Bush Pushes for Guest Worker Program...What is Wrong With Us?

okay...how is this different from the bracero program in the mid -1900's? the answer is it isn't. in fact, it is a refelction of how united states have always treated the latinos in history. latinos have always been viewed as temporary workers. yes, i said it, and i'm sure many history professors feel the same way. i think most immigrants have been treated this way as well. the chinese were brought here to work on the railroad. but when they were not needed, they created exclusion rules against them. the japanese immigrated here to till the land, and produce agriculture. the irish migrated due to famines in their country and the opportunities presented in this country. hell....even the african americans moving north! and now the south asians and other asians that have the skill to work in the silicon valley. and the vietnamese and many other peoples around the world, how are they different from the pilgrims that moved in north america to escape persecutions?

i guess my point is that every time immigrants have migrated here, there were plenty of land open to be claimed or there are plenty of work ready to be done. if you notice the waves of immigrant arrival, you will notice that they were in junctions of us history where there was a compelling need for labor, compelling need of soldiers, or compelling need of farmers to occupy open land. for example, the civil war needed soldiers, louisiana purchase and us-mexican war cause land opportunities. industrial revolution needed laborers. both of the world wars caused many opportunities due to workers exchanging their tools to guns. this is the legacy of our country. i repeat, this is the legacy of our country. this is how our country was made and still being made.

and to establish yourself in this country, you better goddamn own some land! land is the equalizer, land is what keeps you here and give you the excuse to stay here. land, is the one commodity that is appreciated and respected. when you have property, people will have to tolerate you. when you are renting, you can be kicked out.

so why do we have policies like the guest worker program toward the latinos? one, most of the immigrants that have arrived here to take advantage of the opportunities are limited to immigrant rules. not everyone can come without visas. they usually have technical skills. subsequently, they look for technical jobs as well. in general, latinos migrate here for opportunities as well. but they are usually not skilled. they don't "fly" in here, so the government does not control who enters the country. since they do not have the golden pass, visa, they are relegated to the service industry. yes, there are plenty of work here in the service industry, but i think people do not appreciate this kind of work because it isn't part of the "american fiber" that others were taught and raised. i bet you every american family was raised to believe that to be successful in life: you must study hard, learn a craft, develop a career, or "earn your keep". the service industry is not a time consuming industry. you can clean, like anyone can clean. it isn't about skill, but more about determination and putting aside your pride.

well, i think americans are removed from that kind of state of mind. the immigrants that are in the service industry are not necessarily concerned about hteir pride, especially if they don't buy in to our customs and beliefs. i think that is why people cannot relate and respect this industry. americans value time and experience and commitment to a craft, a career, or a business. unfortunately, cleaning, picking fruits, carrying, washing are not considered work that takes time....so they are not valued. i think this is the reason why people that work in this industry, who are mostly latinos, are not "accepted". and the problem is that throughout american history, latinos have always been viewed as expendable. the braceros were intended to be a temporary work force. actually, many latinos have established themselves here. they have bought LAND! yet as a people, they are still viewed as "temporary". i will even venture to say that people are angry that latinos try to establish themselves here! how can they? they are suppose to be temporary.

why are people angry? i think its because their existence here is uncontrolled. other immigrants can't come unless they are accepted. okay...we need enginners to get our computer industry going....let's allow the skilled asians to come in! and the visas is their acceptance card. the latinos come because the opportunities are here. we can't stop them from coming because they are close to here, they're next door.

maybe it is a control issue. that is the only reason why anyone would want a wall. you build a wall, or a fence around your house so you can control what people are watching or not watching. maybe its because their work thus their existence is not valued. but the bottomline is that this economy needs this kind of work. it is not their fault that our customs and traditions have in some way devalued or disrespected the service industry. we are the ones that have change! we are the ones that have forgotten how this country was built. we are the ones that have looked to the attainment of wealth as successfull instead of cultivating our morality and values. we are the ones that can't fucking clean a house, chop food, paint a wall, garden, without a 19.99 special tool you buy from an infomercial!

so build the goddamn wall. create a guest worker program. i will vote for representatives that will work tirelessly to break it down. and i will vote for representatives that value the fundamentals of life instead of valueing the unbridled attainment of wealth. hell...i will clean my apartment on my own! i will wash the dishes without using the washing machine. i will walk to the store that is a couple of blocks away. i will earn my keep... so i can learn to value the existence of latinos as americans.

UFC Unleashed!!!

wow....i like to watch ufc unleash! i would blow away correcting test to watch this crap! actually, i would blow away correcting tests just to watch the local news....so i'm not saying anything too special....just being dramatic..is all!

anyways, i often i ask myself why the hell would i watch this crap. its like roman times recycled...except its slightly more civilized because we don't expect anyone to die right away. but its just as brutal, and sometimes, it can really be bloody! i guess there's a lot of strategy. some say its too brutal and it reminds them of a less civilized age of rome. and supporters say, you have to get over that and concentrate on the strategic aspect of the competition. you would need strategy, skill, cunning, and strength in order to survive. hell, i imagine you would really need strategy, skill, strength, and tenacity to survive in a roman colosseum also. i don't repudiate the claims of those supporters. in fact, boxing is always been glorified for the cerebral aspect of the competition. however, i think ufc is still a glorified bar room fight. yet i still would like to fundamentally know why i like to watch it.

i figured it out! i think i like the risk factor and the competition. i like it when people take big risks and a big element of competition is risk. the bigger the risk, the bigger the competition. and as long as it is a controlled environment...i'm on it. hell...i watch project runway on bravo!

it just so happened that ufc is really special...they are risking their health and their ability to think properly! i would not want to ever suffer from a head injury. but are ufc fighters gladiators? no! gladiators were mostly slaves that were forced to fight. these guys are just crazy testosterone-ridden fighters looking to become famous or make money. but you can't blame them, people are watching them.

Alcatraz

this was one of the coolest workshops i have ever experienced. all the SFUSD teachers were having workshops today. being part of social studies initiative committe, i was able to choose the alcatraz excursion. it was a wonderful experience having a tour of the island by a bonafide national park ranger.

he explained how alcatraz was used throughout history. ironically, no one ever lived in alcatraz before because it could not sustain many people. it didn't have a natural drinking water source! but what was really interesting was stories he told us of the federal penitentiary. it was interesting to learn about the "real birdman". it was unique to be locked in the solitary room without lights. we got to see genuine artifacts and also re-creations to make history come alive. i was also impressed by the behind-the-scenes tour that allowed us to see the hospital ward. again, it just support the idea that history is much better in the experential level. he was also able to convince us how to connect the tour to the middle school standards. i will surely consider having a field trip there next year.

Rain Rain Go Away....Come back when we have a drought!

its been a couple of weeks now that i have been nursing these flu-like symptoms. for all i know i may have the bird flu, but just the weak strain that annoys the immune system instead of killing it. i think my symptoms coincide with these rains. i can't stand this inundation of rain. i haven't played basketball for over a month now! every saturday, i am counting on my weekly saturday morning bball run at cisco, but these past few weeks has been wash-outs! plus i haven't really been working out because i don't feel well enough to get back on the horse.

to make matters worse, i have to take the bus! taking the bus with full of people during a rainy day is asking for sickness. the bus is warm and balmy....just what our wonderful little germs need to fester and strike the most undeserving. you might as well lick the pole that everyone grabs on! i wonder if those nurse's muzzles can work as a fashion statement?!?

Apostasy...or Apostrophe?

[this is how i see myself giving my child a nugee and at the same time, explaining the difference between the two words]

apostrophes are benign and helpful. everybody loves apostrophes because they can show what you have earned in your life....or they can show what you own in your dream life...heheheh
Like dad's ferrari [the child wondering how a 1990 grey mazda become a ferrari]; or dad's basketball, or dad's house overlooking the pacific ocean.

i think writers love them as well. they're like pronouns, they make writing easier....especially for the lazy writers. when you use an apostrophe, you are not considered bad...or lazy, but instead a varied writer. wow...apostrophes are great...you should use them....but not too much!

apostasy.....well, someone tried it in afghanistan and he barely survived with his life close to being hanged. and when he does get out of prison, he will have to face a lot of devout and angry people. they do that because almost everyone has the same religion....and they don't like anyone changing their religion that is different from theirs.

what is apostasy? it is when you change your religion and/or beliefs. unfortunately, if you do it in countries where the major religion is very important, people will hate you.

you are very lucky that you are living in the us of a because everyone is accepted here. it doesn't matter what religion you believe in. you can choose whatever you like. but if you misbehave and pist off daddy, i will not hesitate to send you off to afghanistan and tell everyone there that you have just commit apostasy to christianity. and they don't like it there.

so just so i know you understand, can you give me a sentence using the word apostasy? now, apostrophe?

well....i think i'm ready to raise a child?

Bill Maher responds to Covenant of the Black Man

wow.....this was really interesting. leyla and i have been discussing this issue for a while now. but bill maher points out that this book states: six out of ten black men will have been to jail at some point of their lives. holy shit! but is this really something we don't already know?

but what was really interesting was maher's response to the book. maher believes that many famous black man have an opportunity to become such positive role models but they rather waste it away. you have 50 cent talking about killing someone. you have p-diddy talking about all the money he is making. what about glorifying the "pimp"?

yes, it is free speech and they can say whatever they want. in fact, why should we be so critical, they are an american dream. they have made it from the poor house to the penthouse! let's be fucking real about this shit: i work in a middle school for mostly the underprivilege. we have about 25 percent african-american. i am going to talk about, not only males, but african-amrican students in general.

they are wonderful kids when you get to know them, but its disconcerting to hear and see what they have in the future for themselves. they don't care to graduate, but they prefer to make it like how these rappers in the television made it. they want to have that one-in-a-million chance of making it! they want to be famous! in sports, in the theater, in the radio. they don't give a fuck about their classes, but when there is a dance contest, talent show, sports, they totally get in to it. but they don't realize that they have to get a certain grade to even be a part of it. so they will do just enough to hopefully allow them to dance, sing, rap, play, compete, whatever.

but to read, analyze, outline, summarize, predict, question, synthesize, add, subtract, cooperate, discuss? they do not find them that important.

in all fairness, i am generalizing tremendously. but i think the majority of the staff feel the same way. in fact, the plight of the african-american boy has already been brought up in our staff meetings. it is a serious problem because they are in our classes. they make it difficult for other students to learn. part of class time is spent just on class management alone. in an area where, students are already behind academically, they do not need any distractions.

why can't these rappers, athletes, go beyond what charles barkley said, "i am not a role model." hell, say something like, "i am not what you are going to be, because i am one in a million!" "the more skills you have the more chances of you to become just as successful as i am....and it may not be a rapper, or an athlete....but damn....there is nothing wrong being a manager, a lawyer, even a teacher!"

Being Sick Sucks!

I've been struggling through flu-like symptoms for the past couple of weeks. Last weekend, i thought i was over a badly sore throat. but after i got through it, i get to school and pick up another symptom. this time a slight cough plagued me. it doesn't help that the majority of my kids also have flu-like symptoms. in fact, ten kids last week were out for at least three days.

this past weekend, leyla has been taking care of me all weekend long. she even drove up on a weekday to help me, but i still have yet to shake it off. i feel like i am such a wuss. i couldn't do anything but sleep, and sleep some more. it seemed like we planned hundreds of events and only doing two things! what's worse is the sickening feeling knowing that your ncaa picks are crumbling in front of you by unknowns. who the hell is George Mason! ....fuck!

of course, wedding planning hit another curve ball. this time the unfortunate kind that is really hard for us to deal with. leyla's grandma died. her mother is so close to her. what can you say to someone you really want to hug? she will need to go back to iran, and we have to figure out what we are going to do with our party.......

at this point, it isn't really that important.

HBO movie: Walkout!

i just saw the movie called Walkout on HBO. it was pretty intense...i guess. one of the lines i like was said by the father. he said to his daughter," you know why many fighters do not like to fight latino fighters? because they never give up." i say por el orgullo!

the problem is that sometimes a latino fighter will fight another latino fighter (ie. morales v. barrera). HBO will earn millions of dollars because it will be a slugfest royal and the promoters get almost everything. sure the fighters themselves get their millions. but what are they going to do with it when their head is bashed to a cerebrum yogurt?

back to the movie. i was really inspired by the fact that these riots initiated thousands of latinos to realize their potential and go to college. they finally realized that to be effective, they must be part of the system in order to make change....and influence the system. wow....incredible!

my questions is, "why is it so easy for the vietnamese, the filipinos, the persians, and the indians to adapt themselves to the system? and what about the latinos now? there is still a high dropout rate within the latinos.

Pizza Party!

so i gave my 6th and 7th period eld la/reading class a pizza party as a reward for being such a well behaved class. they may not be my brightest kids, they may not be the most interesting, but i really love them! they are so low and i want to help them so much. i find myself more angry with them every time they get off task. and i remind them everyday that if they screw around, i am going to shout and scream at them. yes, i get the whip out and give them the same expectations as my other class. why? cuz i think they are great and the more i get attached to them, the more angry i get! i don't know how far i can take it...but they are receptive to my style of teaching.

i tell them all the time,"don't worry about me being mean to you, i'm just trying to get you motivated... and it's because i care...... you worry when i don't give you attention."

anyways, i felt warm all over when they all showed up and thanked me. i particularly like the fact that they tried to speak as much english as they can. oh its so hard for them...but they knew that it was what i like for them to do. i may hae to do the pizza party thing often!

Oooops!

well....maybe george washington isn't good enough to take down duke?!??!? I didn't see the game but it sounded like it was an ass whoopin'. gosh...i hate duke.

by the way, kansas lost to bradley last night. in fact, all the perrenial teams like Uconn, Kentucky, NC, Iowa, everybody....all had difficult and great games. i love the fact that anyone, anywhere can come in and compete. there aren't many clear cut choices nowadays. i think a lot of it is due to the fact that there are so many players that are good. anyways, i had kansas to take it all the way to the finals. my whole ncaa tournament picks is pretty much crap this year.....

Upset!

alright...i want another opportunity to work on my ncaa bracket. i'm going to say it right here: george washington university will defeat duke! i just saw a story on their big man that was injured a few weeks ago. he is a force down low. he can block shots, rebound, run the court and put pressure on the defense, and post up. surprisingly enough, they have been winning without him! now they have him back for the tournament. and they are on a course to meet duke in the second round.

Pros versus Joes

is anyone watching this show in spike television? it is one of the most hilarious show i have ever seen. basically, there are these regular people who actually believed they could have been a professional at one point in their lives. now they are provided an arena to prove.....really nothing....because they are going against retired professionals. but the hilarious part of this show is that the old pros aren't even making an effort to prove to these joes they suck! they literally pummel these joes to the ground.

imagine regular folks trying to stop jerry rice from getting a touchdown. imagine joes trying to get a rebound from a dennis rodman, or catching a ball across a field and expecting a hit from romanowski. it isn't a pleasant sight, but it is one of the funniest things i have ever seen.

Is George Bush dumb or is it his staff?

alright...just read an article about how our soldiers in iraq are still dying due to these car bombs, road bombs, suicide attacks, etc. three years of american might and still we have extremist fighting till the end. okay...we probably anticipated this outcome. so what are we going to do about dem' fundamentalist?

a journalist decides to ask our resolved leader, george bush, how is he going to tackle this problem. he suggest that in order to deal with these road bombs is to build new roads that have safeguards built on them! or just maybe build these safety features in these established roads.

i don't know about you but this sounds like plugging one major hole with a tiny expensive finger. are you really trying to solve a problem here, or just desperately trying to beat these guys in their own game? it sounds a little immature. however, there are people that feel the only way to deal with extremist is to employ extreme measures.

is this really going to work? this isn't like field of dreams: if you build it, they will come. if anything: if you build it, they'll just figure out how to get around it.

are they really focusing on the "funadamental" issue? i think they are just spending a lot of useless money. hell....it aint their money, its iraqi money! and guess who will construct it? american industries?

Kirby Puckett is Dead!

whoa....kirby Puckett is dead! he's a hall of famer, 10 year all-star, big game player, and a real nice guy. yes...he's been in all these sexual harassment suits, if only he didn't have glaucoma he would have kept playing and he would have made it hell for all A's and even braves fans. he may have been out of trouble. gosh....he is the one guy who had the second part of his life i wouldn't wish on anyone. he is such a good guy!

TESTING time!

well....its time of the the year again where students all over the country are tested to see where they stand compared to other students around the country. usually, this is also the time of the year where my students are becoming more laxed and screwy. all year long, we've been counting the days for this moment. i have been preparing them for the writing test for the past couple of weeks. so what do they do today, the day before the state writing test?

yak, yak, yak, yak.....yak! it took them a whole period to settle down and they still couldn't keep their mouth shut! i gave them different kinds text structure so they can identify all the parts of the different kinds of essays and/narratives, and they didn't give a fuck! i've made this competitive amongst my classes. i've even made this competitive against themselves by giving them their result from last year. but do they care? noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

i just really hope they do well tomorrow. i can comfortably say that it is all in their hands. their grammar is atrocious, but they know how to pick out the most important parts: they can identify theme, they can identify different kinds of writing styles, and they know all the elements in each writing style. the only thing i am nervous about is their lack of vocabulary. they really need to reach deep inside them and have some huevos! they have to show some pride in themselves, concentrate, make an effort, and believe in themselves.

oh by the way, when i say "all my students" i really mean 40 percent of my students. the next 40 percent are a toss up. and the last 20 percent are prayers. and what are my expectations....damn i got eld kids. i am ecstatic if they get three's. i would be satisfied if they get two's, and if they get a one......... i know what kind of review that student is going to be doing in the weekends.

so what am i going to do the day after? hell...trudge on and review for the star and cst test. after a few years of eld teaching, i figured out how to maximize my time. fifteen minutes of test review to start the class, finish the the 1st period with high point crap, another thirty minutes of reading using reciprocal teaching(reading) strategies, and finish it off with a reading comprehension review. the students are exposed to a real book, while satisfying the district alloted high point curriculum. what more do you want!?!?!? that's the science i'm using....unless you can convince me of a better way....i'll stick to it with good results!

Wedding Drama II

Okay...holy crap! i know people have told us about how difficult it is to plan for a wedding. but this is ridiculous! at first, we planned on having a really cheap wedding with only our closest friends. we figured we could do it for two thou and in leyla's parents house! our parents thought we were crazy!!!

then they both called us back to tell us that they wanted to invite some of their friends. next thing you know, we had over 70 guests! two thou seemed ridiculous at this point! in fact, they were willing to pay for everything...i mean both our parents. but we were afraid how far they were going to take this animal. i guess people are right. weddings are for parents.

the problem is that we are both stubborn and we don't really want to make any comprimises. we want it to reflect our personality. both our parents want our wedding to reflect how much they want to impress their friends. while we thought an evite is sufficient.

"let's just elope," leyla suggested.

"yeah...but...don't we want to make our parents happy and give them the wedding they dreamed about?" [alex cringes]

when i think about it, if we want them to be happy, we should just let them plan it for us.

HELL NO!!!! its like letting go of the reigns, closing your eyes, and trusting them. i think that can be fun with leyla in bed, but these are our parents we're talking about....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

the problem is not trust...we have lived with our parents for a long time and we trust them! but we trust them to make the most cheesy, gaudy, decadent wedding in the whole entire world.