Cinco de Mayo - I'll Pass - Cinco no Mas!

Image Credit: Party 411

Great! A second day off from "being in the shadows" this week for illegal immigrants.

If ONLY the illegal immigrants were "in the shadows" as opposed to staging an occupation and highjacking our country's sovereignty. Besides, I thought they were here to work and make money? Not to bad ... a three day work week!

"Governator" Takes Credit For Big Bonds Passage

Image Credit: freelargephotos.com

An early morning surprise awaits the democratic voters in our "Golden State". Big bonds package (Stratagic Growth Plan) is voted on and passed in the State Assembly at 3:03 AM.

Excerpts from Bill Bradley's New West Notes (LA Weekley) -

Big Bonds Pass In Win For Arnold
By Bll Bradley - LA Weekley

In a major boost for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats -- if not for Democratic gubernatorial candidates Steve Westly and Phil Angelides -- the California Legislature passed the biggest infrastructure bonds package in history a few hours ago, $37 billion for the November ballot. “Today is a proud day for California,” declared Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. Actually, more like the middle of the night. Passage of the package in the Assembly came at 3:03 AM after earlier adoption by the Senate.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, who hosted most of the negotiating sessions in his office, said: “What was at stake was the future of the middle class. People were spending more time in their cars during the week than with their families.”

Not to be outdone, of course, in the general congratulatory air, the governor said: "First, let me thank the legislative leaders for all of their efforts to make the Strategic Growth Plan a reality. In January, I proposed the Strategic Growth Plan during my State of the State address. Everybody said it couldn't be done. Everybody said it was impossible to bring both parties together for such a historic undertaking. But we did it.”

Actually, it’s not entirely clear what Schwarzenegger did to make the massive transportation, flood control, and education facilities measure happen, although he did cancel his appearance at a San Bernardino fundraiser yesterday to remain in Sacramento. The deal was put together during more than a month of negotiations between the “Fab Four” legislative leaders, Perata and Nunez, and the Republican leaders, Dick Ackerman in the Senate and George Plescia in the Assembly. Outgoing Assembly Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was also very involved.
--
This time around, the legislative leaders followed Schwarzenegger’s own advice, issued upon the collapse of the March effort, to work among themselves to produce a deal. Aside from their role in paring down the size of the deal -- from $50 billion in March to $37 billion in May -- Republicans got little of their agenda into the package. No labor law revisions, no dams, limited relief from the California Environmental Quality Act on levee and bridge repair. The pay-as-you-go approach insisted upon by Assembly Republicans was abandoned, though the package does include $500 million as an immediate allocation.
--
Despite the evident downsizing of Arnold’s role in the process -- not to mention the major scaling back of the package and wholesale changes to his original proposal -- this is a win for him and a serious challenge for the Democratic gubernatorial nominee.
--
If Jerry Brown could turn around after the passage of Proposition 13 and become “Jerry Jarvis” -- working to implement the popular will expressed in an initiative he opposed on his way to a landslide 1978 re-election victory -- you can bet the farm that Arnold Schwarzenegger will have a field day with the passage of something he highlighted in his State of the State address.

Bonds for the November Ballot
Transportation: $19.9725 billion
Housing: $2.850 billion
Education: $10.416 billion
Flood protection: $4.090 billion

Total: $37,328,500,000
Read All>>

For Arnold's part, he is taking credit by couching this as a vehicle to shore up our levees. Thank god that Arnie's no Mayor Nagin.

National Day Of Prayer

Image Credit: National Day Of Prayer

May 4, 2006 - America, Honor GOD.

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."
- 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV)

"Freedom Five"

"Freedom Five" is a commitment to pray daily for our country. Pray for five minutes every day about these five centers of power and cultural influence:

Government - The government establishes and implements policies that have far-reaching consequences. From legislature to judicial to executive, actions and decisions of government can impact an entire society for generations.

Media - The media is the nation's most influential center of power. From news to entertainment, media shapes public attitudes, values and behaviors for good or for evil.

Education - Our schools and universities are our main institutions of learning today. Minds are shaped by the education process and the values communicated to students.

Church - The church is in a position to impact communities for eternity, as well as influence social change. The church is God's instrument and influence in the world.

Family - The family is the most immediate of the five centers of power and is one of America's greatest assets. Family is the most fundamental unit of society where values are formed and communicated every day.
(ht: Lake Avenue Church, Pasadena, CA)


Submission to Rulers and Masters

13 - Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 - or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 - For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 - Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 - Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
- 1 Peter 2:13-17 (NIV)

Of Ozone And Protocols

Anomalous temperature averages in Antarctica are illustrated in an undated illustration. The ozone layer is showing signs of recovering, thanks to a drop in ozone-depleting chemicals, but it is unlikely to stabilize at pre-1980 levels, researchers said on Wednesday. Image Credit: NASA/Handout/Reuters

Ozone measurements are improving and some scientists are very pleased.

Excerpts from Reuters via Yahoo! News -

Ozone layer shows signs of recovery: scientists
By Patricia Reaney - Wed May 3, 1:08 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - The ozone layer is showing signs of recovering, thanks to a drop in ozone-depleting chemicals, but it is unlikely to stabilize at pre-1980 levels, researchers said on Wednesday.

Depletion of the earth's protective ozone layer is caused by the chemical action of chlorine and bromine released by man-made chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are used in aerosol sprays and cooling equipment.

Ozone-depleting chemicals were banned by the 1987 Montreal Protocol which has now been ratified by 180 nations.

"We now have some confidence that the ozone layer is responding to the decreases in chlorine levels in the atmosphere due to the leveling off and decrease of CFCs," said Dr Betsy Weatherhead, of the University of Colorado in Boulder.

"Not only is the ozone layer getting better, we feel it is due to the Montreal Protocol," she added in an interview.
--
Despite the signs of recovery, Weatherhead, who reported the findings in the journal Nature, said people should still protect themselves from harmful ultraviolet rays.
--
Shifting temperatures, greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide (N20) and atmospheric dynamics, which can influence ozone levels, are going to change in the future, they added.

"Therefore we really don't think ozone is going to stabilize back to its pre-ozone-depleting-substance levels," Weatherhead said.

Volcanic activity on Earth also has an impact. The 1993 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines caused ozone levels to backslide for several years, according to the researchers.
Read All>>

Really, do you think that the Montreal Protocol success claim is valid in the face of such little evidence??

The truth is that this is a big system, Earth. This system has been around for millions and millions of years, yet WE humans feel that our little agreement is netting returns in 19 years, even though Mt. Pinatubo caused the ozone levels to "backslide".

Exactly how long have WE humans been able to measure changes in the ozone layer? Excuse me for being skeptical. Say 30 years, maybe? Okay!

The Eco Downside Of E85 & Hybrid Alternatives

Image Credit: Department of Energy via World Net Daily

For all of the promise of having a viable replacement for petroleum based fuel; there are still problems that could lead to a quick fix to our dependency on Muslim based product resources.

The problems may not be that easy to solve just because the cost of petrofuel raises to wipe away the costs of implementation involved with Ethanol production.

Excerpts from WorldNetDaily -

Will $3 gasoline be enough?
By Henery Lamb - Posted: April 29, 20061:00 a.m. Eastern

A $60 fill-up is certainly enough to get fingers of blame pointing in every direction: Democrats blame Bush; pundits blame "Big Oil"; and consumers blame the powers that be. The real cause of the ridiculously high gasoline prices is generally ignored.

The underlying cause, of course, is the incontrovertible fact that demand has outstripped supply. There's plenty of oil in the world; the problem is that the available oil cannot be extracted and refined into usable gasoline in sufficient quantities to meet the world's demand.

Why? Thirty years of environmental advocacy has produced a majority in the United States who would rather pay $3 per gallon, and even more, than to allow oil to be extracted from the frozen tundra of Alaska, or from the Gulf, or from any other place.

Not a single refinery has been built in the U.S. in 30 years. Arizona Clean Fuels has been trying since 1989 to build a new refinery east of Phoenix. Having finally gotten an initial permit, environmental organizations are gearing up their opposition.

Extremely high gasoline and energy costs are the price society must pay for the environmental protection it has demanded.

Ethanol is not the answer. Increased use of ethanol will help, but it can never replace oil as the primary transportation fuel. An acre of corn produces 160.4 bushels, from which 57.3 gallons of ethanol can be made. Used as E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline), an acre of land would produce the equivalent of 67.4 gallons of gasoline. The daily gasoline consumption in the U.S. is 320,500,000 gallons.

The entire 73.6 million acres of corn harvested in 2004 would supply only 15.5 days of gasoline replacement. There simply is not enough land available to produce enough corn or other crops for ethanol to make a significant dent in gasoline demand. Moreover, current environmental policy encourages taking agricultural land out of production, not expanding production.
--
Federal and state taxes take more than twice the amount retained as profits by the oil companies. Many local communities impose additional taxes. Politicians are not calling for the repeal of these taxes.

Regulatory costs are more difficult to identify. The EPA requires dozens of different gasoline formulations for different parts of the country, and these formulations change with the seasons. These changes are cost-intensive and add to the price at the pump. Clean air regulations at the refinery and other environmental regulations at every step of the production process also add to the price at the pump. These are the requirements society has demanded, and they must be paid by the consumer.

The greatest pressure on price is the burgeoning demand from China and India, and the growing dependence in the U.S. upon foreign oil. As a percentage of total consumption, domestic production has declined steadily for 30 years and currently accounts for only 40 percent.
--
The price at the pump will continue to rise until it reaches a point that forces a realistic assessment of the value of affordable transportation, compared to the value of keeping frozen tundra, wastelands and oceans free from oil production.
--
Three dollars per gallon may not be enough. But it is getting close.
Read All>>

Of course, there is always Hybrid technology. The cars, however, are around 30K and the batteries need to be replaced every 4 to 7 years, depending on who one listens to, at an additional cost that can approach 15% of the original cost of the vehicle. Then there is the problem of battery disposal when a major automobile population is hybrid based.

It is time to get away from the geopolitical resources that power our economy and the sooner the better ... not due to the cost per gallon argument, but because of the issue referred to as "WARFOOTING".

At MAXINE, we believe it is time to adopt environmental policies that also help to promote self preservation; a balance has to be achieved.

Earl Woods Died Today (1932-2006)

Tiger Woods, right, and his father, Earl Woods, left, wait for their agent Hughes Norton to tee off on the 10th tee of the Spyglass Hill Golf Course during a practice round in Pebble Beach, Calif., Tuesday Jan. 27, 1998. Tiger and his father will be playing together as a team in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Earl Woods, who was more determined to raise a good son than a great golfer and became the role model, architect and driving force behind Tiger Woods' phenomenal career, died Wednesday morning May 3, 2006 at his home in Cypress, Calif. He was 74. Photo Credit: AP, Eric Risberg

Excerpts from AP via Yahoo! Sports -

Earl Woods, father of Tiger Woods, dies
By DOUG FERGUSON, AP Golf Writer - May 3, 2006

Earl Woods, who was more determined to raise a good son than a great golfer and became the architect and driving force behind Tiger Woods' phenomenal career, died Wednesday morning at his home in Cypress, Calif. He was 74.

"My dad was my best friend and greatest role model, and I will miss him deeply," Tiger Woods said on his Web site. "I'm overwhelmed when I think of all of the great things he accomplished in his life. He was an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband and friend. I wouldn't be where I am today without him, and I'm honored to continue his legacy of sharing and caring."
--
The last tournament Woods attended was the Target World Challenge in December 2004, when his son rallied to win and then donated $1.25 million to the Tiger Woods Foundation that his father helped him establish. The Tiger Woods Learning Center, another vision inspired by his father, opened in February.

Earl Woods was more than a golf dad, more than a zealous father who lived vicariously through his son's achievements.

He had played catcher for Kansas State, the first black to play baseball in the Big Eight Conference, and he had been a Green Beret for two tours in Vietnam. But he felt his true purpose was to train Tiger, and he watched his son evolve into the dominant player of his time -- the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam -- and one of the most celebrated athletes in the world.
--
In the forward to his father's book, Woods said: "In retrospect, golf for me was an apparent attempt to emulate the person I looked up to more than anyone: my father. He was instrumental in helping me develop the drive to achieve, but his role -- as well as my mother's -- was one of support and guidance, not interference."
--
Earl Woods was born March 5, 1932, in Manhattan, Kan., the youngest of six children. His parents died by the time he was 13.

His father wanted him to play for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues, and his mother stressed education. Woods wound up going to Kansas State, graduating in 1953 with a degree is sociology.

Woods did two tours during the Vietnam War as a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. It was his second tour that shaped the latter part of his life.

He met Kultida Punsawad, who was working as a receptionist in Thailand, and married her in 1969. He fought alongside Lt. Col. Nguyen T. Phong of the South Vietnamese army, a friend he nicknamed "Tiger" because of his courage and bravery. Woods promised Tiger Phong that he would name a son after him.

Eldrick "Tiger" Woods was born Dec. 30, 1975.

Earl Woods moved to Cypress, Calif., -- to the house where he died -- and set up a makeshift practice range in the garage with a mat and a net, placing his son in a high chair as he practiced.
--
Woods was proud of saying he never left his son with a babysitter, but his goal was to eventually let Tiger run his own life.
Read All>>

Long live Earl Woods, may God receive him now.

Michael Yon - On The Media Watch

Car bomb - 01 May 2006 in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan. Photo Credit: Michael Yon

This media watch report is not about catching the political bias in the reporting from all of the usual suspects ... this report is a clear rebuttal from a "boots-on-the-ground" reporter and businessman who knows opportunity when he sees it. Read to see how the Wall Street Journal gets it wrong.

Excerpts from Michael Yon: Online Magazine -

Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006
A Virgin Market - But not innocent

I’ve never posted a rebuttal to a news story. Today is an exception.Last week I participated on a panel at the Marine Command General Staff College in Quantico, Virginia. The dais was stacked with distinguished journalists — I was the baby in the room — who addressed a large group of military officers. I traveled from Afghanistan just to speak there after a scheduling conflict with their first choice, Joe Galloway, resulted in his recommendation that I fill his seat. When Joe Galloway talks, people listen. I was honored by his recommendation and privileged to join the panel in a vigorous debate of the symposium theme: “Selling the Truth: Media Portrayal of Insurgents, the Government, and the Military.”

As the day opened, a Marine officer was asked to pick a story about current events and comment on it. He held a copy of the Wall Street Journal, a paper I first started reading as a teenager. The WSJ is a reliable source, and so I’ve stuck with it through the years. The Marine was holding a WSJ in front of this distinguished group of military officers that also included DEA and FBI officials, not to mention the representatives of CBS, CNN, Al Jazeera and others. As the Marine opened the paper, I said something like, “That’s yesterday’s Wall Street Journal? That’s easy. Turn to page A16 and there is a commentary about Afghanistan. It’s pure bullshit.” There was a microphone in front of me, but luckily, the crowd was mostly military and they laughed off the language.

When I’d first read that item on page A16 about doing business in Afghanistan, I was so put off that I actually remembered the page number. The piece entitled “A Virgin Market,” described a business climate in Afghanistan in such glowing terms that it crossed the line from upbeat to being wishful.

“A Virgin Market,” begins thusly:

KABUL — The recent Yale graduate I was chatting with at a party here spoke Chinese and had lived in China, the seeming epicenter of all things capitalist. Why did you decide to come to Afghanistan?” I asked. He stared at me. “This is the largest rebuilding and development effort in the history of the world. Who wouldn’t want to be here?”

Stop. Interview at a party? I just spent two weeks on the ground talking with business people who seldom get time to go to cocktail parties in Kabul. I met people with millions of dollars in contracts in Afghanistan who were too busy trying to navigate the grime and crime to stop long enough to clink glasses together. I also talked with officials from several governments, many Afghans, and military personnel from various countries.
--
The commentator in the WSJ goes on to posit:

The security situation is far better than the media and the $500-a-day security companies would have you believe. British-educated Minister of Communications Amirzai Sangin notes that Americans are losing opportunities due to fears about security: “There is potential for five mobile companies here.

The fact that Investcom paid $40 million for their license — and that another company is in negotiations with us now — should give you the assurance that there is security here. We have 3,700 employees in every one of the 34 provinces and to date no person has been killed or kidnapped.”

Now it’s time to say in writing what I said to those government officials, military officers and journalists down at Quantico: Bullshit. While I was there, one driver under contract for a friend — who has been doing business in Afghanistan since 1997 — was murdered. They shot his truck with RPGs and small arms fire and killed him. There were attacks every day. Even some of the bases might be in danger of being overrun.
--
These cocktail party interviews have no place in the Wall Street Journal, and should not count as informed reporting. I very much hope that Iraq and Afghanistan become self-sufficient, prosperous countries, but misleading people who might invest money, energy and blood into these areas is no way to make that happen. I’ll still pick the WSJ out of any 10 papers, but I should hope the editors exercise more circumspection when printing commentary.

In fact, the media is not up-playing the danger in Afghanistan but seems to be grossly missing it. Unfortunately, I predict NATO and other forces will lose increasing numbers of soldiers in Afghanistan. The place is bad. Really bad. And it’s getting worse. Yesterday an Indian engineer was murdered. They cut off his head. Also, yesterday, the car bomb in the photo above exploded close by some employees of a friend. I was close by two bombings in just six days in Lashkar Gah, a place they used to call “safe.”

It is easy to start a business in Afghanistan, and some people are truly making a lot of money. But Afghanistan is no place for rookies.
Read All>>

Stand-Alone Kiosks Find Favor In New Environments

A customer rents a DVD from a Redbox machine at a Springville, Utah, McDonald's. The fast-food chain hopes to capitalize on the program, in which videos cost a dollar a night. Photo Credit: George Frey / Getty Images

Technology expansion pace quickens within niche retail environments. There was a time that niche marketing was about defining the brand through product awareness and positioning. Now retailers are able to introduce additional product and service sales opportunities through stand-alone Kiosks … but is this a good thing?

Excerpts from AP via the Detroit News -

Want a DVD with those fries?
McDonald's hopes to profit with vending machine that rents movies for $1 per night.
By Joshua Freed / Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS -- The big red vending machine at the McDonald's whirrs and hums and spits out rental DVDs of "Chicken Little" and "King Kong" -- and maybe, if McDonald's is lucky, profits.

Machines run by McDonald's Corp. subsidiary Redbox Automated Retail have popped up in hundreds of Golden Arches restaurants in six cities in an experiment to see whether they drive more customers into the stores. Rental chain Movie Gallery is experimenting with DVD rental machines, too, saying the machines will make rental transactions easier for customers and make its stores more efficient.

The spread of DVD rental machines comes as rental stores are struggling under a business model that hasn't changed much from the mom-and-pop video stores of 20 years ago. The rental business has suffered from the sale of cheap DVDs, rent-by-mail services like Netflix Inc., and expanding video-on-demand from cable companies.

"We think it's a tremendous op-portunity," said Greg Waring, Redbox's vice president of marketing. "We think we're providing a new model for the industry that is going to be difficult for the traditional retailers to compete against."
--
McDonald's came up with the idea in 2003 as it looked for ways to draw more people into its restaurants.

It began experimenting with the machines in Denver in 2004 and now has 750 machines in restaurants in five cities, including the Twin Cities. It's measuring their popularity and whether they draw more people into the stores.

Its subsidiary Redbox isn't waiting to see how the McDonald's experiment turns out. It has placed the machines in 75 grocery stores, and has signed agreements for 400 more grocery locations, including Stop & Shop and Giant stores owned by Royal Ahold NV in the Northeast.
--
The Kliners, of Kenosha, Wis., used the machine to avoid signing up at Blockbuster to rent a single movie.

"With kids, it's easier this way, because they're not running all over the store," Teresa Kliner said while daughters Olivia and Analiese played on the slides at the restaurant's indoor playground.
Read All>>

And this from RetailWire (AP story) –

The Invasion of the DVD Rental Kiosks
By George Anderson

A&P and McDonald's are just two of the retail and foodservice companies looking to drive additional customer traffic by placing DVD rental kiosks in their stores.

TNR Entertainment Corp. (The New Release), the nation's largest owner/operator of DVD rental kiosks in grocery outlets, announced yesterday that it had signed an agreement with A&P to place rental kiosks in 30 company stores covering Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

According to a TNR press release, the company's kiosks dispense DVDs to roughly 1 million consumers a month. Individual units store up to 200 DVD titles that are updated on a weekly basis. Rentals cost consumers $1 a day.

McDonald's is also pursuing the DVD rental opportunity but instead of using a third-party to supply and operate kiosks, it has created its own vending unit, Redbox Automated Retail.
Read All>> (subscription required)

Additional questions:

Do DVD rental kiosks offer retailers the opportunity to drive frequency of consumer visits and additional profits either through the rentals themselves and/or add-on sales made while customers are in the store?

Are DVD rental kiosks viewed as a smart merchandising and customer service move by retailers?

Monday, Monday - In Los Angeles

Thousands of demonstrators march through the streets of downtown Los Angeles May 1, 2006, as part of a nationwide protest staged by immigrant rights advocates to protest proposed legislation to reform U.S. immigration law. Photo Credit: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Most citizens report that the traffic on the freeways was similar to Sunday mid-morning bliss. Some teachers were heard reporting on talk radio that more teaching was accomplished due to the impression that the trouble makers and the reduced English understanding students were not in attendance ... discussions and interchange flowed without disruptions, distractions, and additional translation clarifications.

At MAXINE, the wish is that if only we could try a month without (illegal) immigrants. Many put forth the argument that "we are a nation of immigrants", but those who hold onto this position are forgetting that "FIRST, we are a nation under the rule of law".

Our politictions are not serious when they take the oath of office after they win an election. The part of the oath that they are conveniently dropping in their representation is the part that states "to uphold the laws of the land"! Mayor Antonio, for his part, stated that if one plans to carry a flag during the PRO illegal immigrant rally, carry an American flag ... thank you Mayor, for coming down hard on the side of having folks respect our laws.

Excerpts from Reuters -

Immigrants flex economic muscle in boycott
By Jill Serjeant and Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of mostly Hispanic immigrants walked off the job and rallied in cities across the United States on Monday, wielding their economic clout to demand rights for illegal immigrants.

Factories closed, day labor jobs went begging, children skipped school and cargo was left on docks in what the organizers called "A Day without Immigrants."

The largely Latino crowds chanted "Si, se puede!" or "Yes, we can!" and banged drums while waving American and Mexican flags. Rallies stretched from the lettuce fields of Central California to the streets of Chicago.

The demonstrations were aimed at pressuring the U.S. Congress into granting amnesty to some 12 million illegal immigrants and scuttle a proposal to build a wall along the Mexican border.

"What the marches have done is give a human face to the immigration issue in the United States today," said Harry Pachon, professor of public policy at the University of Southern California.
--
"Today we say with one voice that we want fair and sensible bipartisan immigration reform," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the son of a Mexican immigrant and a lifelong campaigner for legalization of illegal immigrants.

The economic impact of the boycott was unclear and some lawmakers and conservative groups predicted a backlash.
--
"It's a celebration of immigrants. It isn't just a protest or even a boycott," said Los Angeles Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony, who has urged priests to disobey laws that would criminalize those who help illegal immigrants.

In Chicago, more than 300,000 people marched, waving flags and pushing baby strollers. Demonstrations unfolded in Denver, Houston and San Francisco and thousands marched in Mexico in solidarity with compatriots who make up the bulk of the illegal immigrants.
--
Actress Susan Sarandon told a festive rally in New York's Union Square, "We now know that you are no longer silent, you are no longer invisible and let's keep it that way."

Several major meat-packing plants were closed to allow workers to demonstrate, and 90 percent of workers who unload cargo at the busy ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach joined the strike.
--
"The government has to realize how important Latinos are to this economy and give us full rights," said American Apparel customer service representative Ruben Eustaquio.
Read All>>

That's right! We have to give up our American sovereignty in order to award FULL RIGHTS to all non-citizens.

How would Ruben Eustaquio, customer service representative for American Apparel, like it if everyone in the world was awarded CUSTOMER status with American Apparel without buying any products from American Apparel ... do you think he would like his job then? How long do you think he, or anyone else, would be able to KEEP their job if this happened?

Folks, we are under a foreign occupation in our own country and it is time to take our country back. MAXINE is not anti-immigrant, but MAXINE is for a reasoned, managed approach to immigration under the rule of law. When are our sworn-in, oath taking, lawmakers going to stand up and ENFORCE our existing laws?

... Just askin'!

UPDATE: This from Pajamas Media News -

Economy takes small hit from boycott
May 3, 2006 (Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News delivered by Newstex)

Monday's immigration boycott and protest march knocked an estimated $52 million out of the Los Angeles economy, a fraction of the region's $1.2 billion daily activity, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. estimated Tuesday.

LAEDC chief economist Jack Kyser noted that the impact would be particularly felt in the Latino community.

"A lot of them live paycheck to paycheck, so this has a big impact on their lives," Kyser said. "The truck drivers were out, (the LAUSD) took a big hit, there were lost sales from the closed businesses along the route and probably extra costs for the city with overtime and for the MTA."

The truck drivers to whom Kyser referred made their voices heard particularly sharply at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, with a 90 percent no-show rate Monday.

The Los Angeles Hispanic Chamber of Commerce estimated that 70 percent of its small businesses felt some losses. Vice chairman Manolo Cevallos said the members he'd spoken to would be supportive of future shutdowns of up to a week.

"There was an impact, but it was worth it," he said. "Restaurants, mini-markets, shops selling bread, meat markets, clothing stores, clothing factories, the grocery business, flower shops -- small Hispanic businesses were affected, but they're telling me that they'd do it again. They're showing loyalty."

Several San Fernando Valley-based manufacturers were able to juggle production and shipping. San Fernando-based Fabe's All Natural Bakery, which has nearly 175 workers, worked an extra day over the weekend, then took Monday off.

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods in Pacoima brought a few people in to handle warehouse shipping, but closed its dog- and lion-food factories. President Joey Herrick said about half of his 60 workers attended the marches and that he'd be able to make up the delayed production fairly quickly.

"Let's hope they don't do it every month, but for one day, it was OK," Herrick said. "You're entitled to personal days, so if you let us know in advance, that's OK."

"It was inconvenient, but a lot of people showed up for the march, so we had to go with it and support our workers however we could."

Debit Cards Added To Class-Action Lawsuit

Astrodome, September 2005: Within two minutes of AFP photographer Stanley Honda electronically publishing a photo of Katrina victim Latesha Vinette holding up her Red Cross debit card, Ms. Vinette was paged by the management of Reliant stadium to receive a call from MasterCard asking about cash advances totally $65,237, the attempted purchase of a Ferrari automobile using her card #, along with hundreds of purchases from eBay, including, ironically, camping gear. "I don't know what I was thinking" said AFP photographer Honda, who failed to obscure any of the card's digits, or expiration date in his photo. I guess I could have just had her put her thumb over the first four digits." Ms. Vinette's balance reportedly dropped from $2000 to .45 cents in less than three minutes. Photo Credit: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images

Fraud is not the only problem with the plastic money vehicles we use in our day to day transactions. According to a class-action lawsuit being pursued by the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Grocers Association, the National Restaurant Association, the National Association of Travel Plazas and Truckstops, and other retail associations allege Visa, MasterCard and the banks engage in collusive practices to fix credit card interchange fees. The lawsuit has now been amended to include the interchange fees banks use for Debit cards.

Excerpts from the National Association of Convenience Stores News & Media Center -

Antitrust, Class-Action Lawsuit Against Visa, MasterCard and Major U.S. Banks Amended to Include Debit Cards
NACS News & Media Center - May 1, 2006

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An amended consolidated complaint against Visa, MasterCard and several major banks has been filed by a broad range of merchant groups, including NACS, in the Eastern District of New York.

The consolidated complaint, filed April 24, updates an earlier complaint filed in September 2005 by NACS and other groups that alleged Visa, MasterCard and the banks engage in collusive practices to fix credit card interchange fees. The complaint updates the earlier complaint to include debit cards, and additional merchant associations joined as plaintiffs.

“We believe that price fixing of interchange is equally as problematic in debit cards as it is in credit cards,” said NACS President and CEO Hank Armour. “Because debit cards are commonly used at convenience stores, especially at the gas pump, this is a significant amendment to the complaint,” said Armour.

“Whether debit or credit cards, the fact is that Visa and MasterCard charge Americans some of the highest interchange fees in the world,” said Armour, who on Feb. 15 testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection in the hearing, “The Law and Economics of Interchange Fees.”

The complaint in the lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction barring the companies from continuing practices that violate antitrust law.

Interchange, a fee that is collectively set by Visa and MasterCard’s member banks, is a percentage of each transaction that banks collect from retailers every time a credit or debit card is used to pay for a purchase, adding up to billions of dollars each year.
--
“The system is clearly broken,” added Mallory Duncan, chairman of the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC), a coalition of some 20 trade associations representing retailers, restaurant, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, gas stations, online merchants and other businesses that accept debit and credit cards. The coalition is fighting for a more competitive card system. “Visa and MasterCard compete to charge the highest interchange fees--fees that banks don’t pay but all consumers do. In virtually every other marketplace, competition results in lower prices, but not with interchange fees,” said Duncan, who also is senior vice president and general counsel at the National Retail Federation.
--
“It’s not just that the fees are unfair; they are hidden,” Duncan said. “Credit card companies can increase their interchange fees--which can approach 2 percent or more on each transaction--by any amount, and they forbid merchants from disclosing the fees they charge.”

In the United States, interchange impacts not only the merchants but has the largest impact on American consumers. This “hidden” tax was estimated to cost approximately $26 billion in 2004.
Read All>>

Do not expect to see much on this lawsuit soon. The lawsuit is expected not to go to trial until sometime in 2008.

In the meantime, the banks will just see their fees grow as the price of fuel grows and as the taxes collected by state and federal governments on the fuel grow.

Bush And Bush On Bush

President Bush, left, and Steve Bridges, a comedian and President Bush look alike, speak during the White House Correspondents' Association's 92nd annual awards dinner, Saturday, April 29, 2006, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

It was Dubya, Dubya-2 at the correspondents' fete and the Bush's took the comedy day leaving professional comic Stephen Clobert swinging in a moonbat quagmire.

This from CNN-IBN -

Comic touch brings Bush's mind to fore
CNN-IBN - Posted Sunday April 30, 2006 at 22:58
Updated Sunday , April 30, 2006 at 23:03

Washington: US President George W. Bush was at his witty best in his interaction with the media on Saturday.

He appeared on stage with his impersonator, Steve Bridges. Bridges made fun of Bush's habit of mispronouncing words. But Bush was a good sport and played along.

It was twice the fun for members of the White House Correspondents' Association and guests when President Bush and his sound-alike sidekick poked fun at the President and fellow politicians.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I feel chipper tonight. I survived the White House shake-up," the President said on Saturday night.

But impersonator Steve Bridges stole many of the best lines. Vice-President Dick Cheney and his hunting accident were targets of his humour on a couple of occasions.

"Speaking of suspects, where is the great white hunter?" Bridges said, later adding, "He shot the only trial lawyer in the country who supports me."

Bush continued a tradition begun by President Coolidge in attending the correspondents' dinner.

He invited Bridges to play his double. The President talked to the press in polite, friendly terms. Bridges told them what the President was really thinking.

Bridges opened like this, "The media really ticks me off -- the way they try to embarrass me by not editing what I say. Well let's things going, or I'll never get to bed."

"I'm absolutely delighted to be here, as is (wife) Laura," Bush replied.

"She's hot," Bridges quipped.

And then after a pause Bridges (Dubya-2) added, with eyebrows raised and in a G.W. Bush drawn out Tex-Mex accent, "Muy caliente!"

The featured entertainer was Stephen Colbert, whose Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report" often lampoons the Washington establishment.

"I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq," Colbert said in a typical zinger.

The two made their views on non-proliferation known, of course peppered with some Bushisms.

And this was my favorite Dubya, Dubya-2 bit -

"Let's give this a try. We must enhance non-compliance protocols sanctioned not only at IAEA formal sessions, but through intersessional contacts," said Steve Bridges.

Bush repeated: "We must enhance non-compliance protocols sanctioned not only at EIEIO formal sessions, but through intersexual conduct."
Link Here>>

This was one of the most entertaining moments that our President has participated in given the fact his approval rating at this moment is at 32%-34% depending on who is doing the reporting. He stood up and delivered while in hostile territory.