Our Anthem

As probably one of the most talked about events for Friday, April 28, 2006, I would like to add Xpinionated's two cents concerning a spanish version of the Star Spangled Banner, the U.S. National Anthem.

First and foremost, I want to say that I immediately had a mental backlash when I saw the poll on cnn. I assumed that this was being done by a hispanic person living in the U.S. However, from the article I read on ajc.com, the song was actually produced by this British dude....to honor America's immigrants. Since when do foreign folks rewrite domestic songs? Does that even make sense?

Secondly, this fiasco has forced to me to publicly (as public as a little read blog can be anyway) admit to agreeing with George Bush. He said something that many Americans feel and is somewhat hard to argue against. He said he's against our national anthem being sung in Spanish. He feels that anyone living here should sing the song in English. Furthermore, he feels anyone living here should learn English. I agree. I'm not saying immigrants need to abandon their culture or language. I'm simply saying that trying to form your own country within a country is . . .well . . it's rude!

Lastly, how often does an illegal immigrant sing the national anthem? Often enough for them to have a spanish version? Hell, Americans don't even sing all that often outside of sporting events. And even then half of the time it's mumbled along with the famous person singing it over the PA. This whole thing almost irks me more than the make illegals legal thing.

Speaking of that, my stand on the illegals thing is that I'm pretty sure I support some kind of immigration reform that allows for immigrants to obtain entry into this country at a quicker pace. The time it takes to get into the U.S. is often an excuse I hear for why so many choose to enter illegally. I'm also in support of providing tax money footed services to TAXPAYERS. If you're not paying taxes because technically, you're not even supposed to be in the country, then no services for you. I understand that some of our tax money will go to help people that aren't paying taxes, but as long as they are U.S. citizens, I can handle that. I'm not in support of some big wall. That's just kinda stupid. This ain't China....As far as the economic boycott planned for Monday, I just want to understand. You're going to skip work to emphasize how hard working you are?

I personally have decided to not celebrate Cinco De Mayo. Don't get me wrong, I'm probably gonna get a bit toasty. But it will toasty powered by good ol' budweiser, or red stripe, or Stella Artois, or Long Island Ice Tea, or Rum and coke, or Paul Masson Brandy, or Killians Irish Red, or. . . . . but definitely not by Margarita, Tequila, Corona, Don Pablo. .. . . And definitely no Nachos, or quesadillas

Completely off

Have you ever had a completely off day? Wake up late, traffic on the commute, nose full of phegmatic material that apparently has an undying source, scratchy, itchy dry eyes, unrelenting weariness...and utter boredom comprise my off day.

So I finally caught up a little bit and got a mp3 player. Now the hard part of determing which songs are truly my favorite. IN my enthusiasm I just threw entire albums on it but now I'll have to go back and clean that up a bit so only favorites are playing at any given time.

I really don't have much to say right now.          

Damn Video Games

Eight-year old steals teacher's minivan, drives home safely

That's what sibling-blog BloggingBaby asked after posting about an eight-year boy who stole, then drove, his teacher's Dodge Caravan back to his home. According to the Modesto police who eventually 'lectured' the tiny van-jacker, the boy, who is not named, finagled the teacher's keys from her purse and adjusted the van's steering wheel and seats to accommodate his less than four-foot height for the impromptu joyride. The police are even unsure what route he took in his drive. There was no visual damage to the minivan nor missing items.

The boy is currently suspended from school and is probably home right now playing Grand Theft Auto.

Ever Noticed

Widow, 84, Wins Record $10M Slot Jackpot

Have you ever noticed how many elderly folks win lottos and jackpots? Is that a rule?

Playoff Time

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Or second, NFL playoffs are pretty damn exciting as well!

We finished pretty strong, 5 straight victories...our longest winning streak of the year. Longest winning streak for two years actually. We play Phoenix Sunday at 3:30.

A friend of mine was saying how bad we needed to win game one. I don't think we need to win game one and I'll tell you why. Winning game one as an underdog accomplishes several things: sets the tone, builds confidence, and lastly it can wake a sleeping giant. All of these things can be done by winning, say a game two and then heading back to your home court to play. Now, I'm not saying we should just throw game one by any means. I'm simply saying I think a bit too much emphasis is placed on game one.

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for their playoff birth! I certainly missed you last year. Let's shock the world!

Charley Rosen Awards

I've recently become a fan of Charley Rosen on foxsports.com. Check this tidbit:

the NBA should follow the NCAA's lead and have the Nix and the Eastern Conference's eighth seed play a qualifying game to gain admittance into the playoffs.

The Final Thrust

Three games to go. Three games from the coveted 6th spot.

But hold on just a second, the Lake Show, although not a headliner this year, has played reasonably well against the Suns this season even if they were all L's in the end; two out of three games anyway. Down 8 going into the third the first matchup in November and down just one last week does not sound as bad as the 0'fer for the head to heads would imply. No Amare Stoudemire sounds is an arguable advantage for the Lakers. At the same time he hasn't played all season so it's not like the Suns are learning to play without the cat. And with the game Sunday having much more meaning for the Lakers than the Suns I can see a Laker victory there giving a nice pick me up heading into the real season.

Alas, I speak to quick sometimes. After all, there is still a possibility that the Lakers and I could be quitting that which we love come early next Thursday morning. I've promised my spouse that I would quit smoking at the end of the Lakers season this year. So, yeah, I have a vested interest. But that's neither here nor there, it's possible with a three game losing streak that we finish tenth. Tenth, my friends is not a coveted spot. Nowhere near great lottery position and not in the playoffs is kinda like a roundball limbo, like being on a date with a virgin only to find out she's a lesbian.

All this is to say that we need the final three games. So let's play a little Good Thing/Bad Thing

• Good thing => In our last five games, the home team has been victorious. We are at home for the rest of the season.

• Bad thing => Our longest win streak this year I believe has been four. The third game would have to be the fatal fifth if we are to win out.

---

• Good thing => Say we win out, and say Phoenix's defense continues to be mediocre at best. Suddenly we have a very interesting seven game series on our hands.

• Bad thing => We've lost to the Suns seven straight times....

Okay, I don't like this good thing bad thing thing so let's be out like Yao. . . . .

Correction and Apology

I would like to extend an apology to Dijana Ahmetovic. I mistakenly attributed the immigration opinion from ajc.com to this person. I sincerely apologize for this and for any inconvenience it may have caused you. The post has been corrected.

My vote has been cast

In 2008, I will be voting for 'They'. Yes, I know it's a bit premature to have made a decision without knowing their principles or agendas. But for as long as I can remember, 'They' have known what's best. 'They' are the next party to join the political fray, perhaps under the Third Party ticket. That's what 'They' are saying right now.

'They' say nothing can be worse than Bush's regime has been. 'They' have the answer, advice, and good ol' confidences of most everyone. I mean, how many times have you heard someone say 'They say that's good for you.' Or even going over the heads of those in the medical profession, 'The doctor says I should lose weight but they say eating cheerios lowers cholesterol.'

In fact, if 'They' say it, it becomes truth almost regardless of the hard circumstances. Seriously, the experience 'They' have is just that powerful!!! Politics? 'They' say 'they' don't have weapons of mass destruction, said Bush. Lo and behold, 'They' didn't!!! Social Settings? 'They' say peeling the label off a beer bottle is a sign of sexual frustration. Ding Ding Ding, correctamundo. If you're busy peeling labels, chances are you're not chasing the opposite sex (or same sex if that's your thing cowboy/girl). Therefore, you are sexually frustrated. Honestly, is there anything 'They' don't know?!?!?!

So, join me, and vote 'THEY' in 2008!!

The Head Tingler

Eating pineapple chunks makes my head tingle. I haven't decided if it's tingling in a good way but it's not bad enough to make me stop eating the pineapple.

My job will officially be stolen August 31 by outsourcing. Maybe it's for the best, a career change perhaps? Do strippers get outsourced???

Magdeline has new shoes. You may remember me mentioning the final participants for Magdeline's Smell my feet contest (a contest I just made up 4 months after it began). Well, the initial winner was the wheel in the bottom right corner. Then, I came across the eventual champion, the Forte F15 Miami. They arrived almost two weeks ago and were installed this past Friday. Needless to say, Magdeline is lookin' as good as a pork barbecue sandwich the day after giving up Islam. . . (just an analogy people, not an opinion on Islam. In fact, the words, ideas, and contents of this post are not necessarily opinions of the author...unless otherwise stated as an opinion of the author, or understood as an opinion of the author).

See the winner! And see a bigger version here.

Immigration Op-ed

Students sound off about illegal immigration | ajc.com

This is an immmigrant country

I was not in support of (Ga.) Senate Bill 529 because my family is an immigrant family to this wonderful land. Fortunately my family is legal, but there are many unfortunate ones out there.

We came to this land for one reason - to find freedom and find our dream. Dreams to live in a house, drive a nice car and for children to be in school learning. Now, after the legislation was passed, those dream have been crushed into pieces.

This is called an immigrant country; there's no right to drive them back to their homeland country.

Imagine ourselves back when Europeans migrated to the New World. They were illegal. Did the Native Americans propose a law to drive them out? No. They opened their hands and welcomed then. But afterward, the immigrants repaid them by taking over their land.

I think if the Native Americans didn't say anything when the first illegal immigrants came, then today's illegal immigrants should be fine. They play a big role in our economic society.

Do you think this person who appears to be pro illegal immigration realizes how much they played into anti- illegal immigration arguments with the line But afterward, the immigrants repaid them by taking over their land.?