side roads too.
-----------------------
The current temperature is 62 degrees.
Yesterdays H/L temperature was 80/48
Normal H/L temp for this date is 73/46
It was 96 degrees on this date in 1980.
Rain reports from .22 inches to well over 2 inches throughout the area.
==============================
"Profanity makes ignorance audible."
==============================
L O C A L news & stuff,.. mostly stuff.
-------------------------
Rainfall amounts over the last day or so used to be called a million
dollar rain. Unfortunately,.... now days, a million dollars wouldn't buy
enough equipment to harvest the crop.
--------------------------
Gary
In regards to Mr. Serrano's comments on illegal immigrants. I grew up
in a small town (similar to Grafton) where the population was
predominantly Caucasian. The comments that I make are not about every
hispanic person. Like every race, there are good and bad.
First of all, from talking with area farmers, the need for field
workers has dropped dramatically in the past few years. Technology has
replaced much of the need for field workers. Yes, some are still needed,
but not the numbers that used to be. Why then do we see so many migrant
workers here? And why do we see so many that are not working? Do they
just come with the family because it entitles them to more assistance?
And speaking of assistance... why should my tax dollars go to support
people who choose not to work? Is the rumor true that field workers tell
farmers not to pay them until the end of harvest so that they can
receive the maximum benefits ie: food stamps, medical assistance,
housing assistance?
Secondly, what about the change that happens to our community during the
summer months? For whatever reason, migrant workers or not, the safety
of our community decreases during these months. It has been said that
our crime rate also increases during this time. Is it a coincidence?
Most appalling is the fact that illegal immigrants say that they want to
come to the U.S.A to make a better life for their family yet they refuse
to adapt to the way of life. I don't care what country you come from,
this is the U.S.A, our national language is English. I would not move to
a foreign country and expect them to learn English. If I chose to live
there, I would learn the language. We are currently spending hundreds of
thousands of dollars "adapting" our language for people who are here
illegally. Is that really what we should be spending our tax dollars on?
Bottom line, if you want to benefit from the opportunities that the
U.S.A has to offer... do it legally. Honor your culture but do not
expect everyone to take care of you or to adapt to your way of life. Do
not come here and become a drain on our resources. Become a productive
member of society and you will be accepted and you will succeed as Mr.
Serrano has. Life is not about getting ahead the easy way, the illegal
way, it is about working hard.
-----------------------
Loren sent the following thoughts. >>> Gary:
I enjoyed Mr. Serrano's message. I suspect from
his achievement level that he is NOT one of those that the rest of
America thinks/worries about when they think of amnesty, etc. He and his
family are probably not "typical" (indeed, is anyone?). I also wish I
had a better reference of his family's time frame.
Part of the comprehension problem - especially
in the Upper Midwest - is that many of us are only two generations away
from the ancestor who arrived in the USA in the late 1800's. The myriad
of stories about coping with the language, living BELOW ground in the
first winter after homesteading, etc., have all left their mark.
With regard to the "time" reference, Mr. Serrano
might not have seen HIS white classmates in the fields, but one summer
(once was enough - I want to say that I was 12 or 13; let's see, I'm 29
now - that would make in 1978 I guess....) there were a number of us
doing that very job. As I recall, the pay standard was 10 cents a row
and you had to do ten rows to get an acre. And if you wanted to have a
heart attack at age 12, all you had to do was "TRY" to keep pace with
the hispanic working on the row next to yours.
Those of us who did this - and somehow I almost wish I could
remember the "Who thought this was a good idea." aspect. It did however,
establish some life-changing patterns:
1. This was NOT what I wished to pursue for a career.
2. I learned enough Spanish curse words so that I could sometimes
"interpret" for John Kliniscke in later years when we were contesting
the "Polish/Scandinavian vs Hispanola Pool Olympics." (Ah yes, a pair of
Florsheim loafers for $13.99...)
Communicate.......and that INCLUDES listening. I assume 2007 will
be a record year for mosquitos as well as cicadas? LL
------------------------
This one comes from a full blown member of the nation that operates
Early American Monetary Distribution Centers. >>>
In answer to Mr. Kingsburys letter. The last time I checked my family
tree, on both sides, I might add that the entire tree either came here
legally or was here already on a reservation! Not because they wanted to
be on that reservation either! I will not go any farther except to say
don't lump me and mine in with a group of illegal immigrants from
anywhere because that's not right. The can with the true Native
Americans on the lid should be left closed. Hope I'm not out of line
Gary. Mike <<< Thanks a million for caring and sharing Mike.
------------------------
Then there was this one that looks at the issue from a different
knothole. >>>
The immigration thing is a huge beast that isn't easy to solve or it
would have been solved long ago. Not sure I want to get involved in the
"Discussion" regarding it, but the illegal immigrants come here for one
thing, and that's opportunity. I doubt very much any of them come here
entirely for our social programs, most are probably good workers looking
to better themselves. It's easy to complain about them being here, but
lets not forget they wouldn't be here if the thing they are after wasn't
available, opportunity. And where does that opportunity come from? From
LEGAL AMERICANS who knowingly hire illegal immigrants because they can
pay them less than a legal resident. And in my opinion there's the
problem. People talk about throwing the illegals in jail or sending them
back to where they came from, but what we need to do is take swift harsh
action against those who hire illegals. Stiff fines and long jail terms
for those hiring illegals would be a deterrent to other employers
thinking of breaking the law by hiring them. After all, we like to
complain about the illegals being lawbreakers, but it's also illegal for
us to hire them. <<< Thanks a million for caring and sharing. The
process of immigration leaves much to be desired. I find it unfortunate
that most "immigrants" are depicted as "mere" field workers, trying to
eke out a living crawling up and down agricultural fields. When, in my
opinion, the fact is most "immigrants" today can be found working in the
industrial trades area of the nations work force. Where, unfortunately,
they are often exploited for the benefit of wealthy industrialists.
The best way to solve a problem is to talk about it, understand it and
then deal directly with it. More often than not, politics does not solve
a problem. More often than not, politics is the problem.
Or so it seems to me.
==============================
GOTTA - GO -WORK - ON - MY - DASH
==============================
The response to Armando's letter, both pro and con, has been nothing
short of unbelievable.
Write if you can, call if you can't, and, tell your loved ones they are,
before it's too late.
Grafton, ND
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