New Fridge and Immigration Madness

 Oh, there she goes again.  I hear you but can you blame me for trying a new way to get your attention?  Done it before and will do it again because older people, Elderbloggers, seniors, geezers--whatever you want to call us-- need to add immigration reform to the list of issues that need our attention as much as healthcare. 

And the fridge news?  A recent post at Time Goes By (moving to Portland, Oregon, next month) brought a comment from My Mom's Blog that she definitely should get a refrigerator with a bottom freezer.   Millie is so correct.  We've been bumping our heads on the 1980s model that came with our new apartment.  We like the way the door is a slide-out drawer.  We'd had a side-by-side in New York but no room for that here.

Much looking around and voila!  Sears has a perfect Kenmore to fit our 30-inch space; love the cheese drawer, easy temp controls.  Had to take out a cabinet to get the height but no loss since it's just about unreachable.  And what was it that we had up there anyway?  I do miss my former glass-front Ikea cabinets.  But that's the past and in this present the important issues are treating one another like human beings.

Which brings me back to immigration madness.  How sorry I feel for Darlene, Elderblogger with progressive leanings who lives in Arizona, home of the Hispanic haters, and God knows what else that does not belong in a democracy.  She posts in more detail under the title,  Arizona's Shame.  The majority of people there appear lacking in morality with their latest move to make it a state crime--in less than three months from now-- to be an undocumented immigrant  in Arizona.

Morality aside, for those that can go there, how do they imagine their infrastructure will work without all the workers from across the borders.  Like the two excellent movers who seamlessly delivered our new fridge and took the old one away.  Spoke very good English too.

Boycott Arizona (link is to the number one Hispanic website, Hispanic News)  is the only thing that may stop clueless, vicious Arizonans.  Today I had lunch with my new friend, Elizabeth, who lives in the apartment right under mine.  With her family she had to leave Austria in the late 1930s.  They went to Mexico, were not able to come here till 1950.  Perhaps many readers here have forgotten that the U.S. would not open its doors to Jews trying to leave Europe: 190,00 000 - 200 000 Jews could have been saved.

There are stories in all American families about what it was like to be the first immigrant Irish, Italians, Japapanese, Roumanians....where does it end?  We are all immigrants, many of our forebears came here legally.  But it did not matter to many who'd had some years to Americanize. We need to get it together around just what it means to be American whether you speak "perfect" English or still have a Latino accent.

***UPDATE:  Saturday, May One, there will be a May Day Rally in downtown Portland, Oregon. 

Comments

[Hattie]

Well, where I come from the Mexicans were there first. In fact, where I come from was part of Mexico once.
My ancestor, Mariano Cordero, was married in the Mission Dolores when California was part of Mexico. So telling me that Mexicans don't belong north of the border is a hard sell. My radical stance is that the borders should come down.

[Jean]

It's too bad that you have mistaken the "politicization" of a serious issue for common sense ...is it against the law for someone to break into your home? You bet it is. Are you asked/expected to carry your driver's license with you when you drive your vehicle? Yes, you are. The rule of law has a place in civil society, so why do you object to asking immigrants to show their proper identification to verify if they are in our country legally? Immigrants who come to America LEGALLY are instructed to do so in the welcoming document that they receive. People living and working here ILLEGALLY are not supporting our country, save for the sweat of their brows, and it is left to the rest of us to carry the burden of their education and health care as well as to survive the lawlessness of some of their drug-ruled gangs. To the lawmakers of Arizona, I say, JOB WELL DONE...to the vote-grabbing despots in Washington, DC, I say, "You should be ashamed of yourselves!!"

[Hattie]

Yep. And people are sure going to be sorry when they have to do all their own work instead of having Mexicans do it for them.

[naomi]

Who is "Jean" who seems to have found a place on my blog to spread her faulty world view? It was hard to get past her first sentence.

Trying for a mental picture of her, I see a sixty-something white woman in Oklahoma. Perhaps a bit tired of protesting CHOICE, somewhat unsatisfied with the success of the anti-abortion Nazis there, seeking her next issue.

She is waiting in line at the grocery check-out counter and wonders whether that "foreign-looking" young woman who is checker could possibly get her total correct. She stands ready to apply her version of "common sense" to the task. Last book read?

[Jean]

Oh, Naomi...I am very sorry that you cannot tolerate a view of the world that diverges from your own, but mine is no more flawed than yours, and I, at least, can disagree without being mean-spirited and sarcastic, as you have been! I would also like you to know that your mental picture of me is dead wrong...sorry to disappoint you...!! You won't have to trouble yourself about me ever visiting your blog again, for any worthwhile information that you might have to share is overshadowed by your political intolerance and your verbal vengeance...

[Hattie]

Hmm. Could be Boomie of the now defunct "Wastral Show." She's a Randian who believes in the wonders of the free market and the virtues of the sturdy working millionaire!
This writing does not have much stylistic punch, so either it's Boomie toning it down or else it's someone else. The self righteous tone is pretty emetic, isn't it. Anyway, it's easy enough to find out where she is. If her ISP is upper NY state, it's probably Boomie.
Just go to Who Is, put in the ISP number, and the location will pop up.
Oh, and ban her. Life is too short and all that.
I have no problem taking charge of my blog. These blogs are our property, and anyone who comes around is on our turf. It's not a free press issue, and not all views will be tolerated; that's my motto!

[Freda]

Thanks for your comment on immigration - a much talked about subject in our (now decided) UK Election. I believe we need to remember we are all part of humanity, and need to show compassion. The statistic about the Jews in WWII is truly awful. Btw - have just "found" your blog again after wandering away. Will certainly be back. Thank you.