Borderline

At this point you may have the Madonna tune dancing in your head. But as the notes are jumping around, immigrants are jumping the fence for a better life in the U.S. And as long as that's true, we have to deal with it somehow instead leaving it up to Arizona.

According to a new AZ law, if you look Mexican, you would provoke enough suspicion for the police to ask for evidence of your citizenship. Only need "lawful contact" is a precursor. How vague it that? I'll support asking for proof of citizenship however, I don't back racial profiling. Can't one get arrested completely before being questioned about their legal status? I'm pretty sure not many people carry around their birth certificate. Proving status is not as simple as carrying around a little card; it's papers. Furthermore, if one were arrested for some legitimate reason, the offender would already be under custody which would make it less ill than taking up one's valuable time (there's never enough, right?), thus making one upset, or embarrassing one, and thus, contracting trust in the system. It really seems to cross over the line of invading some kind of civil right which is more of a Federal subject in more ways than one.

There are 50 individual states, a vast majority that do not touch the borderlines of Mexico (or Canada) but we are still a sovereign country so when it comes to dealing with conflicts of interests with other countries, it is not up to the states to make the rules. Even if some cases are left to the locals, guidance is required and big government has dropped the ball for the states to pick up. It has been obvious every since the Civil War that all states are not on the same page. Unity is vital.

And unity if not just vital among the states, but also for our agencies. The IRS provides ITIN and Social Security cards but do not link up this information with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The ITIN is used for foreigners to file taxes. And these days, it can be used to acquire a credit card and even purchase a home. If illegal immigration is such a big deal, then why isn't more done to create a system to either facilitate information sharing, while of course remaining confidential or at the very least, create a national identification card instead of a de facto driver's license?

No one is required to carry around their birth certificate nor their driver's license, so how is it expected to provide a police officer with proof of citizenship? This would work better if every one was expected to carry a national ID card at all times. So the pigs can just arrest me if I'm eating a taco without my wallet? Please knock some sense into me.

And last one point, how much are illegal immigrants even, as some Republicans say, draining our economy? They are working. They are paying taxes. True, their sons and daughters are getting education and in some cases emergency medical assistance (both need major reform too) but again, they are paying taxes. They are not allowed claim any benefits without a social security number. And if illegal aliens have some way of walking around with a false security number, then that is the fault of the IRS. Do more to crack down on the companies who employ, very cheaply might I add, illegal immigrants. The IRS has a specific file of numbers that do not sync with their records. They shouldn't sit there and only generate a notification letter, maybe they should do something about it. We all know what the IRS is capable of when money is involved. On second thought, maybe the agency doesn't want to do anything because of the millions of dollars injected into our welfare system by foreigners. Not to mention they are in our country buying our products and services.

Almost every problem arises when something is known and little is done. Or if something is not worked out with everyone contributing and sharing. This would be one of those instances. As evident in this blog, there are a few ways to begin alleviating this so called problem. Don't blame it on the illegal immigrants. Don't blame it on the borderline. Blame it on the lack of movement of our Federal system.

Too late for golden parachute, Goldman...

...you are no longer the golden child.

It appears that another will bite the dust. I remember it like it was a year; nine bank CEOs meeting on Capitol Hill to beg and plead their case to Congress. All I could think was - they already had our money, then they screwed it up, and now they want more of our money. Wait a second, is it because they just like screwing people?

Pardon my French (I never understood that, pardon my mean English), by "screw" I mean take advantage of. I will write more like a writer, although the whole theme of my blog is to speak as a citizen - you know, the screwed ones.

Goldman Sachs is charged with fraud the same week the people "running" this country are trying to follow up with the issue of how taxpayer's money is being managed and if there needs to be regulation. If so, what kind and how much regulation. I'm not a mathematician so I will not attempt to break it down, but I'm sure taxpayers will not see all of the money ever again. The original loan is more like a part loan, part grant. I could of used that in college. I can use that now. But I'm not too big to fail.

A typical side effect of one large company in the midst of going down is other companies scrambling and pressuring their team of lawyers to get around any redflags for fraudulent activity. Others act on how they can literally bank from it. Naturally, an equally corrupt company does the later.

On that note, AIG is filing a claim against Goldman which is in regards to investors not knowing all information necessary to make such investment - ABACUS. With ath, I ask, AIG, did you not ask enough questions? Did you trust Goldman too much like we all once trusted you? Weren't you the ones who insured bad mortgages? Just something to think about.

Again, I remember like last year America had to bail AIG out. And then with that deal done, they still gave big bonuses and went to spas.

Screwed, screwed, screwed.

I understand this is all tricky business. If a large company fails, so does the economy. But it seems like America loses money either way. And if there's more regulation, people will lose their freedom of speech or whatever, and capitalists can't get paid. Yes we are a capitalist country and this is how our country was built. There's nothing wrong with getting paid for the gold you find by traveling to the wild wild west, but there is something wrong when a company called Goldman takes your hard earned money and uses it to make themselves rich. And then AIG wants to see them in court, thus sucking up more taxpayers money in that action alone, when they were at fault just as well. Maybe the middle man should be cut. Maybe businesses should be allowed to fail. If they big enough to screw most of us, then they need rules, or they need to screwed by their lack of it.

I hope other companies take Goldman and AIG as an example of what is about to be a disaster. And I hope Congress takes last year's bailout as an example about how to screw taxpayers, and this time aim at not screwing us.

Without you D.C.

As much as I criticize the United States government, I know there should probably be a hand to keep the land in order. Not that I'm saying the make-up of mostly wealthy Caucasian males of whom are not representative of the economically, socially, and demographically diverse nation should have the final say in what and what not to do (and breath); but I am saying, it is a start. And, it's something.

Turning my attention to the Poles, they have proved to be resilient survivors of quite the catastrophic events in regards to political devastation. The Katyn massacre seems to be one of the most significant tests. Up to 21,000 of their well-educated and hard-working people were murdered what was thought to be the Germans but was later investigated to be the Soviets. Russia was their ally which would then make it hard for Poland to trust any country or republic.

Instead of crumbling, it's people took matter into their own hands as those from an array of different backgrounds opposed, voiced, and fought for a government that would be truly representative. After several years of construction, they finally got a final product, of course permeable to updates. The same people with the voices and the fight turned out to be the same ones holding office.

Yet again, another tragedy. Like the massacre, a lot of good, smart, hard-working people were killed, this time in a plane crash. No doubt, this country will rise again especially if played off of experience. Poland, you will find your government again and it will be stronger and better than ever.

It's unfortunate when a horrible event hurricanes the establishment. America has had it before with 9/11 and the financial crisis, even if both events may have been preventable.

The folks on Capital Hill are appreciated and it would be very tough to be without, but I hope sight is not lost over whom it's representing.