I'm Back

Once I completed my marathon last year, I can back from Italy to some bad news. My good friend Tony was really sick. He had been fighting cancer since last Spring and though we thought he was in remission, the cancer was quietly and fatally spead into his spine and lungs.

He passed away on Christmas Eve surrounded by his friends and family. That day and the night was a lasting memory that I will not soon forget, and no doubt write about this Christmas time, in honor of the anniversary of his death. I still think of him and smile and sometimes cry. (We miss you Tony. Summer has not been the same without you!)

Since Tony's passing, I jumped deep into a new job, traveling as well as trying to reconnect with my spiritual self in the wake of a bad break up that occured last summer. It has been a slow process, but an enlightening one. And so I come back to my blog, if for no other reason but to share my thoughts, make my two readers smile or ponder and rejoin the converstation.

Thank you for your patience.

You Can Find Me Here

If you are occasionally checking this blog out and looking for something new to read...I have kinda checked out. I am training for my first marathon and mainining a running blog. I will post here as I am moved to but for the most part find me at http://runpaulrun.blogspot.com/ until after December 2006!

SEE PAUL RUN. RUN PAUL RUN.
http://runpaulrun.blogspot.com/

Illegals Immigrants: Stay Out Of Mexico

I came acroos this article on line this morning... I think it speaks volumes and worth reading.

Stepping Over the Line
Don't try sneaking north across Mexico's other border.
by Joseph Contreras
Newsweek

June 5, 2006 issue - Ever since he crossed into Mexico, José Moisés has had nothing but trouble. Now the 30-year-old Honduran mechanic is hunkered down with other young illegal migrants in a rail yard just north of Mexico City, waiting for nightfall to hop a northbound freight. He displays a pale line encircling his finger. He used to have a ring there, he says—until Mexican cops slammed him against a squad car in the southern border state of Chiapas and grabbed it. "They took everything," says Moisés. "Here the Central American has no value."

As tough as the United States can be for workers who slip in from south of the border, Mexico is in a poor position to criticize. The problem goes far beyond the predatory gantlet of thugs and crooked cops facing defenseless transients like Moisés. There's ample precedent in Mexico for just about everything the United States is—or isn't—doing. Calling out the military? Mexicans may hate the new U.S. plan to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops on the border, but five years ago they cheered President Vicente Fox for sending thousands of Mexican soldiers to crack down on their southern frontier. Tougher laws? Hispanic-rights groups are enraged over U.S. efforts to criminalize undocumented aliens—yet since 1974, sneaking into Mexico has been punishable by up to two years in prison. Foot-dragging on amnesty? Fox has spent the past five years urging the United States to upgrade the status of millions of illegals from Mexico. Meanwhile, his own government has given legal status to only 15,000 foreigners without papers.

Some of the worst abuses take place on the coffee plantations of Chiapas state, where some 40,000 Guatemalan field hands endure backbreaking jobs and squalid living conditions to earn roughly $3.50 a day. Some growers even deduct the cost of room and board from that amount. "If you ask them, 'Why are you bringing in Guatemalans to work?' they say, 'You can't depend on Mexicans. They don't work hard; they're irresponsible'," says George Grayson, a political scientist specializing in Mexico at the College of William & Mary. "The truth is, you can pay [the guest workers] a pittance. And if they cause the slightest disturbance, you can send them back to Guatemala."

At least a few Mexicans are balking at the hypocrisy. Late last year their National Human Rights Commission issued a report criticizing Mexico's widespread mistreatment of aliens; the report described sub- human facilities where captured illegals are kept until they can be deported. Several international news agencies ran stories on the publication. But most of Mexico's leading papers ignored it.

With Monica Campbell

QOTW 5.19

If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost.

-Aristotle

Reason Still Lives in the Senate

Today the senate panel advanced a measure that would amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. It was passed in a closed door sesion with other senators and staff present.
Senator Feingold objected to the closed-door policy and walked out of the session. Senate Judiciary chairman Arlen Specter shouted "Good riddance!" as he left. The ammendent bill was passed along party line votes 10:8 and will go to the senate floor in June.

Senator Feingold, who quite obviously understands that such an amendment needs real scrutiny and should be debated in a public forum, issued the following statement:

Today's markup of the constitutional amendment concerning marriage, in a small room off the Senate floor with only a handful of people other than Senators and their staffs present, was an affront to the Constitution. I objected to its consideration in such an inappropriate setting and refused to help make a quorum. I am deeply disappointed that the chairman of the judiciary committee went forward with the markup over my objection. Unfortunately, the majority leader has set a politically motivated schedule for floor consideration of this measure that the chairman felt compelled to follow, even though he says he opposes the amendment.

Constitutional amendments deserve the most careful and deliberate consideration of any matter that comes before the Senate. In addition to hearings and a subcommittee markup, such a measure should be considered by the Judiciary Committee in the light of day, open to the press and the public, with cameras present so that the whole country can see what is done. Open and deliberate debate on such an important matter cannot take place in a setting such as the one chosen by the chairman of the Committee today.

The Constitution of the United States is an historic guarantee of individual freedom. It has served as a beacon of hope, an example to people around the world who yearn to be free and to live their lives without government interference in their most basic human decisions. I took an oath when I joined this body to support and defend the Constitution. I will continue to fight this mean-spirited, divisive, poorly drafted, and misguided amendment when it comes to the Senate floor.

Thank God reason is alive and well in the U.S. Senate.

http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid31112.asp

The Rules for Being Human

I was cleaning out a drawer and came across these rules sent to me by an old friend years ago. I forgot I had them. There is irony here - read for yourself.

YOU WILL RECEIVE A BODY.
You may like it of hate it, but it will be yours for as long as you live. How you take care of it or try to take care of it can make an enormous difference in the quality of your life.

YOU WILL LEARN LESSONS.
You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called Life. Each day, you will be presented with opportunities to learn what you need to know. The lessons presented are often completely different for those you THINK you need.

THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, ONLY LESSONS.
Growth is a process of trail, error and experimentation. You can learn as much from failure as you can success…maybe more.

A LESSON IS REPEATED UNTIL IT IS LEARNED.
A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it (as evidenced by a change in your attitude and ultimately your behavior) then you can go on to the next lesson.

LEARNING LESSONS DOES NOT END.
There is no stage of life that does not contain some lessons. As long as you live there will be something more to learn.

"THERE" IS NO BETTER THEN "HERE".
When you "there" has become a "here," you will simply discover another "there" that will again look better that your "here." Don't be fooled by believing that the unattainable is better than what you have. Happiness is choosing what you have.

OTHERS ARE MERELY MIRRORS OF YOU.
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.

WHAT YOU MAKE OF YOUR LIFE IS UP TO YOU.
You have all the tools and resources you need. What you created with those tools and resources is up to you. Remember that through desire, goal setting and unflagging effort you can have anything you want. Persistence is the key to success.

THE ANSWERS LIE INSIDE YOU.
The solutions to all of life's problems lie within your grasp. All you need to do is ask, look, listen and trust.

YOU WILL FORGET ALL THIS.
Unless you consistently stay focused on the goals you have set for your self, everything you've just read won't mean a thing.

By Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott

Soy Americano!

I went into work today like most Americans did. The powers that be decided to let us go at 1:00 so that we would will not get caught in the boycott parade that was due at 4:00. My office is on Wilshire Blvd, the afternoon protest route.

I left my office and jumped on the Red Line to down town. The march was beginning there and people had been gathering for speeches since morning.

There was an new energy in the air as I rode towards downtown. Latino and Asian families and friends laughing and nodding salutations. No one was a stranger today. It seemed we all shared a connection as we made our way towards City Hall. I imagined going to Times Square at the end of WWII was very similar. This was more than a protest. It was a celebration of who we are.

I got off the train and was greeted by a sea of familar looking faces drapped in red, white and blue. I walked amougst the crowd of white t-shirts and viewed the parade.

I silently struggled to fight back tears that were building within me. I wanted to joyfully cry for the power that I felt and the pureness in their intention. It was a great moment even if I did not completely agree with the cause. I secretly wished that this was happening in Mexico where change needs to occur, and I thanked the creater for allowing me to live in country where this can happen today.

I was never prouder to be a Mexican-American. Soy Americano! Viva the USA!

Related blog:
http://gayperspective.blogspot.com/2006/04/mexicansget-some-cojones.html