Birthright Citizenship II

OK, so Brian beat me to the punch with this link which pretty says what I was going to say.
There was also another article from the L.A. Times from 2004/5, that highlighted the same thing the Turkish preggars are doing in the link above, but in that case it was Chinese and Korean preggars. Can't find the damn link now. Sorry.

As the article explained, admittance to a higher education in those countries is very competitive. American citizenship allows the student easier access to already easier-to-enroll-in American universities without the bullshit and limitations of the student visa process.
With the Asian preggars, the demographic was highly educated/upper-stratus babes with the intent of providing their child with one more additional arrow to add to their quiver of advantages. So, these are upper-crust, motivated and professional minded potential United States Citizens.

At a time when we are bitching and moaning about millions of under-educated, under-civilized third-world lettuce pickers rushing our borders and gobbling up services, I think a few thousand potential mathematicians, scientists or engineers who are familiar with indoor plumbing would be welcome, don't you?

Not that I can't think of good reasons to change it. Among them:

• American Universities receive federal funding, supposedly for the benefit of American students. That would be... students who truly are American in fact and not merely in law.
  Every seat a foreigner occupies is an admission spot denied to an American, who's taxes support/provide for that seat.
  Indirectly, I see it as an injustice to some individuals who may never know the real reason why they didn't receive the opportunity.
• American citizenship should be an identity held close your heart, not a commodity for trade. Birthright citizenship as practiced by these likens citizenship to a Costco card whose primary purpose is to enable the holder easier access to bigger carts of shit. I know. I have an old-fashioned idea of what being an American means. It may not pass muster with the erudite, but it is the way I was raised by a father who knew the difference and I see no good reason to re-educate myself.
  

It is a loophole.
I do not believe it is what The People intended when the 14th Amendment was ratified.
That said, is it really worth the political struggle, the debate, and the emotional energy required to sustain the movement to change it? I think not.

Tranny Gear

For the man who is ashamed of his masculinity.
See? First we let the gays get married and soon all hell breaks loose.

The Expendables

Combine all the action stars from 1980's, add a of couple professional athletes (the gladiator kind), toss in one solid acting talent, mix in lots of gasoline and gun powder, and then beat the plot into irrelevancy and you have The Expendables: a balls-out, head-banging, slice-and-dice action flick that is as over-the-top as it is in-your-face.

Stallone directs this one, where he combines various elements of different 80's movies. Every thing that happens here you've seen before, just not in this order. Surprisingly, it kinda works, with all the bits and pieces fitting together into a whole. Kinda like a mosaic.

Stallone leads a group of mercenaries who are no good at anything else, and all have their issues dealing with real life relationships. The action starts early, like in the opening scene, and meat, blood and bone never stop flying. (Imagine the story-ending whizbangboom of Rambo (the last one) but it takes up the whole movie.)

I did mention that there was one real acting talent,didn't I?
That would be Mickey Rourke. He plays a burned out mercenary who still hangs out with his old buddies, unable to complete the transition from the world he no longer wants to the world he cannot fit into.
As he says: "I don't want to die for a woman. I want to die laying next to one."
He's philosophical and wise. Tearfully, with a measure of forced detachment, he recalls the day in Bosnia when he lost his soul. I'm convinced that Rourke wrote this scene himself. He's the only actor in this whole display capable of performing it, and it is out of sync with the rest of crew. Rourke takes his character, a character that probably only has 15 minutes of total screen time, if that, and turns him into the one we understand and empathise with the most.
Great job by Rourke. But I have always thought that he was a better talent than the sum of his career, which seems to be on an upswing. Good for him.

Overall:
I don't know. I want more theater than this one brought to the screen. Not that I was expecting all that much in the first place, but after the last two installments of 'Rambo' and 'Rocky' I think I'm justified in expecting just a bit more from a Stallone film.
Maybe it's just me getting a little long in the tooth.
The Under 25 set will love it. Maybe even consider it a great movie.
Unfortunately though, I haven't been 25 in a very long time.
But if you do see it, go to the big screen. All that exploding gasoline is just wasted watching it home.

Birthright Citizenship I

There's been some talk, and a few politicians jumping on the bandwagon, concerning the issue of Birthright Citizenship and the concept of anchor babies.

The problem, if it is one,*(see edit,below) comes mostly from two sources. First, there is the obvious issue of children born to illegal aliens. The second, mostly unnoticed, is the trend among Asians, mostly Chinese and Korean, vacationers who time their trips to coincide with birthing their children in the United States.
These Asian babies then return to their parent's homeland to grow up, with the intent of using their American status to gain college admission later on.

The argument has been made that the original intent of the 14th Amendment was to clear up the status of former slaves. That may be. But, ever since it's ratification, it has been understood to apply to anybody born within our borders and jurisdictions.
To change what has always been understood by the people with a Supreme Court challenge is akin to what the left has done to property rights in Kelo, and most recently, is still attempting to do to the right to keep and bear arms.
You can't have it both ways, folks. Sorry.

* I should have stated this differently to read that I recognize that some folks see a problem and not to imply that I am saying that there is a problem.

Kickin It Up

Robert brought up the topic of hot sauce last week. Something along the line of having a favorite.
I remember not much liking hot sauce while growing up. Most of my friends were of Mexican decent. Not particularly remarkable as I did grow up in a blue-collar burb, less than 1/4 mile from what was officially the Los Angeles city line. Hot sauce was more of a Mexican thing to me. And seemingly, always synonymous with Tabasco: Something that an older Mexican would pull out of their coat pocket or purse whenever taking a meal away from home.

And it wouldn't surprise me if there were more small bottles of Tabasco languishing in purses and coat pockets (not to mention tool boxes, high school lockers, and automotive 'glove' compartments) than were sitting on dining room tables.

Why? Because back then hot sauce wasn't something you found next to the salt and pepper shakers of any coffee shop or diner. An ethnic condiment, some might even call it a staple, that hadn't (yet) gone mainstream.

My, how things have changed. Today, I see Tabasco and Cholula sauces in even the most 'White' of food establishments, located in mid-America cities that twenty years ago didn't know what a Mexican population was, let alone the pervasive historical and cultural presence that I had grown up with.

It's not a regional or Mexican thing anymore. Instead, it's as mainstream-American as pizza and hot dogs.

I have changed as well, and now confess to having not one, but four different hot sauces in my steady rotation. I have no favorite as each serves it's own specialty, and are not readily interchangeable in usage.

The Mexicans at work turned me on to this one last year. Huichol is probably my most used hot sauce. It's thick and sticks to the palate. Not too much bite, but strong enough of a burn to satisfy your needs while it washes away with a simple drink of water.

It's main draw is it's flavor as opposed to it's fire, with almost none of that vinegar taste most hot sauces are known for.

You can't find it in the supermarket. You gotta go to a Mexican market to find it. Even then, it's gaining in popularity around here.

I use it mostly on tacos, burritos, tamales. Sometimes fried eggs. It's good to blend with canned crab and spread on a cracker, or with shrimp as a cocktail sauce substitute. It's unmatched in its versatility, so I tend to keep a bottle at work or in my car, and at only a buck a bottle, you can afford to spread the supply around.


Cholula is every where you are... almost, and has found it's way not only into Waffle Houses down south but at even at a truck stop in Tuscola, Illinois.

I use it primarily for fried eggs, but it's a solidly tasty all-purpose for everything else,too.

It's a good sauce, but nothing all that special that can't be easily replaced with any one of several similar types that are out there.





I'd say Tabasco is probably the original all-American hot sauce that gained the widest acceptance the earliest. Probably because it's a domestic product with a homegrown fan base.

A really strong vinegary taste that overwhelms the flavor of any other ingredients makes this one mostly a loser for me. All it seems to add to a dish is heat, and little else.

But I do use it fairly regular. It's awesome with canned sardines. And it seems all that vinegar is the only thing that can cut through the overwhelming 'smoke' flavor of canned oysters and kippered herring.




Lastly, I got Sriracha, also known as Rooster Sauce, because nobody knows how to pronounce 'Sriracha', and there is a rooster on the label.

A Thai product with a bright red color commonly found in Chinese and Vietnamese eateries, Sriracha provides good flavor, strong heat, and wide versatility and also serves as a dipping sauce.

I use it at home for shellfish, sardines and ramen or pho noodles. So good with pho, so appropriate in it's compliment, that I can't eat a bowl without it. It's great stuff. And like I said, a strong heat.
Once you take an acceptance it's hard to do without it's flavor. It's that damn good. Use lightly til you know what you're doing because too much is a real punch to the face that will make your make your eyes bleed and your nose run.

Audrey Tautou or Marion Cotillard?

Audry Tautou: French actress. Best known in this country for her portrayal of the title role in 2001's Amelie. A good movie that I've since forgotten.

VS

Marion Cotillard: Another French actress. Known most recently for her role as Dillinger's babe in Public Enemies. A good movie that I still remember.

It's a no brainer. Marion got stuff, ya know? Stuff like those breastages that fill her dress and provide gawk material for the rest of us.

Unless you're into the NAMBLA action, Audry just can't compete.

And speaking of French, neither can hold a candle to this one.

Brain Dead

Just don't know what to write about, and unmotivated to dream something up.

Throw me a clue. Anything but politics.
You ask the question and I'll offer up my best answer.