11/30/09 12:59 - 37ºF - ID#50414
Illegal Immigrants and Healthcare
Not that some of us didn't suspect it anyway, but it turns out that Joe Wilson was right. Why is Barack Obama breaking this pledge, that he uttered so clearly and so vociferously - who was vigorously defended when an elected politician pointed out he was full of shit?
Of course, this has been studied in great detail. My favorite justification - well, it's not a problem with the bill - it's the employers who are breaking the law by hiring illegals!
Now, I'll start the tape recorder - let the choruses of "RAAAHAHH THERE"S NO BILL SIGNED INTO LAW YET ERAAHHEHHSS" flow.
Permalink: Illegal_Immigrants_and_Healthcare.html
Words: 166
11/25/09 05:43 - 46ºF - ID#50379
Ouch... the left "strikes" again!
It was a suicide. Oh, how the firestorm of media coverage just blew up in their collective faces. Can we stop with this crap someday?
Permalink: Ouch_the_left_quot_strikes_quot_again_.html
Words: 58
11/17/09 01:10 - ID#50331
The Journalist Has No Clothes
(e:heidi) recently said "My favorite birth control method remains lesbianism, which also makes subconscious slip ups less dangerous."
But does that really stop some lesbians on occasion? You know I'd never ask if it wasn't an honest question... this statement made me begin to analyze the psyche of lesbians and how it relates to the thought of intercourse with men.
Sexuality is a natural thing - urges are natural. I think humans, particularly females, are genetically disposed to crave intercourse, since it is what we rely on for the continuance of our species. I wonder how it works when you are a lesbian - is it really possible that lesbians don't get a primal urge to have sex with a man, regardless of how much they may not want to, when they are between the ages of say, 25 - 40? With guys I believe this is different since we have no biological clock to occasionally remind us that it is now or never.
Now is time for a very salacious detail that the likes of the Ho sisters would love to hear, which may shed some additional light on my question. Last year we visited a friend in Albany for a weekend and had a fabulous time, going out to the local bars and yukking it up with old college friends. Of course we were drinking our fair share and at our last stop we ran into some friendly people, one of which was a lesbian that I was chatting up. I caught her at a bad time - she broke up with her girlfriend earlier that day. It didn't stop her from grabbing me and making out with me in the middle of the bar!
So if the question is "have you ever kissed a lesbian," the answer is not only a yes but a fairly emphatic yes. I didn't want to hit on her too much, since I was very aware of the possibility of crazy emotions running through her head. Maybe she just wanted to feel better after a breakup; maybe she was feeling that primal urge I was speculating about. Maybe she hadn't kissed a guy in a while and wanted to feel the supple, passionate and strong masculine kisses of one Joshua Larson for a few minutes!
Maybe I thought about it too much. Later on in the evening, after I had gone back to yukking it with my friends, she left with another lesbian friend and some guy, looking about as lusty as I've ever seen two lesbians with a straight guy. O RLY? Yes rly. I wonder if they were lesbians, or really bisexuals with a heavy, heavy bias for the ladies. Depending on our outlook anyway, I clearly missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Permalink: The_Journalist_Has_No_Clothes.html
Words: 536
11/16/09 04:39 - 43ºF - ID#50324
Tidbit
Permalink: Tidbit.html
Words: 57
11/09/09 11:41 - 53ºF - ID#50261
Jason the Chef
I feel so bad about that journal entry where I compared his picture to a picture of Shaggy!
(If you missed it - - really only I can get away with this)
Permalink: Jason_the_Chef.html
Words: 94
11/05/09 10:34 - 38ºF - ID#50220
La Luna
Permalink: La_Luna.html
Words: 73
11/02/09 03:22 - 51ºF - ID#50201
Minor alteration to A Vincent Picture
I don't recall the last time I drank so much but we hung close with the Brits - we were in fact the last Americans standing and there was no way in hell that I could allow anyone else to have that honor. I am proud to say that we got props on a few occasions during the night from our out of town guests for the Larson sticktoitiveness.
We had a great time and it was a pleasure to get to meet and hang out with (e:rory)'s close friends. Each were great guys who I'd buy a beer (or three) for any day and their respective ladies were really nice gals. The fellas from the UK have friends in the Larson bros. I was pleased with how everything came off with the wedding and it was an honor to have the opportunity to serve as an usher for two wonderful friends.
I have a lot of friends who have wonderful spouses - genuinely fantastic people. However, there was something different about this event that I can't really put into words or express in the way that I'm really feeling about it. I think the best approximation I can come up with is that it is cliche and not always correct to suggest that fate intervenes in people's lives in this way. I've never been convinced of this anyway, at least until this weekend. If you think about the spectacular odds of having a lad from Essex meet a lass from Buffalo in Qatar and having it result in a perfect union of two people who couldn't be more right for each other, it's a bit amazing to consider. It really did bring me joy to actually see this happen in front of my eyes. Today I think about the day that Timika told us that she was moving to Qatar and I can't think of a more consequential decision that any of my friends have ever made.
Permalink: Minor_alteration_to_A_Vincent_Picture.html
Words: 342
09/28/09 02:53 - 56ºF - ID#49877
Keeping Your Modesty
I think that generally this is emblematic of the times we're living in.
Permalink: Keeping_Your_Modesty.html
Words: 102
09/24/09 09:30 - 62ºF - ID#49849
I Take Back What I Said RE: Smartphones
I'm throwing this out there because I distinctly remember (e:matt) being a little defensive when I really laid into smartphones and smartphone users on this journal.
Don't get me wrong - I still feel justified in lampooning people who are WAY too attached to the technology on their person and will continue to do so in this space, but recently some circumstances have lead me to... ok forced me to reconsider this hardline position I've been taking a bit.
My phone recently broke. I've been plotting purchasing a new iPod for a while. The two needs/desires converged and so both (e:jason) and I decided to get iPhones. This summer I negotiated a significant salary increase, which is sort of a magic trick these days, and I've worked my ass off. I haven't taken time off in three years. I needed a reward really badly, and after looking into the new iPhone I totally fell in love with the unit.
I wish I had one of these when I was traveling full time and I CAN'T WAIT until I can get a chance to travel for the company again, at least for part of the time (I have to accept that my role will keep me anchored to the office). You're going to get pictures/video of me, wherever the hell they send me. You're going to get Joshy singing an autotuned break on a T-Pain track posted on Facebook.
I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but I'm way behind on what's possible with phones these days. You have to realize - I've never owned a phone that could take a picture. A lot of this is new to me and finding ways to use my new phone is going to be a learning experience. I am probably going to have a lot of dumb questions but I look forward to it - I can't wait to master this thing. More than anything I just want to get the most I can out of it.
Permalink: I_Take_Back_What_I_Said_RE_Smartphones.html
Words: 340
09/15/09 02:19 - 73ºF - ID#49778
Good Economic News in Buffalo
Awesome. We need more of this. Little by little, brick by brick, this is how you rebuild a dying microeconomy. This is how you employ people. This is how you lure businesses. Operating in Buffalo isn't a privilege - without incentives people would be crazy to (re)locate here. That is, unless you have the wherewithal and resources to locate anywhere you like, flying the altruistic flag high and all. Renovating existing space makes this deal even sweeter.
Permalink: Good_Economic_News_in_Buffalo.html
Words: 106
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In Terms of keeping campagn promises the bottom line is no one does. They run on this platform then once they get in office they instead of doing what they said they would do get all these so called expert advisors and then do what they say would be the thing to do. Barrack is no different then any of the other people who have been president.
Most also have federal/state taxes deducted as well. I would surmise a couple reasons:
1) it is difficult and/or suspicious to claim exempt, especially if you're trying to avoid detection.
2) many do actually pay the taxes they owe on the income they earn...perhaps they are stupid, or perhaps they really are trying to 'do the right thing' and contribute to the society they are living in.
I get to talk to some of these guys once in a while at my job, and mot of them seem more than willing to pay the taxes that they owe from the income that they make (this is of course anecdotal). It is also a requisite of becoming a citizen that you do pay the taxes you owe for a number of years on all income earned while living here.
What I don't quite understand about this argument is that from what I see the problem is that employers are going to be providing more insurance and because they may employ illegals they will also be insured. Am I getting that right? And if so, isn't this a separate problem about getting illegal aliens off payrolls? I mean if you have a problem with a govt funded/run program, then isn't an employer-provided option better? And perhaps this minor (and I'm saying minor because I can't believe that more than a very small percentage of affected workers will be illegals) problem should be dealt with through existing routes, ie: NIS refrom or whatever instead of by attempting to use it as another route to derail the healthcare debate?
Illegal aliens do pay taxes. Even if the company is employing them illegally, they just use a fake SSN to do the withholding. Companies don't mind risking the ICE's wrath; but the IRS? Fuggedaboutit. You pay the IRS before you pay the mafia.
Now, to your question about benefits for illegals? I agree with you that they shouldn't get the benefits they're not entitled to.
But, I'll throw a couple of things out as discussion points:
1. Illegals will resort to going to the emergency rooms. Is that better or worse?
2. As a society, we all benefit if everyone has access to healthcare. Otherwise, the people who don't could be carrying around various diseases (for example, TB) which can bite us in the ass. I'm not an epidemiologist, so I can't say if this is a valid concern or not, but in my naive thinking it sounds like one.
And don't forget: it was your God, Ronald H. Reagan, who gave amnesty to illegals in 1986. So before you start accusing Democrats of shenanigans, a look at a decent reflecting surface would be in order ;-)
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
Undocumented workers pay taxes just like we do.
1)Sales tax when they buy things
2)Property tax when they pay rent
3)Income tax via a TIN (tax identification number) either through their employer or voluntarily on their own
No, the President's stated objective was that illegal immigrants would not be covered in the bill. Clearly that was a lie and it appears that no Democrats have an interest in stopping it, including the President, as a) there are really no provisions either bill that could expressly do so, b) Republicans had no input in either bill, so Demos have really got nobody to blame except their own ideas on the topic and the will of the people, which they have openly disregarded unless it suits their ideology, and c) yes, next year Congress will be attempting to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, which really is amazing considering that it appears they believe that the healthcare bill/illegal alien squabbling will simply go away if they legalize them all!
So, if I understand this article, because immigration reform might be coming the health care bill somehow doesn't meet the President's stated objective?
Rev. Moon's paper is truly stellar journalism.
As I see it-
Illegal aliens are here (ahem) illegally.
they do not pay taxes.
Why is providing them with taxpayer-funded healthcare even being CONSIDERED?