Thursday, May 21, 2009

Why California Is Broke:

Re-Post of an e-mail I received from a friend - but I couldn't have said it better myself!

A GOOD REASON WHY CALIFORNIA IS BROKE
From a California school teacher - -
"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be
aware of:
I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels.
Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park, etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.
Title 1 schools are on the
free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. (
OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have
cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
 I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "Putas" whores and throwing things that the teachers were in tears.
Free medical, free education, free food, day care etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?
To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.
Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.
We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it .. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?
It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world
culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate , and an
American culture that has become so weak and worried about " political Correctness" that we don't have the will to do anything about it.
CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?
Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage.
Consumers don't want expensive produce
Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs.
But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a
myth, a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as "cheap labor."

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or 6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents,
he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free.
He qualifies for
Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.
He qualifies for
food stamps.
He qualifies for
free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care.
His
children get free breakfasts and lunches at school.
He
requires bilingual teachers and books.

He
qualifies for relief from high energy bills.
If
they are, or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare . All of this is at (our) taxpayer's expense .
He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance.
Taxpayers provide
Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.

He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in
benefits.
Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his.

The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.
Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT!
Wake up people!
THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING TO EITHER PARTY. 'AND WHEN THEY LIE TO US AND DON'T DO AS THEY SAY, WE SHOULD REPLACE THEM AT ONCE!'

Friday, May 15, 2009

Growing up



If you know Jake at all he is the least serious child you will ever meet - a big Goofball! A big Goofball that LOVES baseball.

Jake will practices during the week, have an hour practice on Sunday before a two hour game, and on the way home he will still BEG his dad to play catch with him when we get home. I LOVE watching him play. I love watching his passion for the game, when he is on that pitchers mound that Goofball turns into a little man...a man...but he is not a man he is just a little boy. The little baby boy that didn't get to come home from the hospital for 31 days because he weighed a mere 3lbs 9oz at birth, because he couldn't mantaine his body temperature, because he couldn't eat on his own, and he couldn't go a full night without sleep apnea. This was the same little man/boy on that mound. I choke up everytime he is up there, part of is because I know he wants that shut out so bad, I can feel it in my bones, but a bigger part is because he is here, a healthy 8 year old little man/boy.
Couldn't wait for his first word, then his first step, play his first sport...I couldn't wait...now I just want it to slow down I want to savor every moment. I know this is something a lot of parents go through, but recently I got a wake up call. "You have stop wishing the time away" it could be gone in the blink of an eye. Enjoy, Love and Savor every moment of every day.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Just Me

Name is Emese (EH-meh-sheh), you can guess from the name, I am not American...nope 100% Hungarian by blood. I've been Americanized by insemination aka Dusty (the husband).

Real quick background: I was born in Pecs,HU, moved to Germany when I was 6 and to Rhode Island when I was 8 then I blinked, and we moved again to Mountain View ( near San Francisco). Lived there for a couple years, then moved to Agoura Hills lived there for another two years and moved all around Ventura County. There is my childhood life in a nut shell...at least the where I come from part, the rest is much more interesting I PROMISE!

I am going to answer the 2 questions everyone always asks, to save you the trouble. Yes I speak Hungarian and No I don't speak German anymore. Third most popular question: No I have not been back to visit.

Today - still live in Ventura County, married to a (most of the time) great man, we have two great kids. Jacob aka Jake he is 8, and for the most part acts like a typical 8 year old boy, gets in trouble, gets dirty and picks on his little sister Kaitlyn aka Kayti. She is 5, going on 30, no joke sometimes I think she is better at this mom thing then me. Oh and the dog, Lola, a 1 year old toy poodle.

I am very open about my life ...I usually get the "write a book" from most people I share it with. Unfortunatly I am a great talker not a great writer, but I'll do my best not to sound like a total idiot.