Collapse of America

JOE LEGAL vs. JOSE ILLEGAL

You have two families: "Joe Legal" and "Jose Illegal".
Both families have two parents, two children, and live in California .

Joe Legal works in construction, has a Social Security Number and makes
$25.00 per hour before taxes are deducted.

Jose Illegal also works in construction, has NO Social Security Number,
and gets paid $15.00 cash "under the table".

Ready? Now pay attention...

Joe Legal: $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week, or $52,000.00
per year. Now take 30% away for state and federal tax; Joe Legal now has
$31,231.00..

Jose Illegal: $15.00 per hour x 40 hours = $600.00 per week, or
$31,200.00 per year. Jose Illegal pays no taxes. Jose Illegal now has
$31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for
his family at $600.00 per month, or $7,200.00 per year. Joe Legal now
has $24,031..00.

Jose Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and
local clinics at a cost of $0.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has
$31,200.00.

Joe Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or
welfare.. Joe Legal pays $500.00 per month for food, or $6,000.00 per
year. Joe Legal now has $18,031.00.

Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps
and welfare. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays rent of $1,200.00 per month, or $14,400.00 per year. Joe
Legal now has $9,631.00.

Jose Illegal receives a $500.00 per month federal rent subsidy. Jose
Illegal pays out that $500.00 per month, or $6,000.00 per year. Jose
Illegal still has $ 31,200.00.

Joe Legal pays $200.00 per month, or $2,400.00 for insurance. Joe Legal
now has $7,231.00.

Jose Illegal says, "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has
$31,200.00.

Joe Legal has to make his $7,231.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline,
etc.

Jose Illegal has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities,
gasoline, and what he sends out of the country every month.

Joe Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after
work.

Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family.

Joe Legal's and Jose Illegal's children both attend the same school. Joe
Legal pays for his children's lunches while Jose Illegal's children get
a government sponsored lunch. Jose Illegal's children have an after
school ESL program. Joe Legal's children go home.

Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire services,
but Joe paid for them and Jose did not pay.

Do you get it, now?

Vegas 2010

So we left colorado last month and headed down through arizona. We camped at Show Low, AZ and at the petrified forest in arizona. That was pretty cool. We then headed down to Tucson AZ to see Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bob. They are both doing fine. We visited Tombstone AZ to see the old mining town which at one point was the biggest city between St Louis and San Francisco. Hard to believe. A 24x7 mining town. We also went up Mount Lemmon to see the big sagura cacti. Way cool.

From there, we headed up to Phoenix for a couple of days. We mostly just settled into a hotel and I got caught up on some work. Once the rain passed, we headed out to Joshua Tree, CA and camped there for 3 days. Beautiful park with tons of boulders, joshua trees, cacti, and ocitillo trees. The kids had fun playing in the boulders.

Turtle and the kids all got a stomach bug over the next 4 days so we headed into palm springs to get a hotel. It turns out I was the only one not to get sick. Even my friend Paul Callo who flew down to climb with me got sick. Go figure.

After leaving palm springs, we camped out at Mojave National Preserve which was very cool as well. We camped at the base of the sand dunes in there which the kids loved. Mike, Wyatt and I climbed the highest Kelso Sand Dune. Next we visited the Hoover dam on the way into Las Vegas and we are currently camped out in Vegas at the Monte Carlo. Sporty should be heading up this weekend to climb if the rain holds out.

Volusion Down Again 2/22/2010

Nice to wake up and see all of my sites down with no message or status or anything. Every since volusion migrated away from rackspace to host things themselves, the uptime has been horrendous. When rackspace was hosting everything,they never went down. What a mistake to get away from rackspace. Some knucklehead over there wanted to save a few bucks at the expense of their clients. They obviously don't have the in house expertise to host themselves. I also have sites that are SUPPOSED to be on different servers, yet they are all down.

Arizona 2010

Well, it looks like we are finally leaving colorado after 3 months. Next stop, Tombstone, Az. Home of the legendary Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. Then the Grand Canyon and Petrified forest. Should be fun.

I think we are all getting cabin fever in CO. Too cold and too much snow. Kids are learning a lot and I am working a lot and we are having fun digging tunnels in the snow and 4 wheeling in the snow.

Got a speeding ticket last week from a CO state trooper. What a goofball this guy was. The little piss ant communist harrassed us and fined us 250$. Well, dumbass, you cost your state about 3000$ in revenue from us boycotting the rest of our 2 weeks there. No more skiing at wolf creek run. No more eating out. No more shopping. Until we get out of your state. Way to go Nazi police force of CO. I am sure the local people and businesses are happy you are running off visitors who wanted to spend money in your town and state.

Vote with your dollar.

We also climbed to the top of the great sand dunes of CO. Awesome.

Pine - Sol Woman

Some of my friends don't want to get married. They like their freedom. They like playin' the field. They like their smelly, germ-infested house. As for me, I'm ready to settle down. I'm tired of eating peanut butter and jelly or fast food for dinner. I've had enough of four different piles of laundry: 1) Dirty, 2) Clean, 3) Dirty but wearable, 4) Dirty, not wearable, but I'll get one more day out of it anyway before I throw it in the dirty pile.

Yep, I'm ready for the love, affection, and security that comes with a lasting relationship. She doesn't have to be a beauty queen or a fashion model. Looks are secondary. As long as she has all her teeth and is slender, I'm fine. Sorry, she can't be fat. I know it's what's below the surface that's most important, but if that surface is too big, I'm not interested in drillin' to see what might be below it. Oh, and she should have beautiful green, emerald-like eyes. But other than those traits, looks don't matter. Oh, but she needs to be a brunette and have olive skin. Man, I love brunettes with olive skin. But other than that, looks don't matter.

Heck, I'm not shallow. As long as she's got all her teeth, is slender, has beautiful green eyes, is a brunette, and has olive skin, I'm good... provided she has a curvy figure. I mean, c'mon; if I'm going to have a long-term relationship, she needs to have a nice figure. It's only natural to need that, right? But other than that, looks don't matter. It's all about who she is as a person. Oh, and she needs to have a good job. I'm an open-minded, modern kind of guy. I don't mind a liberated woman who makes more than me. Especially given the fact that my business has been taking a beating lately. Comic book sales aren't what they used to be. Oh, and by the way, Wolverine has to be her favorite X-Man. But other than that, all that matters is that she's a wonderful, sincere person.

There is one last requirement: Pine-Sol. That's right; she's got to know how to wield a mop and a bucket of pine-sol. Pine-Sol rocks!! Forget needing a woman who cooks like mom, I want a woman who cleans like her. When I was a kid, the whole house smelled like Pine-Sol from 9am until noon. Mom kept that house cleaner than a newborn baby. Wait, forget that analogy. Newborn babies are actually pretty disgusting. Oh well, you know what I mean. Mom kept the house clean thanks to the assistance of her trusty Pine-Sol. Pine-sol kills germs and disinfects almost any piece of the house.

Think I'm strange? Not so fast! Have you ever seen photos of all the eerie little creepy germs that live in your clothes, your sheets, on your floors and counter tops? It's frightening. Don't even get me started on all the germs and bacteria you're tracking in on your shoes. That dog poop you stepped in out back, do you really think you wiped it all off with a paper towel and a stick? Add a few snotty-nosed kids to the scenario who've spent the day passing germs and toys back and forth and you've got a horrifying, albeit unseen, situation occurring right in your own home. What will save us from this hopeless pandemic of unnoticed danger? Pine-Sol, baby... Pine-Sol.
The rock band KISS has a song called "Hard Luck Woman." Well, I don't need a hard luck woman-sounds like she'd have too many issues. What I want is a Pine-Sol woman. Just one, Pine-Sol usin', germ annihilating, Wolverine lovin', brunette with a curvy figure, green eyes, olive skin, and all her teeth. That's all I need to keep my house sanitized.

Trip Back To Atlanta Dec 2009

Abbey , Michael and I flew back to Atlanta this week for some orthodontist appointments and client meetings. We all agree that it does not feel like home here any more. Not sure if that is because we don't have a house here any more or because we have been gone for 4 months now.

Anyway, we stayed with Steph and saw some friends and family. We are headed back to Colorado today to brave the cold and snow.

Thanksgiving 2009

We are having turkey day with Diane and Guy in Pagosa. Kids are having a great time here with the snow and ice. We have been here for a few days since leaving Santa Fe NM. We have been sledding twice and skiing and snowboarding once. And of course, the boys including jakjak love to go down to the river and play on the ice and throw rocks in the river.

Monica is digging grandpas big griddle. Bacon and eggs every morning for breakfast. I cooked a juicy steak this morning as well.

Last night we watched up. Good little movie.

Got to go, time to play on the frozen river some more.