, our American culture, has past, and that we are living in a permissive period symbolized by indulgent parenting, a lack of discipline, "spoiled children" resulting in narcissistic children and adults.  Sending children to secular schools and even traditional christian schools results in undisciplined, uncontrollable children who make themselves, and (most importantly) their parents miserable.  The answer????

"Train up a child."  First of all, grammatically incorrect.  Its from a bible passage first written in Aramaic, then translated into Greek, and then King James had it translated in medieval English, and the result is the grammatically incorrect "Train up a Child."  Comparison?  Gov. Sarah Palin has recently said, "America needs Fixed."  Also grammatically incorrect, and on top of it she is a communications major ( I still wonder what communications majors learn, because most professors with PhD's in communication have pathological communication skills, kinda like Joseph Goebbels, but i digress).  

This book IGNORES EVERYTHING WE HAVE LEARNED ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR, MOST IMPORTANTLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT, SINCE THE RISE OF HUMAN BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH EARLY IN THE 20TH CENTURY.  (I have read excerpts from this book, not the whole book, I plan to read it just to find out how sick these two Pearl idiots are, but i don't want to buy it and contribute to their profits, so I will look for it at the library, assuming the library actually buys dumb books like this).

Psychologists and other mental health experts have successful practices thanks to the ignorant, abusive, selfish approaches to parenting that many of us, (most of us?), experienced as children.  How can parents be so ignorant?  Well, first of all they know how to f**k but don't know what to do when the baby comes out.  Secondly, they think parenting comes naturally (I guess like an orgasm) and education or knowledge is not necessary.  Third, if they have trouble parenting (they probably shouldn't be parents in the first place) they want help, quick and easy.  And what is easier than reading a book that basically says, everything you need to know is in some old book written thousands of years ago for a nomadic tribe wandering around in the Sinai desert, and it can be summarized in one book written at the 6th grade level.  Simple, easy, even a dumb shit can become a "successful parent."

Of course, I am an intellectual, so my opinions about this book are obviously "biased."  But the truth is: PARENTING IS HARD TODAY.  Yes, we have fractured families, we have a global world where so called traditional values that provided a shell for isolated social groups are no longer reinforced, and children are exposed to a materialistic, capitalist world where marketing targets them from birth onward, telling them what they need to buy or have to be happy, have status, be popular, and enjoy life.  Quite frankly, i think our materialistic society makes children, and subsequently adults, unhappy.

The answer????  Love.  Education.  Children need to fell secure, safe, and loved.  They need a very good education so they can reason and make judgements in a very existential world.  Or else?  They end up reading a dumb ass book like TO TRAIN UP A CHILD and engage in creating another abused, screwed up human being who will be miserable during their short time on earth.

My advice to parents?  Love your child, make him or her feel safe, wanted, special, let they know what miracle they are, and make sure they have a strong education to survive in this confusing and cruel world.  Children need to learn intelligent, informed judgement from birth onward, and this is the responsibility of their parents.  All new parents should take a course in Child and Human Development from their local community college, and be required to earn continuing education credits in the same subject.

At least the Pearls didn't title their book, "Children Needs Trained Up!"