#askthewhitehouse: Immigration Reform (Obama Adminstration)

Repost From 2019

Unlike Trump's Twitter feeds the Obama administration once hosted podcasts where people were allowed to interact with the White House directly. This one was on December 11, 2013 where Vice President Joe Biden and Cecilia Muñoz, the President's Domestic Policy Advisor, answered questions about immigration reform live via Skype. I think this one will give us a idea where Joe Biden stood on immigration.


We've all seen Trump speak a million times with reporters and at his rallies. How refreshing it would be to see him do one of these. My how times have changed!

If anyone's interested the Obama White House on YouTube still maintains a large archive.

Senate Passage: The bill was introduced by a bipartisan group of eight senators known as the "Gang of Eight" and passed the Senate on June 27, 2013, with a 68–32 vote. House Outcome: The Republican-led House of Representatives, under Speaker John Boehner, declined to bring the bill to a vote. It ultimately expired at the end of the 113th Congress.

Capitalism On Steroids

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A bunch are calling for unrestricted capitalism. Some on the other side have an over abundance of socialist ideas. Here's the way I see it. Why can't we have something in between these two extremes. For instance, here's a few ideas... * No CEO or owner at the top being allowed to make more then 100x's their lowest paid employee. For example. The lowest paid receives $30,000 a year. The CEO then would be limited to earn $3,000,000. Perhaps upper level supervision 10x's ($300,000) The immediate supervisors 2x's ($60,000). This would mean if a CEO or owner would want to increase their earnings by whatever amount would have to increase the lowest wages by a proportionate amount. This doesn't mean every employee is limited to $30k. Each can still receive larger salaries for their work responsibilities. It only means no one can receive less then 100th that of it's owner or CEO. I call this fair equitable distribution. No single person (including it's owner/CEO) should be worth more then 100x's then those who also contribute to a company's success.

* I'd also except an alternative in the form of company ownership. Say the company doesn't want to commit it's cash earnings which may not remain steady in the future. Instead decides to issue shares, For example the big boy at the top wants to give themself a 1000 shares so they'll only be taxed on capital gains In this case each lowest paid employee would receive 10 shares each. Perhaps using this as a alternative form of a retirement from the company w/o having to be locked in to the ever increasing employee salaries.

* Another way of helping companies is to eliminate the burden of healthcare costs. I look at this way. I hired a worker to do what needs to be done-- not take care of him/her whole family's medical issues. It's bad enough I have to hire another person to pick up the slack when one of my employees is out sick. It's unfair then I too am burdened with their healthcare costs on top of it. The way I could get workers demands and that of their union's stoppages off my back is not to be saddled with the burden of healthcare in the first place. This is where the government comes in to play a part.

Detractors are always misleading us when it comes to the cost for national healthcare for everyone. For the sake of brevity I will only bring one thing never mentioned. Both companies and individuals deduct billions of dollars every year from their income taxes for medical costs. If we all had medical coverage these deductions would no longer exist. Right there is a ton of money which would go towards government supported plans. Well maybe I should bring up one more talking point. The government can be a hellva lot more powerful negotiating/legislating prices then insurances companies. Competing insurance companies have a greater incentive to simply raise prices rather then litigate till the cows come home. I could go on but I'm sure many readers didn't bother reading this far. Suffice it to say it's come to the point of ridiculous between the rich, poor and what remains of the middle class. We can either standby and watch the few accumulate ALL the marbles or somewhat level the playing field. My point of view is no human is so valuable they deserve 100,000's the worth then those who labor under them. There's no justification this. It's flat out capitalism allowed to run amuck.

Who Is Gonna Fix This?
Don't think for a second it'll come from a change of heart by those at the top of the food chain. They'll keep feeding guilt on those below them on which to feast that somehow they are being envious, greedy, unpatriotic or even socialists for questioning why they deserve part of what these fat cats feel entitled to. I'm not encouraging rebellion nor anger. All I'm simply asking is people get out and vote for people like Bernie Sanders and others this November. Candidates who see through this facade and will make the changes necessary before we all end up living in tents working 60 hours a week. (That's not an exaggeration for many).




Pissed Off?
THEN

Here's The Disgusting Thing...
I'll bet 90% never read this whole post.
99.99% won't leave a comment.

Why The World Is Going Crazy

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A lot of food for thought. The way I see this all that was said can be defined with one word, "CHILL". Do things like fishing, music or what ever else brings peace to a troubled mind. The world has always been filled with troubles. It's when we become too attached trying to resolve these conflict arises.

Like the song says...

Sage Advice
Therein lies most of today's problems. Many people simply don't know when it's best to stand down. There are troubled souls living on this Earth who are nourished by hatred and anger. The more of it the stronger they become. The less they are fed, the less will be.

Each individual has the opportunity to decide for themselves which path they pursue. One emboldening discontent. The other insuring a way to a more peaceful existence. Both will most decidedly produce results for the actions each person resolves to take.

Senior Humor From The eMail Inbox

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$5.37... That's what the kid behind the counter at Taco Bell said to me. I dug into my pocket and pulled out some lint and two dimes and something that used to be a Jolly Rancher.

Having already handed the kid a five-spot, I started to head back out to the truck to grab some change

When the kid with the Elmo hairdo said the hardest thing anyone has ever said to me. He said, "It's OK. I'll just give you the senior citizen discount." I turned to see who he was talking to and then heard the sound of change hitting the counter in front of me. "Only $4.68" he said cheerfully.

I stood there stupefied. I am 56, not even 60 yet?
Senior citizen?

I took my burrito and walked out to the truck wondering what was wrong with Elmo. Was he blind?

As I sat in the truck, my blood began to boil. Old? Me? I'll show him, I thought. I opened the door and headed back inside. I strode to the counter, And there he was waiting with a smile. Before I could say a word, he held up something and jingled it in front of me, Like I could be that easily distracted!

What am I now?
A toddler?
"Dude! Can't get too far without your car keys, hey?"
I stared with utter disdain at the keys. I began to rationalize in my mind! "Leaving keys behind hardly makes a man elderly! It could happen to anyone!" I turned and headed back to the truck.

I slipped the key into the ignition, but it wouldn't turn. What now? I checked my keys and tried another. Still nothing.

That's when I noticed the purple beads hanging from my rear view mirror. I had no purple beads hanging from my rear view mirror. Then, a few other objects came into focus: The car seat in the back seat. Happy Meal toys spread all over the floorboard. A partially eaten dough nut on the dashboard. Faster than you can say ginkgo biloba, I flew out of the alien vehicle.

Moments later I was speeding out of the parking lot, Relieved to finally be leaving this nightmarish stop in my life. That is when I felt it, deep in the bowels of my stomach: hunger! My stomach growled and churned, and I reached to grab my burrito, Only it was nowhere to be found. I swung the truck around, gathered my courage, And strode back into the restaurant one final time.

There Elmo stood, draped in youth and black nail polish. All I could think was, "What is the world coming to?" All I could say was, "Did I leave my food and drink in here"? At this point I was ready to ask a Boy Scout to help me back to my vehicle, And then go straight home and apply for Social Security benefits. Elmo had no clue. I walked back out to the truck.

Suddenly a young lad came up and tugged on my jeans to get my attention. He was holding up a drink and a bag. His mother explained, "I think you left this in my truck by mistake." I took the food and rink from the little boy and sheepishly apologized. She offered these kind words: "It's OK. My grandfather does stuff like this all the time."

All of this is to explain how I got a ticket doing 85 in a 40 mph zone. Yessss, I was racing some punk kid in a Toyota Prius. And no, I told the officer, I'm not too old to be driving this fast. As I walked in the front door, my wife met me halfway down the hall. I handed her a bag of cold food and a $300 speeding ticket.

I promptly sat in my rocking chair and covered up my legs with a blankey. The good news was that I had successfully found my way home.


Notice the larger type?
That's for those of us who have trouble reading.


(By the way did I email you this already?)

Remembering Some Of Those Busby Berkeley Musicals

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I'm really impressed by music no matter which era. Seems to me we could do with far more musical movies then what is being produced today. If I had ever lived a previous life it probably was back in the 30's long before I was born into this life. Most certainly these bring me more pleasure then much I'm seeing around present day. These take me to my happy place. I often said when I die I hope to be taken to a place surrounded by all kinds of music day and night forever.Too big an ask?

BTW as a reminder: This blog is about near anything and everything. Not just opinions and piss me offs :-)

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Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole Warm Song For Cold January

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Israel "IZ" Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole was a Hawaiian musician.


In January 2020 I posted, Ever Hear Of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole?. A documentary along with a 49 minute clip of his performances. He died at 38 from respiratory failure June 26, 1997. May God bless his beautiful soul.

Check back often. Better yet subscribe. You never know what you'll find next on this blog. Entertainment, science, technology, humor, everything in between and more.