Bilingual proficiency and/or multicultural experience is preferred.

a common phrase heard on the minimum qualifications of job openings

as I am within several terms of graduating with my associates degree in networking, I have already started my job search and it is very frustrating to look at the minimum qualifications and find that I am qualified in most areas accept one... I do not speak another language.

this job that I'm referring to is on Lane Community College's web site for part-time information technology technician (lab aide)link
and I only present it as an example, because for right now, they are saying "bilingual proficiency... preferred." Soon, it may change to required.

Daniel and the Cheezer reports

Woodburn Protest Against Matricular Consular Card

both Daniel and The Cheezer report from another gathering today in Woodburn where there is another gathering for illegals to receive their Matricular Consular Card so that they may return to Mexico.
which does not make any sense to me why they would get the cards in the United States to return to Mexico, it would seem like they would have to get the cards while they were in Mexico, to return to Mexico.

be sure to watch for Daniel statements on channels 2, 6, OPB, The Oregonian

for more information and photos, click on the following links.

Daniel's political musings

The Cheezer

protesters were commenting with signs stating "no human being is illegal, we are all immigrants"

that is not the point, it is still a violation of law
another sign read "immigrants pay taxes"

if you're an illegal immigrant, how do you pay taxes? do you have a Social Security number? and since ALL employees have to prove that they have the legal right to work in the United States and the employers have to keep on file the I-9 immigration form, that except for buying goods and services, how do you pay taxes?

Kudos go out to Daniel and The Cheezer for their great reporting

Republican national committee chairman opposed to raising anti-immigrant sentiments

GOP officials urge caution on immigrants.
Washington Post
CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 1 -- Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman urged his party Thursday to oppose rising anti-immigrant sentiments in the debate over border security and illegal immigration, suggesting that the GOP risks being on the wrong side of history and electoral politics alike if it embraces an exclusionary message.would they think that when Spanish is the primary language of the United States?

Appearing before the Republican Governors Association, Mehlman waded into an issue that political analysts say threatens to rip apart the Republican coalition and inflict long-term damage to the party's hopes of expanding its appeal to Latinos and other minorities. [buzzword alert]

"Throughout our history, there's always been Americans who believe that coming to these shores with a right reserved only for them and their ancestors, but not for others."Mehlman said.

With Latinos now the fastest-growing [non-legal]segment of the population, Republicans can ill afford to offend them with immigration policies that are seen as punitive. GOP strategist Mike Murphy, who participated in a panel discussion after Mailman's speech, noted that in California, a politician now can win 70 percent of the white vote and is still lose an election because of the state's growing diversity.
"... SEEN AS PUNITIVE "
Is it punitive to embrace people who came here illegally versus the people that come here legally?
Don't they realize the harm that they are doing to the legal immigrants?

"... as opposed raising anti-immigrant sentiments..." like it or not, we are not doing anybody any good by ignoring this issue. We have already demonstrated to the world that our immigration and federal laws have no meaning instead we embrace people who break the law.

If you are not going to lock the house, then why bother with a key? I would not want to offend the growing number burglars because locking the door interferes with their trade. This is exactly what is happening with homeland security in my opinion.

Illegal immigration has impacted every person in the United States. Jobs are becoming harder to obtain if you do not speak Spanish and if you do your rewarded by the State of Oregon with a 5% bonus.

More companies and educational institutions are requiring their employees to learn Spanish. What message does that send out?

"…Can ill afford to offend them with immigration policies that seem PUNITIVE."
Is it PUNITIVE to the immigrant who went through all the channels to be here legally? If you ask me, it cheapens their efforts and makes their lives tougher. If we turn our backs to illegal immigration, then why have an immigration policy?

"He issued a strong call for tougher enforcement of immigration laws but extolled the contributions of immigrants and denounce those who have sought to close the country to foreigners."
That is not true... we have policies in place for immigrants to come here LEGALLY, however there is a large number that choose not to follow procedure which means they have no respect for the citizens of the United States, the legal immigrants and the laws of this country.
Tell me again why we should embrace that type a diversity?

Finals Week

in preparation for finals week, I now know why they call it dead week. I am beat and burned out.

after next week when I'm done with my last final, I should be able to get back to a regular blogging schedule, so stay tuned :-)

“THE CHRISTMAS CROSS AT PIONEER SQUARE”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 1, 2005
“THE CHRISTMAS CROSS AT PIONEER SQUARE”

Everyone is invited to join us as we begin a new tradition at Pioneer Square, “The Christmas Cross” sponsored by The Portland Area Christian Churches and the Lars Larson Show of radio station 750 KXL. When asked about the display Larson said, “we’re putting the Cross in the Square to remind people of the real reason for the season. Letting local government re-define the ‘Christmas Tree’ as a ‘Holiday Tree’ is an insult not only to Christians everywhere, but to other religions as well. You shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer in order to say ‘Merry Christmas.’”

The Cross will be on display in the Square from the morning of December 19th and available for viewing through Christmas Eve, December 24th 2005. The Lars Larson Show can be heard Monday through Friday from 11am to 2pm in Portland on Newsradio 750 KXL and throughout Oregon, Southwest Washington and parts of Idaho on 17 affiliate stations via the Radio Northwest Network.

Is this the end of Christmas as we know it?

You know the old saying, "give them an inch and they will take a mile"? This is what is happening with Christmas.

I was born in the 50s and all through my childhood within a couple weeks of Christmas the only thing on television was what I considered "boring" Christmas shows. where are the cartoons? The have all been preempted for Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, a Charlie Brown Christmas and how the Grinch stole Christmas. I remember Burl Ives playing a snowman on television and singing "have a happy jolly Christmas".

At the time I considered the shows rather annoying and I would think to myself...
"There will always be Christmas."
"who would ever want to destroy Christmas?"
"it could never happen!"

Right after Thanksgiving, the stores will start decorating for Christmas sales, [that dates me, because now they start right after Halloween] the Salvation Army had their bell ringers in front of the store and everywhere you went, people were wishing you a Merry Christmas.

"BAH HUMBUG" I would think to myself.

Christmas is about family. I lost my family at an early age in my life. "Merry Christmas", "Yea, whatever. go suck an egg", I would think to myself as I politely returned the greeting.

Then I noticed a couple years ago, nobody was wishing me a "Merry Christmas" anymore.

People had stopped decorating for Christmas in their homes and at your place of businesses. One of the prettiest times of the year when the streets were lit up with all the colorful lights and decorations. oh yes, and I always looked forward to the eggnog. [Alcohol free of course]

Suddenly, almost without warning it happened.

The Christmas tree started to become something evil and had to be compromised and called a "holiday tree" so that its presence could be tolerated. Ordinances were springing up within the cities such as Eugene Oregon not allowing the Christmas tree on public property. And forget about decorations.

Like Presidents' Day, Veterans' Day, Labor Day and all the other federally sanctioned days, Christmas which is the time to celebrate the birth of Christ and for families to come together, was actually being threatened with extinction.

Just like Ebenezer Scrooge, Christmas is dying.

Comments such as, " do you think baby Jesus was born under a canopy of Douglas firs?... he was born in the desert,... and probably looked a lot like Osama bin Laden..." says Jack Bogdanski in his blog.

He may be right... but does it really matter?

The spirit of Christmas as we are reminded by the shows that I grew up with, was a spirit of family and helping others. A time of "Joy to the world and peace on earth".

It doesn't matter if you're Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Asian or whatever. It is a holiday to be celebrated by all.

Even if you do not believe in God and are not a Christian, enjoy the extra couple days off and holiday pay that you're receiving and let the people that believe have their day just like you would want to have your day celebrated, whether it be Hanukkah, Ramadan or the summer solstice.

If the celebration of Christmas offends you so much, then go crawl back into your hole and leave the rest of us alone.

Yes, I did not really understand the true meaning of Christmas, and maybe I still do not.

Just like Ebenezer Scrooge having the three ghosts having to show him what Christmas really is, perhaps the holiday tree is really one of the ghost of Christmas future.

Merry Christmas!


[images from Rudolph the red nose reindeer provided by Tv Party and is copyrighted by their respective owners.]

Don’t mess with Christmas!

Boston Herald


Jerry Falwell along with an army of conservative lawyers warned Boston and other cities, "don't mess with Christmas!"


"This is a Christmas tree," Boston Parks Commissioner Toni Pollak insisted about the Nova Scotia spruce that will light on December 1 in the historic Boston Common. "It's definitely a Christmas tree."

Falwell, has put the power of his 24,000 member congregation behind the "friend or foe Christmas campaign," in an effort to lead the conservative legal organization liberty counsel. The group promises to file suit against anyone who spreads what it sees as misinformation about how Christmas can be celebrated in schools and public spaces.

Other crazy things going on...

Westfield, a group of high school students were suspended for distributed candy canes with religious messages. A federal court found the suspensions unconstitutional. Yea!!

Last year, an ACLU lawsuit led to a creche being banished from an elementary school display in South Norwood. a crèche is a representation of the Infant Jesus in the manger, hey I had to look it up.

In Lexington, the Knights of Columbus filed a lawsuit challenging selectmen’s decision to bar them from erecting a creche on the town green, but a federal judge upheld the ban.

“Today, it seems like all religious symbols are being erased,” said Kathleen Hintlian, a Lexington mother of five who used to take her children to visit the creche each year. “I thought it represented hope and peace. And we need that especially in our world today.”

I agree. Although I have never been a really great advocate of Jerry Falwel, for once I will say that I will give him kudos for taking a pro active approach and not letting one of our major traditions in this country die e.g. Christmas.

I never really thought that much about it when I was growing up and we see all those animated kids shows like the Grinch that stole Christmas because I thought that Christmas would always be here.

Never in my wildest dreams, would I think that there would be a group that would actually try to ban Christmas. But they are out there.

Personally, I don't care what label that you put on the tree itself. To me, I will always refer to it as a Christmas tree. It is not a Hanukkah tree, it is not a Muslim tree, it is not a holiday tree, it is a Christmas tree.

For those people who wished not to celebrate Christmas, can go to work on December 24 and 25th for straight pay, while the rest of us stay home and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

We constantly hear that we should celebrate diversity. While I agree with that 100% it must be a two-way street. The beauty about the United States is that we have the freedom to practice whatever religion we wish, and that includes Christianity.

I am not a Christian but I do believe in God and I will defend your right to believe your religion whatever that may be.

NO ONE is asking somebody else to participate against their will in any religion and if a particular religion offends you then all I have to say in response to that is...

GROW UP!!!

we had our car stolen last night

I thought it was pretty ironic as I am putting together an article to blog about money for public safety when there is a knock on the door from Springfield police asking us if we know where our Nissan is.

Apparently, our Nissan decided to take a trip to sweet home without us.

The vehicle was recovered by sweet home police as the perpetrator was in the act of trying to steal another vehicle.

Springfield police said that Nissans are now higher on the theft list and along with Honda's.

having a police officer come to your door and tell you that when your cars is missing is a feeling that is very hard to describe and it makes me even more angry that we do not have officers patrolling the streets as much as we do patrolling the freeways.

Does this mean that I will now support the initiative for public safety? No!

solely because they are not responsible with their money. The county commissioners of rather spend money on the fairgrounds than they would on public safety.

Don't get me wrong, I think there should be in increasing public safety, and I would be glad to support it even on my low income if I felt that they could be trusted to use your money wisely, however when I read in the paper Registerguard in which it seems like they are totally out of touch with what the public's desires and what it can afford.

suggesting a sales tax or a tax on business sales may temporarily raise money for public safety but in my opinion it will have a devastating long-term effect on the local economy. I also believe that once a sales tax becomes established in one county it will not be long before a sales tax will start showing up around the state. I read an article the other day about another city talking about a local sales tax although I cannot remember exactly which city.

As I have said many times before, when it comes to budgeting and money, it is still "right pocket, left pocket, it is all the same pair of pants." there are "unnecessary" projects that can be cut to provide the necessary services. Necessary services and basic services should be the priority of the state's budget. We need public safety, roads, and basic services before we need to worry about funding for the fairgrounds, skateboard parks, ugly looking funnel at bus stations, etc.

well, I'm off to sweet home to retrieve the car.

Happy Thanksgiving

what would Alan Greenspan say

Robin's Commentary

Approximately 5 years ago, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's effort to fight off inflation and preventing "irrational exuberance" of the economy, decided to start raising the interest rates that resulted in a landslide of business closings and large unemployment numbers with Oregon being on the top of that list.
In my own opinion, only catching the feds offguard because they were using the old rules to regulate the economy and not taking into consideration how fast the new global economy works.

Before the fallout, Mr. Greenspan alluded that the increase in interest rates was starting to show a positive effect in the economy. Of course, here on the West Coast, all that we saw was taxes going up, earnings going down, businesses closing and more families becoming a two income household.

Recently, Mr. Greenspan has raised interest rates numerous times and plans to increase them again before he retires while again claiming that the economy is improving.

Tell that to GM and the 30,000 people that will be losing their jobs.

Tell that to the city of Eugene who claims that they did not have enough money to operate public safety and are going to impose new taxes on us to steal the money from us.

Explain to me why my phone bill is 55% taxes and fees.

I'm not an economist (nor do I play one on TV) but I wish somebody could explain to me how increasing the interest rates and make it more expensive for businesses to borrow money to improve their companies and to hire more people is actually positive for the economy.

Leading economists have stated that the government would receive more income if it lowered taxes which would allow people to buy more products which would create more businesses which would create more tax revenue.

Mr. Greenspan I wish you could explain your theory to me so that I may better understand.