While immigration reform makes sense as a matter of simple justice, it has long seemed to me that more support could be gathered if we consider its economic benefits.
To this point, Juan Carlos Guzmán and Raul C. Jara of the Center for American Progress are making sense:
SOURCE: AP/Rich Pedroncelli
“Passage of the DREAM Act would add $329 billion to the U.S. economy and create 1.4 million new jobs by 2030, demonstrating the potential of the proposed law to boost economic growth and improve our nation’s fiscal health. … Enabling these 2.1 million eager-to-be-Americans to contribute to building the American Dream would deliver a double boost to our economy. First, enacting the law would provide an incentive for their further education because for most of those who would be eligible the legalization provisions can only be attained through completion of high school and some college. Receiving more education opens access to higher-paying jobs, enabling these undocumented youth to become much more productive members of our society. Second, gaining legal status itself translates into higher earnings for these youth since legal status allows DREAMers to apply to a broader range of high-paying jobs rather than having to resort to low-wage jobs from employers who are willing to pay them under the table.”
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
153 Responses to For Immigration Reform: The Economic Argument
Now on The Trail
You go back to the eighteenth century, there wasn’t much difference between what was called the First World and the Third World, in fact India was in many ways more advanced than England. But the European powers were able to impose, by force, what are now called neo-liberal programmes, pure market systems. It destroyed these countries. Meanwhile they themselves never obeyed these rules and still don’t.
All of them, including the US, has radical state intervention in the economy, at every level.
--noam chomsky tweets.
See: John Perkins, CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HITMAN
From Wiki:
According to Perkins, he began writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man in the 1980s, but “threats or bribes always convinced [him] to stop.”
According to his book, Perkins’ function was to convince the political and financial leadership of underdeveloped countries to accept enormous development loans from institutions like the World Bank and USAID. Saddled with debts they could not hope to pay, those countries were forced to acquiesce to political pressure from the United States on a variety of issues. Perkins argues in his book that developing nations were effectively neutralized politically, had their wealth gaps driven wider and economies crippled in the long run. In this capacity Perkins recounts his meetings with some prominent individuals, including Graham Greene and Omar Torrijos. Perkins describes the role of an EHM as follows:
Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly-paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign “aid” organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.
kudos to xr for your very clever
btw, your toucan’s name should be x-toucan’t
I still prefer the Preview button.
What happen to the image thingamajig???
What happen to the presentation for the site? Looks like it is for mobile devices.
Too much mood not enough function.
Oscar Pistoffius
Now we find out that he’d been shooting up stereos.
Site looks fine to me.
Bowles on Tuesday restated the obvious: Obama needs to accept deeper cuts to the government’s health-care spending, and Republicans need to accept more tax increases. But this assumes both sides want a grand bargain to right the nation’s finances — and it’s no longer obvious that they do.
“These guys here aren’t interested in winning,” Simpson said. “They’re interested in making the other side lose — in fact, rubbing the other side’s nose in it.”
Just seeing how this new quote thingy works. Guess I’ll have to play with it a little.
Hmmm, how about this…
One more time.
OK … got it.
Will Dan Senor be asked to comment upon the “Hubris” TV documentary by Rachel Maddow?
Baiting my breath.
The Mix looks all funky this morning… iOs is not rendering properly.
Dan Senor gak whatever happened to Campfollower Brown?
Ah the Iraq war…so many wonderful things to remember
our virulent anti-French attitude, our total incompetence,
the cowboy attitude and of course the myriad of lies.
But then that’s the gooper way and most of the reason we don’t make progress that means anything. The same things could be said of our immigration policy.
We have fostered virulent anti-immigrant sentiment
most of it also racist. We have been incompetent in managing the policies that might work.
On balance American policies means most of us are kind of jerks
Jace,
You’ve got to be one of the kindest, most sincere people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting (and as an added bonus, you’re funny too!). It was so good (and unbelievably touching) to hear your words this morning… and when my day starts out that way, it tends to continue… Thank you! .
As for this: “don’t ever fail to take advantage of the opportunity to express your opinion here on any issue.”, you must not have noticed that I often have the ability to say the most inappropriate thing at the perfect time. I never mean it to be that way, but just the same… that’s how it often ends up looking/happening (thank goodness for the edit button which is relatively new here at TM).
I learn so much from you and so many others here. As far as your comment yesterday, I agree with what eProf said to you last night at 9:42: “Jace, don’t ever be quiet about this American history and why it should never be far from our minds. Keep on keeping Rachel and all the others who in the deepest recesses of our minds believe that our country stands for more than simple warfare to appease leaders.”
It’s people like you (and so many others here) that keep me coming back.
“Ah the Iraq war…so many wonderful things to remember
our virulent anti-French attitude, our total incompetence,
the cowboy attitude and of course the myriad of lies.”
Yep, KGC….. and may I add: ‘etc.’
“Site looks fine to me.”
I’ve been wondering why you haven’t been here, Pogo. Good to see you back.
Another can’t cover-up by our former six-term Senator, Domenici. More love from the party of family values — at least his baby Momma is republican, too.
Chloe,
Back atcha girl.
Immigration Reform? The Hell you say.
Next thing you know Obama will be wantin’ to pay those folks nine dollars an hour!
Now, where is that Emoticon for snark?
The GOP uses opposition to “illegal immigration” to appeal to racism. They won’t give it up as long as they keep winning (some) elections.
It’s got NOTHING to do with economics. The GOP wants undocumented workers here, because they work cheap and undermine labor unions.
They just don’t want these people to be able to VOTE because 99.9% of them will be Democrats.
“Too much mood not enough function.”
It’s all been about trade-offs, Purple. Craig has actually made all his changes interactive, asking our opinions along the way. I miss the preview button too (because I could check to see if my links, etc. worked before posting them0, but he pointed out that since we have the edit button, so we can just use that.
Of course the Dream Act makes sense… the problem is, does our government.
The site looks ok for me… but one needs a goddamn magnifying glass to see those emoticons.
BW,
Interesting link.
I’m beginning to think all that republican hanky panky going on is a serious threat to the institution of marriage.No wonder they support DOMA.
Chloe…
the problem I discovered the other day is that you can’t link in the edit function. I had to put up a new post to fix a link I screwed up.
Personally, I prefer what we had here yesterday… but I also defer to the majority opinion.
RR,
Those emoticons are small but they are potent.
Look familiar?
taegan’s political wire this a.m. has an important lesson for us perpetrators of pretense. sometimes what we say in jest comes back to bite.
Emotican
jace, that thumbs up emoticon looks somewhat suspiciously like the flying finger of fate if askewly viewed.
emotican-can
I guess Gramps isn’t the only grumpy old man in AZ.
How does it feel Johnny?
Jace… sorry, I won’t be using those puny little things… just have to hope no one takes my jokes and teasing too seriously.
patd… that reporter isn’t the problem… it’s the idiots who believe such stuff. Although IMO, Ted Cruz did know that stuff was BS. He’s smart enough to know that when you put something in little minds… it’s hard to shake out. I think that was his intent.
Patd,
There is fate and there is Karma, that little gizmo looks like bad karma to me.
RR,
I don’t think that I will use that one any more.
Besides, having had a duly constituted and certified vote, I would not wish to start a kerfuffle by acting against the will of the people. After all I’m not a republican.
Mid East politics meet the Academy Awards: 5 Broken Cameras Oscar nominee detained at LAX
Juan Carlos Guzman’s linked infographic and the speculative statistics it employs are canards.
The economic statistics are very impressive, indeed. If the economic argument were the sole basis for immigration reform, it would be a no brainer for all at the negotiation table. But, it’s a lot more. It’s about a threat to class (the lowest rung on the ladder argument), politics and future voting, and, mostly, about race. The US is so caught up in the question of race that immigration will always be extremely controversial. Perhaps the economic argument should be taken to the micro level of people needing a job to feed their families. Then, maybe, there would be empathy and understanding. Most migrants come to the US to work and provide a better economic way of life.
There is no one solution but we should keep trying and quit cursing the dark.
“Americans to contribute to building the American Dream would deliver a double boost to our economy.” -CAP
“Double boost”?! Is that a euphemism for “more competition for the finite number of jobs available”?
In my best Seinfeld voice, regarding tank-thinkers: “who ARE there people?”
fun vid from last night linked by wapo:
Hey, Pat. I saw your Wilde quote yesterday; thank you. My obvious response was: “If he could see us now”.
Re: Bader-Ginsburg and capability as it relates to age/health:
I saw her on CSpan, last night, speaking to a “Women In Law” seminar-type-thing, and she seemed of sound mind and spoke clearly and articulately. I think she’s just one of those people that closes their eyes when they listen to a speaker, as she did in the SOTU address.
Adieu.
also from wapo today
hmmm, tho’t it was already the rule
champ, there are many who think that compared to some others on the bench, her shadow would be of sounder mind.
the recent news of another goper senator scandal reminded me of his and others possible participation in the weekly prayer group there in the ’80s.
are they still convening wednesday morns and afternoons?
purple-in-tampa, MadMustard — are you using mobile devices? system switches to a mobile version when detected. but there’s a button at the bottom to switch back to “Desktop Version” if you prefer
Craig,
Noticing a big improvement on my mobile device with this new set-up. Much easier to read and type. The older I get, the worse my vision. This is much better. Thanks!
Purple — preview function intact, just don’t need the button. as you type you’ll see an automatic preview of your message just below “POST COMMENT”
testing new preview function
instead of a preview button, this add-on displays automatic preview just below “POST COMMENT” — let’s if this works or slows us down
sjwny, yes i changed mobile versions last night, never was too happy with the old one. planning another improvement using a mobile subdomain but i gotta get the server company involved in that. this one seems fine until i get around to it
Again, anyone getting the mobile version who wants to switch out of it click the button at the very bottom that says “Desktop Version”
our resident geek at work?
ha Patd — David would agree with that depiction, he’s an eyewitness to my tech craziness of late
I am using my laptop with Windows XP SP3 and IE8. I agree with Mad “looks all funky.” I tried the desktop but to no avail. According to “View Source” you are in the mobile-edition. SUCKS!
Purple, that Desktop Version button at the bottom doesn’t work?
hang on Purple, i am making some adjustments to the mobile detector
I miss the rewards button. When I’m reading a long stream of comments, I want to give the toucan a treat when it makes me smile, not when that moment is gone.
Test
Chloe, thanks for asking and noticing my absence. Just been crazy busy at work and haven’t had lurking and commenting time. Not sure it’s going to let up soon either -- a good thing in some ways. For a man as lazy as I am (and I am) I seem to be working way too hard.
Citizens United is the outlier. It makes absolutely no sense to limit individuals but not limit organizational campaign donations IMHO.
Well, back to the salt mines.
China to introduce carbon tax: official
Testing on phone, mobile version seems better now. Give it a try purple
pogo, you got to read this short piece by rick bragg. it’s you! or at least your kind of humor and he writes like you.
Elements of Groveling
tiny sample:
Love our greater range of emoticons. They don’t spin and jump and generally entertain as on some sites, but a definite improvement on a simple smile
The Oscar P story CNN has known all morning the police investigator admitted he did not know if the item he found was steroids (turns out to be a legal herbal supplement.)
The police in South Africa have a lot of problems with the case and as usual there are even more problems with the reporting.
CNN come on just hire Rita you know you want to
I just saw the documentary “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price” on Current TV. It was excellent!… I highly recommend viewing it if you can find it.
Interesting development on the Health Care Front -- Villages Retirement Community builds it’s own plan.
To continue a thought from the last thread, not only do private prisons need new tenants, the also require ever longer sentences and 3 strike rules, to the detriment of the taxpayer and the society in general.
Where is our GOP scandals list when it’s needed again? Oldie but goodie just admitted: Dominici fathered child while voting for Clinton impeachment
Gotta love the smell of hypocrite in the morning.
trying out a new chat room in case we ever want it for something, live events, word games, or if you just want a sidebar chat with someone instead of formal commenting — also there’s a listing there of who is on the site when you are in case you want to shout out
Click “CHAT” in the menu bar above
Can’t get the emoticons to show up on my comments. (not that I’d ever use them)
It’s an emoti congame.
Blessed are the Edit Buttons,
for they shall inherit the Posts.
Flatus,
Be careful! Don’t put a thumb too close to a toucan’s beak. They are known to mistake them for bananas.
“Fear is when she catches you at 2 a.m. rolling up a bag of Ruffles.”
LOL, Pat!
I hope Pogo see’s your link.
I, too, enjoyed your Oscar Wilde quote yesterday….. “America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.” It’s even funnier now that Champ said ‘If he could only see us now’. Ain’t that the truth.
jamie, how many does that make now of those who were with sin but cast stones anyway?
karma, thy name is sweet
Stanford collected over 1 billion $ in fundraising. This works out to $56,000 for each of its 18,500 students. In comparison, San Jose State (public college) raised around $14 million which = $450 for each of its 31,000 students.
A few years ago I saw on segment on TV about a group who was matching up “B” & “C” students with local struggling colleges. They visited High Schools and offered scholarships to kids who were willing to put in the effort to improve themselves. Since few of us are “A”s and more of us are “B”s & “C”s, it was a great idea to focus on those usually not even considered. This also gave a new lease on life to many of the smaller colleges: if someone is willing to learn, and has the funds, cast a wider net.
All education is good, and as noted in the Immigration Reform topic, vital to our economy. One thing, though: we are a class/status conscious society and where you received your diploma matters more to many employers than the qualifications of the person who received it. Not saying that it is right, but in many cases, the reality.
chloe, thanks. another oscar wilde goodie you might like:
XR, you’re killing me. I recently separate a rib and laughing hurts. Hold it down buddy. One of the bestest things about TM is the sense of humor that hangs out here.
too bad congress can’t be put on unpaid leave this week
Yep, Pat. I like that last quote too.
Your article reminded me of one I read this morning.
“Why Women Talk More Than Men: Language Protein Uncovered”
“You know all the times that men complain about women talking too much? Apparently there’s a biological explanation for the reason why women are chattier than men. Scientists have discovered that women possess higher levels of a “language protein” in their brains, which could explain why females are so talkative.
Previous research has shown that women talk almost three times as much as men. In fact, an average woman notches up 20,000 words in a day, which is about 13,000 more than the average man. In addition, women generally speak more quickly and devote more brainpower to speaking. Yet before now, researchers haven’t been able to biologically explain why this is the case.”
When I first read it this morning, the first (and only) comment I looked at asked: “Is there a cure?”. (.. a smartass
)
Uh. Hmmm Chloe. Agreed.
Bill?
Are you the one that wrote that first comment asking if there is a cure?
If so, I’m sorry I called you a smartass.
I gotta notion,
I ain’t got emotion,
‘Cuz my emoti can’t.
‘Sokay, tho’,
I knows my place here,
An’ I got such
A purdy face, dear. ( :>D))<
Chloe, you are such a nice person. No, it wasn’t me who wrote that but in my mind, I agreed.
I thought that her indoors could talk but my daughter in law can talk the leg off a chair with a mouth full of marbles while her head is under water. God she can talk. To her it is all meaningful but to me it is brain switch off and view a Micky Mouse movie in the head for the next ten minutes while occasionally coming to earth with a “huh”, “Did they?”, “Really?”, etc etc.
I’m such a good listener.
Carol, next week I get to try your yumbo gumbo recipe. Showed it to her indoors who approved of it for all purpose domestic consumption.
Pat, re: your 1:43 -- oh god, is that the truth!
Great Bill. Want me to send you some swamp water to add to the pot?
I’ve got the problem that Chloe is talking about and there is no cure. Sorry. Deal with it.
Chloe -- and here I just thought men generally just don’t give a shit about most things so they really don’t feel the need to comment.
KC, Oscar has a lot of problems with the case, too. I’d rather be the prosecutor than the defense attorney on this one. It might not be 1st degree, but it likely ain’t gonna turn out well for him.
I am quite confused as to why there is any debate about immigration. Yet there is in both the US and Oz.
Immigration is an economic gain to the receiving country. The receiving country has effectively outsourced the costs of rearing a fully functioning economic contributor to the society. All the costs have been borne by the source country. No funds come back for reimbursement. For countries like the US and Oz, that is stealing the wealth from 3rd world countries for their own economic gain. The token overseas aid programs do not even begin to cover this net transfer of wealth.
The immigrants, be they legal or illegal, tend to be the most enterprising of the source nations human capital, so they are usually the ones these nations can ill afford to lose.
If the argument is that immigrants tend to reduce the pay received by the indigenous population, then this is an illusion. Jobs that need to be protected in the private sector are generally jobs that should not be done. It is not up to the society to pay the wages of these people through job protection -- the subsidy from the society is the difference between the wage that is paid with protection and that which would be paid without protection. Everyone pays that subsidy.
This economic wage free trade tends to lift the wage rate in the source countries and the net rate is lifting them out of poverty too. This has some serious knock on effects for the global economy.
It comes back to the original confusion. Why all the fuss when the results are all plus.
“No, it wasn’t me who wrote that but in my mind, I agreed.”
Ha! I knew you agreed…. that’s why I was teasing you about the comment.
Bill, You’re the one who is such a nice person. My favorite Australian.
Carol just put your phone over some and it should be here in seconds by the interweb thingy.
On it’s way Bill.
Bill gets two thumbs up from me with his excellent analysis on immigration, legal and otherwise. As I said earlier, if it were only an economic debate, the issue would be laid to rest immediately. It’s the political and racial arguments that nativists (who won’t have much to do with Native Americans) who throw out all of the false arguments denouncing migrants.
Senator McCain, who is one of the biggest race baiters in Arizona who preaches, “be afraid, be very afraid,” was booed and shouted down last night in Sun Lake, AZ, at an all white Republican audience as being too liberal on immigration reform. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bigot!
eProf, thanks.
That McCain is the same fellow who said: “Being a POW gives me a free pass on being a douche for the rest of my life.”?
Don’t worry eProf, in Oz we have a race going on to see who can get to the bottom of the moral pit between our major party protagonists. It’s a total disgrace but our rednecks lap it up. Our comparative to Rush is Alan Jones aka the Parrot, who has a remarkably harmogenous audience in Sinny ready to beat up on anyone who is “different”.
15,000 km and the crap is still the same.
We are one, but we are many …
Yes, Bill, I think that’s the same one. And, if not a douche, then an expert on foreign policy with an eye to go to war at a moment’s notice. He’s never seen a war situation that he didn’t like!
Flatus says:
02/20/2013 at 1:10 PM
I miss the rewards button. When I’m reading a long stream of comments, I want to give the toucan a treat when it makes me smile, not when that moment is gone.
Flatus,
I noticed your comment and feel much the same.
Alas sir, I fear that we have been undone by the tyranny of one man one vote.
“Senator McCain, who is one of the biggest race baiters in Arizona who preaches, “be afraid, be very afraid,” was booed and shouted down last night in Sun Lake, AZ, at an all white Republican audience as being too liberal on immigration reform. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bigot!”
Eprof,
Bless you my son! Well said. What have we in AZ ever done to deserve the likes of McCain?
The hazards of the sequester became official today. My son was given the legally required 45 day notice that if it passes, he will be furloughed two days per pay period. For us, that means a $700 a month hole in the budget. His GS rate is high enough that this won’t be a major crisis just nothing to his savings or special things for his son. For people lower down the scale, it is going to be very painful all because the GOP are a bunch of do nothing creeps.
Eprof,
Here is the problem with McCain’s all white audience.
They don’t like illegal immigration and they don’t like illegal immigrants.
What they like is being able to hire those illegal immigrants for next to nothing to clean their bathrooms and cut their lawns. They just don’t want them to eat in this country, or get sick in this country, or go to school in this country.
My guess is that McCain’s town hall smelled of rank hypocrisy.
HAHAHAHA…pant, pant, wheeze. You are funny, friends.
I have been trying to put up a colorful bing jpeg of a toucan called Uncle Sam Toucan. The url is enormous and our local Browse tool doesn’t accept it.
I had just given up in a mood, when I saw Jace’s quote of, and commentary upon Flatus’ toucan post.
“the GOP are a bunch of do nothing creeps.”
Jamie,
Actually they are an insult to do nothing creeps everywhere.
CT -
Dragon fly stories…… There are many, yours was wonderful.
Dragon flys are on New Mexico pottery from 1200 years ago , the water jars . And the Art Deco movement, the jewelry.
I like how they are not afraid of people. And they look you right in the eyes.
Speaking of where our mothers go, my Flowering Qunice downtown has bloomed. The one here at the house is leafing .
The sandhill cranes are in Kansas.
Both events are 3 weeks early , neither event listens to AM Talk Radio.
XR,
Too funny. Are there not smaller Toucans?
jace
These little emoticons are basic. Now if you want to see all sorts of cute ones check out Free Smileys They bounce and twirl and shake pom poms … There must be a snark running wild there somewhere. This little guy is pretty excited
Rockets to the moon and beyond, Atomic power, Radio…….,list goes on and on.
What the Hell did America ever get out of immigration anyway?
There’s a reason I call him muck.
Now pete demonici comes forward to brag about his virility, his betrayal of friendship with colleague pol laxalt, and his conquest of a woman young enough to be his daughter ?granddaughter? If Dante were alive, he’d place demonici in the lowest latrine pit in hell, upside down.
Is there nothing too vile for rip up lican pols? Nothing?
KC, Oscar has a lot of problems with the case, too. I’d rather be the prosecutor than the defense attorney on this one. It might not be 1st degree, but it likely ain’t gonna turn out well for him. Pogo
Oscar had a good day today
CT -
I am worried about the cranes . They are about to be right in the middle of an over due blizzard on the Platte River.
“Is there nothing too vile for rip up lican pols? Nothing?”
Actually now that you mention it, NO!
First Pete now Clive maybe they are trying to get a tv series of their own — Clive Bi-Sexual Men of Beverly Hills
however his definition of bi-sexual is first I was attracted to women and now I am attracted to men
CT -
In March 1998 I was driving North of the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge. I had been watching the cranes all winter. But this day was the day they had been waiting for. After a long cold winter the first thermal is what these birds need. That day I saw it. I parked and stood ‘God Smacked’, by what I saw.
A huge double helix of tens of thousands of birds riding the air to 10,000 feet, everyone singing at once. At ground level thousands more flying in from all points of the compass. The joy in their voice was even greater.
I watched this for 20 minutes , and I had to leave, I was delivering pills, and picking-up film.
C-Bob, isn’t it not unusual to be cold up that way? Why don’t they fly south for the winter.
CT -
They think it’s spring .
i was at this lowland nouveau log cabin house putting in some boxes oncet and I was sitting there meditating, as it were. (cigarette). been raining and a fair size mudpuddle came to be. I come to staring at it realizing that I was watching a dragon fly facing away from me hovering over the puddle….he or she would fly down and whip the water up onto the bank with her or his tail fins…..tail slap the water, watch it land, back up, tail slap the water, watch it land…back up…..I smoked four cigarettes….I usually figure 7.5 minutes per cigarette and a variable interim when smoked at one stretch. That dragon fly did that gig the whole time.
And that’s why I got no use for dragon flies.
CT -
Some of these guys fly to Siberia for the summer. They come to New Mexico , Texas, and even Old Mexico to winter.
http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/sandhill-cranes-arriving-in-platte-river-valley/article_0af2e53c-507b-5e9f-a115-8d98a4dce12f.html
The sandhill cranes have been using the same 40 mile stretch of the Platte River for 14 million years.
And I’m worried about them, boy do I need a life.
Jace, I can’t imagine the stench in that Sun City town hall meeting after years of poisoned politics. How did we come to get McCain and now Flake? We live in the wild west where white settlers and now northerners looking for mild winters feel like they can dominate the landscape as they did against native americans elsewhere (only now it’s Mexicans that need to be dominated). They are threatened and McCain fed that sentiment for several decades. Now, it’s biting him in the ass, so all he can do is yell at reporters inasmuch as he knows he can’t confront his attackers any more than he did yesterday. “It’s the media’s fault.” Fortunately, they are on the wrong side of history and, while I may not see it through to the other side, these bigots, like the Governor Wallaces of the south, will, in time, lose.
As to politics and bottom feeders, a pox on them all.
I am going to enjoy my coffee.
BTW, this is what I am looking at right now.
Please salivate on your own dime.
I see a shark out there, be careful, very careful.
Y’all never figured out who those dragonflies were? I guess you didn’t know how significant their interacting with you was but they did catch your attention.
just refreshed our server an hour or so ago, in case anyone had trouble accessing. we’re good to go, cleaned up and turbo-charged — for now anyway
Flatus, let’s pool our cookie jar money and buy this!
Queer Talk: Respect for Marriage Coalition Ad Campaign Features Barack Obama, Dick Cheney, Laura Bush and Colin Powell (VIDEO)
by Joyce Arnold
Time to get ready for my night shift…
Bill,
Yes, what a lovely beach.. God, Australia is beautiful..
Here’s a pic i took today from the 17th floor of a penthouse.. The pic is of inlet at New Smyrna beach with Ponce’s Inlet, Daytona Beach shores, Daytona Beach and Ormond beach in the distance..
Let’s try this -
Greetings from the desert. In what I thought would be a “trail mix” scoop from Arizona with my post this morning, the local and national news outlets have run the John McCain town hall push back all day long. It’s been somewhat gratifying to see all this negative McCain news items as I’m not a fan, but then, like all the other Arizona news that makes it nationally, I started to feel bad for my state and the thousands of good willed people who live here and must tolerate the Brewer finger pointing, the McCain “build the dang fence,” the passage of permissable gun laws allowing guns in bars and churches, show me your paper laws, et cetera. It’s been a decade of “party of stupid” moves starting in AZ. So, it is with mixed emotions that I sat fascinated with the national news stories of our Senator being accosted with even more “stupidity” by our residents. No wonder, AZ is the butt of jokes and is looked to as the poster child of reactionary politics, mostly by a few zealots and political demogoguery. See you tomorrow, perhaps, without a local story showing the AZ party of stupid.
thanks for that pic Tony. I’ve been in that inlet so many times my name should be on it. enjoyed the flashback.
eprof2 and jace: “Where’s the FENCE!?” said the old fat man to McCain. “It’s here”, said McCain as he pointed to his map on an easel. “That’s a FENCE!?” said Fat Man.
McCain said, “No, it’s a banana. We’re putting a banana along the border.” What a card, that John McCain. And…an asshole first class. Then he told Fat Man to STFU and leave.
And I saw it on Nightly News. But he didn’t really say the F word.
Daytona Beach. We took our youngest daughter there for spring break when she was a high school sophomore. A kid fell to his death from the Adam’s Mark beachfront hotel. So sad. On the fun side, we had great mahi mahi sandwiches at The Ocean Deck bar / restaurant. It was also the coldest end-of-March weather in decades. That was the end of my Daytona experiences forever. Car-razy people drive on the beach. Yes they do.
Young Crawford……..
This J-Peg picture format rocks .
Don’t fool with it.
Young Crawford……..
I when to Andrew Sullivan for years, just because of :
” The View From Your Widow”.
Choke
Tony, thanks for the pic mate. Great to see your neck of the woods, or in this case, towers.
Reminds me of the Gold Coast in Qld. Acres of High Rise buildings. Here at Narooma, the tallest building is 3 floors.
Here is a shot taken 180 degrees reverse from the original shot at Bill. And yeah, that is a golf course you see. We are right in the middle of the Narooma Golf Course, probably one of the most picturesque in Oz. The 18 holes follows a rocky coastline. If you google it you will see literally thousands of pix online of this course.
Bob, agreed about the jpg function.
Love to see pix of everyone else’s little patch of heaven.
BW -
Well Alright -
One of my favorite places…Cleveland’s Jacobs Field, now called Progressive Field. I took this on Opening Day, 2000.
“This guy is…white?” We all assumed Stevie Winwood was African-American. Every cover band did “I’m a Man”.
eProf2… don’t be disheartened… many of us live in embarrassing states, nationally-speaking. Things will eventually get better for thinking people in these locales.
MadMustard -
Is part of an old Southern Family .
Dex -
Never saw that version ever . The best one yet.
Eprof,
Your 8:51PM says it all. Good on you.
jace
Dex -
One more Windwood :
C’Bob… I always prided myself on being a South-westerner… You know… The pragmatic, no nonsense type. But in the end our geography has failed us. The Southern dandies have filled our heads with all those potent elixirs and such… Now we will follow most any fancy-fellow with powerful potions. Just like the native-people we have all been subjugated by these frauds.
Just watching Maddow regarding sequester.
Can only conclude that the difference between the parties is that Democrats don’t have all the answers, and Republicans don’t have any of the answers.
We may be in for a bit of a rough patch.
Please forgive my language. FUCKING IDIOTS!
Dex -
Is Ginger Baker dead ?
Mad -
Good to see you old sage.
Heavy wet freezing hail just came in, with lighting.
ICE STORM
More lighting, it’s 37F at the surface. Look out kids , the ice is really coming .
CBob, all time fav album in 69. Howdja guess?
Dex, good pic mate and thanks for the share.
Not being A Murrican, I have no idea as to why this is significant. Can you let me know what is going on and why you really enjoyed the moment?
So EProf, are you saying that your state has everything about party of stupid from “A” to “Z”.