Racial Awareness....

I'm kind of going through a tough time right now. I always find myself fighting people who talk bad about Mexicans and don't understand our culture. This whole Swine Flu problem has made things really difficult on me. So I started a different blog on Mexican American opinions. I will still keep this blog but also write in the other one. I would hope you could visit it from time to time.

elojodemexico.blogspot.com

Whenever you can, visit it please.

New Blog

If you want to know a little bit about a Mexican point of view on modern issues than I recommend my other blog...also authored by my girlfriend. 

http://elojodemexico.blogspot.com

Why the racism?

Well, it seems like Mexico just made its first car. 

The Mastretta MXT is a super coupe tha

t was designed, manufactured and eventually produced in Mexico. Mexico has finally made their own vehicle and they made it in style. The Mastretta MXT is meant to be a challenger to the Lotus Elise and Exige. Small car, with a huge engine for it size. 

Mexico successfully created a car that is quick in acceleration, quick in corners and turning but slow in top speed. Mexico also is targeting the European market because there are no emission test, the car has to pass in Europe (which is why we don't so many european cars in the US.)

So, the car is fast and it looks good. Is it another car to add to our Dream Car Wish-list? 

Well, you would be surprised. 

I visited many sites that wrote articles on the car, and the comments were extremely offensive.

such as:

"mount a lawnmower blade under one of those bad boys and jose will have my lawn done in a mere seconds"

"No way they did this by themselves, they probably stole the design. Besides, it will never sell in Mexico, it can't fit 7 people in the front seat"

"I heard the exhaust is going to smell like refried beans"

"This will be a complete failure, Mexicans can't do anything good but cut lawns. It's not meant to be."

"Haha, fucken beaners attempting to be smart and civilized, nice try beaners but you will never succeed" 

Not only was I offended, but I was also shocked that the website moderator did not block or delete those comments.

I hate the internet for that reason, these people hide behind a fictitious screenames, and they begin to say things they wouldn't normally say in real life. Not just about Mexicans (although I would argue that it happens the most to them)  but also happens with Blacks and the LGBT community.

Stuff, like this just makes me sad.

The truth behind the fall of the Big 3....

First off, for those of us who don't know who the Big 3 are, then here is a quick explanation:

Big 3: The name given to the 3 largest North American carmakers- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. At first glance it may not be noticeable exactly how big these companies are, but the following list of brands sold under those carmakers will make it clear.

General Motors: Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Saturn, Hummer, Saab and Cadillac are the brands sold in the US. GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhal and Wuling are brands sold 

outside the U.S. Total= 13 brands.

Ford: Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda and Volvo. They also own a small portion of Aston Martin in England. Total= 5 brands.

Chrysler: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Mopar (large Auto parts brand). Total= 3 brands

Total Brands= 21. This is also excluding all other ownership that the Big 3 have, including financial institutions and small companies.

Now, looking at the Big 3... they are alot bigger then it seems.

Anyway, the future of the Big 3 seems gloomy. I honestly hope none of the Big 3 fall into bankruptcy, not only because it would worsen our economy, but because every car company I states above represents a small portion of American History. Ford gave us the Mustang and the GT, General Motors gave us the Camaro and Corvette, Chrysler gave us the Charger and Viper. American Icons. You see, these car companies mean a lot more to Americans than just a horribly mismanaged business. 

So why wasn't the Senate been able to come to a deal for rescuing the Big 3?

The United Auto Workers (UAW) is to blame, they are demanding more than what the companies can give. Remember when I posted the article on why the City of Vallejo went bankrupt? (Click Here to go to that Post) I stated that the city went bankrupt because the unions would not loosen their restrictions. The same is happening to the Big 3. The UAW is not willing to lower their compensation. According to an Article in Realclearpolitics.com, the average compensation for a worker in the Big 3 is $72.31, but the average for all other companies (excluding KIA, because they pay ridiculously little) is $44.20. The deal between Senate and UAW ended when the UAW refused to lower their compensation to that of other companies. 

Why did the UAW do this? If the Big 3 really goes bankrupt in 2 weeks, like they state, then doesn't the UAW realize that its members wont have jobs anymore? Isn't getting paid $44.20 better than getting paid nothing at all?

The answers all lie in what I stated earlier.  The UAW realizes that the US government (and the White House, specifically) would never allow the Big 3 to go into bankruptcy in a time when the economy is suffering. Beyond that, however, the US would never allow the death of such historic companies. 

I predict that the Big 3 will not fall into bankruptcy, and that the UAW will not lose compensation. The government will save them both.

__________________________________________________

What do I think the government should do?

I believe the government should stick a Hummer up the a** of the UAW and order their compensation to be lowered to that of other companies. They should save the Big 3 but also put restriction into place that would prevent this from happening again. Compensation should stay below $50.00 and it should only rise with inflation.

Oh, and they should also build more hybrids. :) 

BitterSweet Moment

Well, the day after the election.

Very happy that Obama won the presidency. Once I found out that Florida went to Obama I closed my laptop because I knew the race was over. CA was guaranteed to go to Obama which would push him over the top to win the

 election. McCain could have won the rest of the states and wouldn't have mattered.

SO.....

My President: Brack Obama

Also, very very sad that Proposition 8 passed. This would have an effect on me but it would have a major effect on my community and some of my friends. I'm very disappointed. I hated, HATED how supporters of prop. 8 stated that they wanted traditional family values. Since when do gays/lesbians not have family values? All people should have the right to marry whomever they like.

OH, by the way, someone is born gay/lesbian/bisexual. Someone doesn't just become gay, many religious people believe that being gay is a choice. 

Palin church promotes converting gays

"Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer."

What?! I didn't even finish reading the article. I read this and I was offended. I honestly was, even though I'm not gay. I felt for my friends that are gay, I will fight this to the end. This BITCH will not make it into the white house. She will not, she can not. This conservative scum needs to open her eyes and accept other people for the way they are. This is just as bad as racism and sexism, perhaps worse.

If you want to read this article click here.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/05/politics/p171257D37.DTL

disgusting.....

Time for Change....and I don't mean Obama

People are afraid of change. People are afraid of things different than their own. This has been the story of human history. Every war which has been fought, every political debate that has been controversial can all be traced back to my theory. The most beautiful thing about our world also causes problems for us. I am talking about diversity. We see diversity everywhere, from our work place to our school, in our neighborhoods and in the media. We are so lucky to have such a diverse world. But this diverse world creates humans with opposing views. Those opposing views create problems and war. There will always be people willing to change the world but there will also be people afraid to change the world.

Think of any war, for example. Let’s use the Civil War, The south did not want to accept black people as regular humans and wanted them to continue being slaves. They did not want to change the status of black people because they were afraid that it would cause a change in the way they lived their lives. The north was willing for the change, perhaps they may have not been ready for it, but they were, at least, willing to change. Add some guns and anger to this problem and we have a war.

Let’s take another problem, like the environment. We have to stop using gasoline to run our vehicles, and that is the bottom line. We have just begun to use other methods of powering vehicles. Such as Chevrolet’s Flex Fuel vehicles that run on Ethanol (which is basically corn) and we also have Toyota’s powerful hybrid led by the popular Toyota Prius. But what’s the issue at hand? Why can’t we just stop using gasoline? We have the ability to do so. The reason is change. People are afraid their way of life will drastically change. They will no longer be able to run their beloved 1969 Mustang or their mean-looking 4x4 truck. What will happen to sporting events that rely solely on gasoline such as motocross and nascar? I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to change those sports in order for us to keep our world and our lives healthy and happy.

Let’s talk about an issue more relevant to states that border Mexico. What is the big deal with illegal immigrants? “They come and take our money, our welfare our jobs….etc.” My answer to that is: SO? Is it directly affecting those American citizens who complain? No. If all the illegal immigrants leave will you have to pay fewer taxes? No. Will you take the jobs they are taking? No. And, to be quite honest, Americans took the land from Mexico plus they are indigenous to this continent. The problem is this: Illegal immigrants—and regular immigrants, for that matter—are coming into the U.S. at a surprisingly fast rate. They come into the U.S. with their culture and religion, changing cities and even states. The people living in those states do not welcome the change because it will threaten their way of life. They are afraid that change will be bad and therefore they don’t accept it.

Think about it. Use any example. All wars have been fought because people don’t want to accept change or something different. My advice is to change with the world. How boring would it be if we were all the same color and we were all the same culture? If the Chinese didn’t have buildings with cool, curvy roofs or if the Aztecs didn’t have those tall stone pyramids. How boring. We are blessed with diversity and with a changing world. We, as humans, must change with the world in order for us to advance and live happily. We must accept views, ideas, lifestyles, food, culture, race, ethnicity different than ours. We must accept it. Change is inevitable, let’s be part of the change instead of preventing and being afraid of change. It’s time.

Honestly, perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps I'm just a fool. I began to think about this when I was the recipient of online racism. Why would people think badly of me or not accept me? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

What do you think?

I just found this photo on one of my favorite blogs at williamlobdell.com,

What do you think?

Do you think God, would want this woman to run fully covered?

I'm not quite sure I understand.....

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against this woman or her religion. But I just don't get it sometimes.

Just stealing money........

Paul Dahliwal, shown here in the photo, is a survivor of a tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo.

Paul is the younger of two brothers who were attacked by a tiger about one year ago. Paul was with his brother and a freind. The freind died at the scene.

The family of Paul and Carlos Sousa (the freind who was killed) are preparing to sue the San Francisco Zoo for suffering serious injuries and emotional harm.

That is the basic story, but I'm not sure I quite believe this to be true. Paul has recently been sentenced to jail for stealing, possesing marijuana and for leading police on an 140mph chase. Something makes me believe that when they went to the zoo they weren't behaving like angels. Many witnesses at the zoo that fatal day said that the three boys were taunting and harrasing the animals.

I don't believe that it is completely the zoo fault for the attacks. I believe it is as much the kids fault as it is the zoo's. The three men brought it upon themselves. The tiger was taunted, probably scared.

BUT, the Zoo did have its faults because it should have assured that the tigers couldn't escape.

Paul is just searching for money from the SF Zoo and The City.

I hope the SF Zoo has a good lawyer, Paul is just a goldigger looking for money to pay his other court dues.

Send him to jail.

"Human-rights groups in France and Germany have sought to bring proceedings under universal jurisdiction against Donald Rumsfeld"

UH OH.

I found a very interesting story in one my favorite blogs, Texas Liberal (look at blog list in my sidebar for the link)

Mr. George W. Bush may face charges for war crimes. He cannot face any charges now because he is president and with the presidency comes tons of immunity, but as soon as he steps down...well, that's adifferent story.

Like my title reads, charges against Donald Rumsfeld are in process.

To read the complete story visit Texas Liberal or go straight to the article in the Economist.com

Video has been taken off...

So my last post has now become worthless because YouTube has taken the video off the air. I went back onto YouTube and clicked on the video that I uploaded and here was the message that came up:

Apparently, the video was taken down due to "third party copyright claim." Can someone please explain that to me?

Luckily, I found another video, it doesn't have the full clip but it is good enough.

enjoy!

Paris Hilton replies....

to McCain's ad against obama......



haha

Terrorist at home?....

Have you heard of the carbombings in Santa Cruz, CA? probably not because the media didn't call it a carbombing....it was just a firebomb.

according to sfgate.com, some animal rights activist bombed the cars and homes of some UC Santa Cruz professors.

The professors were experimenting on animals, more specifically, mice and rats. The activists did not like this, so I guess they decided to bomb the professors house (I'm not sure I see the logic in that.)
It wasn't only one professor it was two, whose houses were bombed, and another who received threatening calls. One professor even had to climb out of his second story house with a latter, he was with his wife and two children, who are both under 8 years old.

So I guess that humans aren't animals? The activists didn't want the professors killing the mice but they put a professor and his family in danger? I dont get it....

Check this video out!

haha



I'm sure you have seen it, John McCain new ad.
I love the random snip of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton....haha

GO Obama!

William Lobdell

was the man who go me into blogging. Well, he was actually one of my professor at UC Irvine.

Lobdell, is a writer for the Los Angeles times. The class I took at UC Irvine was, Blogs, Politics and the Media. Lobdell was a great professor. He brought in some great (or provoking) speaker such as Hugh Hewitt (a conservative blogger.)

Anyway, Lobdell has an interesting story about how he lost his religion while covering a story for the LAT. click here to read more. He has even written a book on it. Titled: "Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America."

Anyway, I would definitely recommend visiting his Blog at:

http://williamlobdell.com/

More Interesting Photos of San Rafael.....

I took some more interesting photos the other day. I took photos of buildings that were out of the ordinary. In other words, buildings and structures that you won't find in another city.

enjoy!

Highway 101 overpassing San Rafael at 3rd street.

"The French Quarter" at San Rafael, this is right next to the 101 overpass in the previous photo. It is located on the corner of 3rd st. and Irwin St.

I only have these for now, I'll post more interesting photos later.

My Private Blog.....

I have another blog in which I write specifically about me, myself and I. I have the other blog to document my life and look back at myself. Check it out. here

arosales.livejournal.com

Interesting Building...

Every time I see and interesting building I will take a picture and post it. Today I was driving through San Rafael and I noticed one building more than usual. I've been here over 12 years (and I'm sure the building has been there longer) and it was the first time I stopped to examine the building. It is pretty cool. Here it is.

haha, maybe I'm just easily amused.

How many homes foreclosed in you neighborhood?

I love the San Francisco Chronicle. It is a really good source for alot of information regarding the Bay Area and sometimes California.

The SF Chronicle works on databases that can be accessed by any computer. They have databases that show how much professors at UCs make. I was able to look up all of my professors at UCI. They all make over $200,000.

The most recent database, is a bit shocking. The database shows foreclosed homes in your neighborhood (only avilable for the Bay Area). I was able to look up my neighborhood. Here is what came up.

Vallejo (94589): 26 homes foreclosed in my neighborhood,

Total homes foreclosed in Vallejo: 100

Total homes foreclosed in Solano County: 283

San Rafael (94901): 4 homes foreclosed

Total homes foreclosed in San Rafael: 7

Total homes foreclosed in Marin County: 21

Can you see the differences?

Click here to check how many homes foreclosed in you area (only avilable in the Bay Area)

"Mexico's Navy Seized a Homemade Submarine Carrying a Drug Shipment."

wait.....what?!

OK, I know your not supposed to praise the enemy and all, but damn. Way to go! The cleverness the ingenuity.

According to an article on CNN.com. Four men were arrested in the Pacific Ocean near Oaxaca(wah-ha-kuh) Mexico. They were on board a green, arrow shaped, homemade submarine packed with cocaine.

Apparently, the Mexican Navy spotted and unknown submarine on their radars and followed it from a safe distance until the submarine emerged from the water. The Mexican Navy then proceeded to stop the submarine and arrest its passengers.

can you imagine what the navy must have thought when they looked at their radars?

Anyway, the submarine was, shockingly, not run by the Mexican Cartels but instead controlled by the Colombian Cartel. (watch out Mexicans Cartel, there is competition.)

The Submarine had left Colombia and was headed for California.

_________________________________

This is a little side not, but a good friend of mine has great blog. It is very well written and very interesting. He advocates for LGBT rights and the environment. If you have the time please visit

http://sophius.wordpress.com/