The Tea Party Challenge

I have been reflecting on the Governor of Arizona's policy regarding poor folks needing transplants.  And it occurred to me, these folks that support this so called Tea Party movement should be put to the test.  When my generation opposed the Viet Nam war many of us burned our draft cards.  So Tea Baggers, I challenge you to burn your Medi-Care cards.  I challenge you to return your Social Security Income.  If you do not believe in a socialist government, do not take advantage of those socialist benefits.  Do not send your children to public universities, of course, that may be the case as they probably don't qualify.  In fact, don't rely on the police force to protect you from crime.  Don't call the fire department.  Don't drive on the interstate highways unless they are private toll roads.  I could go on but the fact of the matter each of us likes our own socialist benefits so I doubt a single tea bagger will cease using any of the government benefits they are entitled to use.

RAIN OF TEARS

Years ago, mid-90's I think, I woke one night unable to sleep so I got up and turned the TV to a Tom Snyder show.  Tom was interviewing this author, Victor Villasenor, and I was fascinated with the story.  Mr. Villasenor had written a book based on his family's history.  He had received an advance from a publisher who was now insisting that the book be remade as fiction as the stories were too unbelievable to be called fact.  The author insisted that he couldn't do that was it was his family's story and the publisher said because of the advance, it was to be a novel.  Mr. Villasenor bought back his book by repaying the advance and found a small publisher, University of Houston Press.

I few weeks later I found the book, Rain of Gold, in a bookstore.  The copy I picked up was signed by Victor Villasenor so I bought it.  I started to read it and my mother came over to watch her grandchildren.  She started reading the book and "borrowed" it from me.  She couldn't put it down.  My mother was thrilled with the story of the two families.  She had followed the crops herself and she knew what it was to work picking fruit. Victor's father had gone to Montana where my mother's family was from. So when my mom finished the book, she looked up Victor's telephone number and called him.  She was thrilled that he talked with her.

At this point, I had lost track of the book.  I had a receptionist that had time on her hands between telephone calls and client appointments so I would recommend books for her to read.  One of those books was Rain of Gold.  This year, my former receptionist graduated from college.  I sent her a note via Facebook congratulating her on her achievement and she reminded me about recommending Rain of Gold.  I still had not read it some 15 years later.  I bought the book again and read it.  I don't know if I was ready for it 15 years ago, now it touched me in a way few books do.  Perhaps because I have a Mexican girlfriend or that my mother has died.  I don't know.  But at this point, I would call the book a Rain of Tears.  You can find reviews of the book elsewhere.  This is not a review.  This is only my interactions with this story.  Victor has several websites and he continues to write and speak about his family.  I would have loved to have met his grandmothers in person.  I feel like I have met them through his writing.  So thank you Victor, Yadira, Tom Snyder and my mom for inspiring me to read Rain of Gold.

Nueva Cancion

One of my favorite songs is "Gracias a la vida" written by Chilean Violeta Parra, who was a part of the nueva cancion movement that arose in the late 60's.  Many of the artist who participated in this movement were persecuted by the right wing governments so prevalent in South America at that time.  I first heard the song and about the movement when I was working in Beverly Hills.  I had a little radio on my desk and every morning I would listen to KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.  It was appropriately named as it featured all kinds of music.  I was exposed to much of the so called World Music that was in vogue at that time.  Gracias a la vida became Mercedes Sosa's song.  This short woman from Argentina could control huge crowds with the power of her voice and no government dared attack her.  Tonight, Lila Downs is performing in San Diego and I looked up her web site.  She often performed with Mercedes Sosa.  I found that Sra. Sosa died last year.  I never saw a report in the US news.  This woman was the voice of Argentina.  They had three days of mourning ordered by the President of Argentina.  What a difference a few years make.  Thirty years ago the Argentinian government wanted to kill her and when she finally died the government celebrated her.

Santa Ana Winds

The Santa Ana winds are still blowing.  We had a day off with a rain storm.  But, as soon as the clouds were spent the Santa Ana cranked up again.  The Santa Ana is from hell.  All of the devilish dirt from the desert blows onto the coast.  The cactus pollens stimulate the body's defense system resulting in a full allergic attack.  The positive ions twist the mind and cause a malaise that can't be cured.  Raymond Chandler described it best. "It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen."  And anything does happen.  New Yorkers invite bodily harm by telling Californians that it is so beeyouteeful when you can't even see because the eyes are swollen shut from scratching them.  Oh yeah, it does appear to be clear and if you are so insensitive as to say its beeyouteeful to a Californian you might not experience the full effect of a Santa Ana.

And if the body going to hell isn't enough, one spark, one little ole cigarette butt, one backfire of a jalopy will result in more land burning than one can imagine.  There isn't enough firefighters in the west to put out all the fires that get going during a Santa Ana.  I don't know how far north these winds go and south?  According to the weather reports there is nothing south of the border.  No fires, no weather, nothing but a void.  So the last time the Santa Ana fanned the flames of a firestorm it covered a good portion of San Diego County with other fires to the north.  And as I have noted the fires, unlike humans, stopped right at the border.  Maybe there is a pleasure sitting on the hillside of Mexico watching Gringoland roast.  I am surprised the Republicans didn't promise to put a stop to it.  Perhaps they also believe in a weather free market and if global warming or Santa Anas want to bedevil us its God's will.  The good folks in Santa Ana, California tried to give an alternate explanation as to why we call these winds Santa Anas, however, the consensus is the winds are named Santa Ana for the mountain passes in the Santa Ana mountains to the east of Santa Ana the city, and Santa Ana the saint is powerless to stop this defamation of her name.  So even with work to do, I can't think.  My skin is crawling and I am thinking that Santa Ana days should be holidays, call everything off so we can chill.

Day of the Dead or All Soul's Day

This is the day to remember those who have died.  Since death is universal, remembering the dead is also universal.  I suspect the Mexican day of the dead preceded Catholicism in Mexico.  One of the motivations for Christians to remember the dead was to do things that would speed along the purgatory process and help those who passed get on to heaven.  At the Reformation, the reformed Christians dropped the celebration of All Soul's Day because they didn't believe in purgatory.  Well there are other reasons to remember those who died.  Since today is also election day in the United States I thought I would share a story the celebrates both voting and those who have died.

My mother was a staunch Republican.  Not the kind of Republicans we have today.  But the old fashioned Lincoln Republican which the current crop is trying to drive out of the party.  She voted for Eisenhower and Nixon.  My father was a Southern Democrat.  The kind that doesn't much exist anymore.  Fiscally conservative yet pro-working class.  My father always said the Republicans were the party of the banks and elite.  Only the Democrats represented the working man.  Well all that has changed.  As the California ballot got more and more complex with propositions, my mother would have me fill out her sample ballot so she had a guideline to vote.  So in her old age she started voting for liberals and liberal causes.  I like the idea that I got to double my vote and perhaps that would make a difference.  My mother doesn't vote anymore, at least not here. But I will never forget helping her vote.  So on this election day and Day of the Dead, I remember my mother and I remember voting for her.

Drugs

In the year 2000, 435,000 people died from a certain drug.  There is another drug that people use that caused no deaths, that is ZERO deaths that year.  Both of these drugs are ingested in the same way.  One drug raises millions of dollars for the government and the other drug the government spends millions of dollars to stop its use.  Given this information, which do you think is the legal drug and which one is banned?  Well, given the logic of governments, the one that caused 435,000 deaths in a single year is legal.  The drug that caused no deaths is illegal.  So what is this?  One is tobacco and the other is marijuana.  Even though tobacco killed more people than any other cause of death in 2000 it is legal.  Marijuana is illegal even though not a single person died from using it in 2000.

At this point if you were to assume that I am voting for Proposition 19 you would be correct.  I do not advocate the use of either of these drugs.  If you are curious as to what drugs I use myself, I am a caffeine addict and I occasionally take aspirin.  However, if you wish to use marijuana, it's not my business and neither should it be the business of any government entity

eMail to BlueQ

I can't find any Get Real Mint Soap.  Everyone is out.  Apparently you guys quit making it.  If it were a lousy product everyone would still have a lifetime supply of the soap in inventory.  But no, this stuff was good.  Everyone sold what they had and you can't find it anywhere.  This soap isn't like the crummy stuff sold in grocery stores full of chemicals and crud, no this soap cleaned the body and made you feel good.  So as soon as I am totally addicted to use this soap, its gone.  You can't do this.  You have an obligation to keep the world clean.  Say it isn't so and you are going to flood us with bars of this stuff.  I am tired of arguing, Yeah, I know, I am an attorney and that is what I do.  But I am tired and I want to go have a hot shower and scrub the dead skin off with your soap!


 ***
Response:

"Hi Timothy,

I am sorry to say but that item has been discontinued and we don’t have any left to sell.    Sigh.....after many successful years, some of our products come to their inevitable end. And not because we don't love them and hold them dear. We would love to keep everything for everyone forever. But sometimes (sob) we just have to (sob) let them go.

Nichole

Your Pal at Blue Q"

Mario Lanza

When I was a kid my mother had this recording of THE STUDENT PRINCE featuring Mario Lanza as the prince.  The quality of his voice was unlike anything I had ever heard.  Years later, I have not heard a voice to compare to his.  I have listened to arias sung by both Pavarotti and Lanza and to my taste, Lanza had the better voice.  I think one could argue Pavarotti had better musicianship, but for pure God given voice, there is nothing like Lanza.  Now those who heard Caruso live said he had the voice.  I have heard Caruso only in recordings that are primitive to say the least and I cannot make a fair comparison.  One can hear hints of the power and quality of Caruso but it is not enough. 

The Student Prince was composed by Sigmund Romberg and his melodies are the kind that stick in your head as you leave the show.  The Student Prince was made into a movie which is hard to find now.  Lanza was to star in the film and he recorded the songs.  But he had a fight with the director and Lanza was replaced by another actor who was dubbed by Lanza for the songs.  It is unfortunate that Lanza was not allowed to complete the film.  He made a few other movies and while most are not great films, it is a wonderful experience to hear the voice of Lanza.  When I was in high school I did a tour of Europe and one of our stops was Heidelberg and I could only hope to see the linden trees with fragrant breeze.  Incidentally, the song "Summertime in Heidelberg" was written for the movie and was not in the original Broadway production.  All of the lyrics of the Broadway show were written by Dorothy Donnelly.  There is a musical bio-pick about Sigmund Romberg called "Deep in my Heart" which is also the title of one of the songs from the Student Prince.  You won't learn much about Romberg in that movie except to hear many excerpts from his music.
 

Ketchup Update

Since I posted my Ketchup blog, I tried out the Hunt's Ketchup with cane sugar.  It certainly tastes good and I am wondering what would happen if I did a blind taste test with various ketchups.  I wonder if I could pick out the high fructose corn syrup ketchups from the cane sugar ketchups?  I certainly know there is a serious health problem with HFSC and I avoid it like any other poison.  I have heard there is a real taste difference between cane sugar and HFSC.  The Mexican Coca-cola is made with cane sugar and it taste like real Coke and much better than the US Coke make with HFSC. 

CANE SUGAR KETCHUP

Everyday you see more and more articles on the dangers of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  I noticed the other day at Von's Grocery Store a bottle of Heinz Ketchup that had across the label "Simply Heinz".  I picked up the bottle and read the ingredients.  It had plain old sugar, instead of HFCS.  I had expected that this would be the year we see HFCS banned like Trans-Fat.  Instead of a ban, the chemical industry is trying to change the name of HFCS to "corn sugar".  For more information about the health effects of HFCS see this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM.  The science on HFCS is shows that it is bad and a reasonable person should avoid it.  I also noticed the Hunt's Ketchup which boldly had on its label "NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP".  Heinz is still putting HFCS in its regular ketchup.  As for Del Monte, it's not on the shelf so I don't know what is in it.  When I was a kid, we used Del Monte Catsup.  When President Reagan decided ketchup was a vegetable, only ketchup counted, catsup was out.  Many of the companies scrambled to change the name from catsup to ketchup though the product was the same.  I don't know what happened to Del Monte Catsup.  I have seen it in Mexico but not in San Diego.

Police State

I am not sure how or why we got here but we are now living in a police state. The freedoms that so many have died for have been surrendered or usurped by those who detest our Constitution. I have traveled on American highways my entire life. I have always had the expectation as long as I was obeying the traffic laws I could freely travel on the highways without harassment from authorities. Last night, I was riding along with a friend traveling from El Centro, California to San Diego, California. While climbing up the grade on Interstate 8 entering San Diego County, we were tailgated and then pulled over by Border Patrol agents. The "officer" who approached the driver's window had on a t-shirt and was not in uniform. He asked us for ID. I asked what was his probable cause for pulling us over. He said "I am a federal agent, I don't need probable cause." I was stunned. That is not what I learned in law school. Since, the alleged officer had a gun I decided to not assert my rights as an American to freely travel within my home state. Apparently, the license plate of my friend's car did not come up on the DMV records the federal agents accessed. However, the state law is not any business of federal agents, so this made no sense. So in sum, we were lawfully traveling on the Interstate highway within the borders of the United States. We were not crossing into the United States. There was absolutely no reason we should have attracted any attention by the Border Patrol. Yet, we were stopped (while going uphill no less) and harassed without any color of law whatsoever, because as the "agent" said "I am a federal agent, I don't need probable cause." I want my country back!

Camera

I purchased a digital SLR after much consideration and delay. I had used film for all my life and a few years ago I bought a digital point&shoot. I liked the freedom from film quite frankly. So moving up to a full camera with digital capability has been fun. I still have to get over my idea of "wasting" film. Over the years, I have spent a lot of money on film, processing and printing. Often that would be all the pictures on the roll good and bad. The pleasure of digital is being able to pick and choose what gets printed and correcting a poor picture by cropping, recoloring or changing the shading. The picture I have here is exactly as I took it. No digital retouching was done. I am amazed at the color resolution of the photo and it reminds me of Kodachrome. Of course, I took the photo during twilight so I have that magical light. The picture is of the fountain in Little Italy in San Diego that honors those of Italian descent that died for the US in World War II including John Basilone.

Bicentennial

This month is California's bicentennial of freedom from European colonial power. I have been surprised that there has been nothing in the news about this. You would think Californians would be celebrating across the state. So here is a little background. On July 4, 1776, nothing happened that affected California that day. California was a part of New Spain and as a consequence, what the British did in their colonies didn't matter. However, the spark of freedom caught on and on September 16, 1810 Father Miguel Hildago made his famous cry of Dolores calling for Mexican independence from Spain. California was apart of this new Mexican country and this day September 16 is the date to celebrate California's freedom. However, it took many years and battles to secure independence from Spain and when it was finally done, Alta California was a territory of this new country, Mexico. Of course, soon after Mexican independence California was annexed by the United States. However, we cannot forget our heritage because we are part of the United States of America.

The Border

Here is the solution to the border "problem". First of all, as President Reagan said "Tear down that wall!" Walls are anathema to a free people. Second, stop the silliness at the border crossing. It does no real good. It is a waste of money. Here is the solution. Instead of all the delay at the border have two basic entry lines: Those who are legal and those who need papers to be legal. Those who are legal face a brief or random check, those who need to be legal go to an office and either get tourist papers or work papers. Each of these documents have a fee. For example charge $1200 for an annual work permit. By doing this, we get rid of all undocumented workers. We kill the coyote business and we treat migrant labor with dignity.

You must realize that the only function the fence has today is to keep Mexicans in the United States not out. If you haven't noticed, there is no problem finding illegal aliens in the United States. All you have to do is go to a Home Depot in the morning and you will see plenty of illegals willing and ready to work. Why can't we face facts and just give them a work permit? Most of them have no wish to become US citizens. Most of them like their homeland and plan on returning as soon as the money is made. But because of the fence, they can't go home.