Hope you had an enjoyable 4th. Over in Brooklyn, Joey Chestnut won the Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest in front of a crowd of 40,000 and a television audience of 1.5 million. This was his 5th straight victory, consuming 62 frankfurters – with the bun – in 10 minutes. Back in 2009, he achieved the world record by eating 68 hot dogs. There was a separate contest for females and Sonya "Black widow” Thomas managed to down 40 dogs.
At the same time, across the river in Manhattan, at a midtown bar, former 6 time champion, Takeru Kobayashi, claims to have swallowed 69 hot dogs. He did not participate in the Nathan’s contest because of a contract dispute. Chestnut responded by stating that Kobyashi was eating alone, not with other contestants, and that he, Joey Chestnut, has, in the past, eaten 71 by himself. Chestnut claimed a $10,000 prize. On a personal note, two hot dogs is my limit.
Here’s a item from BlogHer – Laurie writes, “Is a kid who attends 4th of July celebrations more likely to become a Republican? One study out of Harvard says so. The findings indicate that a child who attends at least one rain-free 4th of July celebration before the age of 18 is 4 percent more likely to vote Republican before the age of 40. And when eventual voting behavior is not considered, these children are still two percent more likely to identify as conservative.”
I was reading a poll by Marist – not Marxist – Marist at Marist Poll/LOTR/4th July which reports: “Only 58% of residents know that the United States declared its independence in 1776. 26% are unsure, and 16% mentioned another date. There are age differences on this question. Younger Americans are the least likely to know the correct answer. Only 31% of adults younger than 30 say that 1776 is the year in which the United States broke away from Great Britain. 59% of residents between 30 and 44 report the same. Americans 45 to 59 – 75% – are the age group most likely to have the correct answer. Among those 60 and older, 60% report that 1776 is the year in which the United States declared its independence.”
I went to a nail shop today operated by Vietnamese immigrants. No surprise there. While I was waiting for my wife to get done, one of the female nail techs was leaving and stopped before opening the door to say happy 4th to everyone in the store. She was so excited because she had just became a United States citizen and was going to celebrate with family and friends her first 4th of July. The other techs and the customers were all so happy for her. That’s the way to really take notice of the true meaning of the 4th.
Last year, in better economic times, I was visiting the Cayman Islands. My wife and I were speaking to a young woman who used to be a Olympic-level triathlete. Unfortunately, she was injured and could not compete any further, but instead became a scuba dive instructor. She had left the United States to make a new life in this amazing paradise. She studied hard, filled out the necessary paperwork, secured the needed sponsors and took the difficult tests, all the while fighting the bureaucracy of the government of her newly adopted residence. Finally, she was granted citizenship, now having the same status with both the Cayman Island and the United States. She is proud of both. One comment she made struck us both, the U.S. gives it citizenship away – it’s all too easy to reap the rewards of the greatest country on the planet.”
I take you to an editorial in The New York Times, NYT/Immigration/LOTR, “New laws in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina are following – and in some ways outdoing – Arizona’s attempt to engineer the mass expulsion of the undocumented, no matter the damage to the Constitution, public safety, local economies and immigrant families.”
“The laws vary in their details but share a common strategy: to make it impossible for people without papers to live without fear. They require businesses to check employees against the error-plagued federal E-Verify database, and to fire those who are flagged as unauthorized. Congress’s inaction has let the states run amok with their own destructive ideas. Supporters insist they are only trying to enforce the law. But trying to catch and deport 11 million people is lunacy.”
About the only aspect of what was written that I concur with, was the reference to the inaction of the Congress. The rest of it, well, what about the Vietnamese nail tech who worked hard to achieve her citizenship the legal way or the American outside of her country believing that hers has been cheapened and diminished by immigrants who think they have a right to live here illegally without question or consequence.
I cannot watch any member of Congress without contempt. Shoot the fireworks, grill the dogs, watch the games, but then, tomorrow, get on the backs of your representatives and pressure them to deal with the problem of illegal immigration. We need to decide.to do the right thing now.
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