It's "Illegal," NOT "Undocumented"

I read this story recently & I'm absolutely pissed off. In fact, this makes me super livid. How come?

Well...

1. These illegals came here of their own free will. They weren't kidnapped & sold as slaves like the ancestors of many black people who are here today. They weren't even fleeing Hitler or Fidel Castro.

If a particular person was fleeing something like this, that's one thing. I recently signed a petition in support of this woman who was trying to get amnesty in the US because of her 7 rapists in her native country being free & not getting any punishment in the legal system there. If I remember, I think there was also an active & present threat to this woman's safety if she was returned to that country. This is what's known as a special circumstance.

Most of these people don't have that going for them.

You assholes caused your own persecution. You are not the black people of the 1960s fighting for civil rights. You're not even gay people fighting for civil rights or marriage equality.

2. Who do these fuckers think they are to cut the line & think they can legally be allowed to remain here? Tons of people have been doing things the right way: applied for citizenship, paid the fees, all that good stuff. Why should YOU get to sneak in & have exemptions made for you & your family? What about all the other families separated b/c those people weren't a bunch of punks wiping our legislative system & immigration laws with their asses?

These loudmouths should be arrested on sight & forced to account to all the people who legally became citizens & permanent residents. They are an embarrassment & an insult to immigrants of the past.

I can have some sympathy to kids who didn't choose to come here who are fluent English speakers, made good grades, didn't break the law, etc. In fact, my husband & I have no issue with letting illegals become citizens if they serve in our military. However, they should not be getting residency & tuition discounts ahead of citizens. I also despise the whole anchor baby system but that's another story.

3. Speaking of causing your own persecution & being an embarrassment, how many of these people speak fluent English? If you don't even know English & you're here illegally, don't waste my time demanding civil rights from me. How about working on earning respect from people?

How do you earn it? For one thing, learn fluent English & don't force your kids to translate. Second, adapt to American society & culture. Stop demanding others to cater to you. Watch your damn kids, don't take from aid programs, stop stealing jobs from citizens & deflating wages for everyone, etc. Why can't you set up your own businesses like many an Asian immigrant has done for centuries? Then you won't be stealing from rank & file workers with limited education (or even a lot of education) trying to get a living wage.

If you want to live in Mexico or some other land of squalor, stop wasting time here & trying to turn the US into Mexico. Our leaders are doing enough of that without any illegals getting involved in devaluing quality of life.

4. The cops aren't arresting these people on sight but have no problem arresting Occupy protestors & spraying them with pepper spray. They have zero qualms with using stop & frisk on black people & Latinos who are legal. No problems with other forms of racial profiling & harassment to black people (most of whom ARE US citizens). No issue with passing legislation like NDAA & arresting citizens even suspected of terrorism. No issue with being J.P. Morgan Chase rent-a-cops & acting like the rich's private security force. They also have no problem letting politicians go for things your average citizen would be sitting in a jail cell for like drunk driving & the like.

I've said for years "What about the illegals?" Do these dolts in government think that everyone from Mexico is a saint? That no terrorists exist there or that everyone there loves this country? That they have no corruption there? They must be stupid & I have a very good idea where the next terrorist strike will be coming from. That is, if the current rulers don't shape up & stop acting like the French government pre-French Revolution (newsflash: protests happened LONG before the Internet & modern technology existed + not everyone is stupid).

If the police wants "to protect & serve" then they need to be arresting these illegals who think so little of our laws that they shit on them publicly and flaunt their status.

What next? Are pedophiles & rapists going to start a bus tour & come out of the shadows with zero recourse? Will murders or members of organized crime families start addressing crowds about their crimes? Maybe drug dealers & pimps should start their own bus tour & demand civil rights as well. The prostitute bus tour would probably be most interesting. At least the women getting applause from being "out of the shadows" would show us that society is more pro-woman than we (and certainly I) thought.

All of these groups are lawbreakers under most of society. If we're not arresting the illegals, why shouldn't these other people get to do the same thing? No one's "protecting or serving" MY interest by allowing illegals to run free to commit identity theft, not carry automobile insurance & cause accidents, harass women (if not worse), be deadbeat parents, etc.

Nor is anyone "protecting or serving" MY interest by facilitating government corruption (I find it more than coincidence that my friend was harassed after he spoke out publicly against racism in the police investigation process & if you don't, you underestimate the level of government corruption that exists; I also refuse to believe that little old Walnut Cove is a bastion of tolerance when they apparently impose a curfew on adults if commenters to that story can be believed), practicing racism in police procedure & keeping (or worse, promoting) racists on the force.

There's also no protection or service of MY interests when women are being harassed & treated like second class citizens or when the police is playing J.P. Morgan Chase rent-a-cops because some people dare to express their constitutionally protected 1st Amendment rights.

I also don't view the police as saints or above reproach considering my father was subjected to harassment & exploitation by an asshole cop in my hometown. He was accused of being intoxicated b/c he "had red eyes." Well, shithead we buried my brother in law the day before. Everyone was crying. The man was probably grieving, you scumbag. My mother also told me he wasn't drinking & she may have covered up many things but she'd never covered up when he was drunk. She would be the first to tell me if he had been driving under the influence & would have turned him in herself if he had been doing it (she's said this publicly many times over the years & started doing so after he'd gotten his license taken away & gone to rehab when I was 14).

His car was impounded & there was damage to it in an area where there should not have been damage afterward (the bumper at the bottom of the car, which they claimed was there b/c they were trying to get in & the car was locked; do we look stupid?).

Ultimately, the evidence was in favor of my father so he had to be let go but I've not forgotten this little travesty & if I didn't have things going well for me, I would probably have to do something to right that situation. I wasn't there since I had a job in Atlanta at the time & I can't live in that town.

Shit like this does not endear citizens to the police. It does NOT inspire them to give tips or help them catch real criminals. In fact, it creates mistrust, hatred & backlash against law enforcement.

With me if you are doing actual, legitimate police work & trying to HELP me vs. live out some political agenda or be a corporate lapdog, I'll be more than happy to help you. Not furthering problems is a good thing & something I like to encourage in people. I've encountered respectful law enforcement members who weren't jerks & were actually helpful. Those people should get more recognition with the scum being tossed out. The scum ruins it for the good cops just as they ruin it for the good lawyers, doctors, filmmakers, cashiers, business owners, whatever.

General Musings, Part 5 & How to Spot a Scam Artist

Here we go again. Got all these stories & now it's time to share some thoughts:

Call me a prick or whatever you want but I do happen to be in support of this. It's this kind of thing that has been making the US a safe haven for illegals & having seen my family's former neighbors pop out baby after baby that they then allow to roam freely in busy streets without a care in the world or Social Services coming after them, I'm all for cutting that kind of nonsense. I don't blame Social Services since they've overworked, underpaid & have enough to deal with but I think curbing that whole thing might help everyone's caseloads.

If you disagree, talk to me about it when you see the mother of these children doing zero child rearing or even speaking English. The men will at least parent if you tell them their children are messing in your yard or standing in the middle of the street waiting to be a human speed bump. I really don't have regard or sympathy for women who do this. That also ties into my rant against breeders, who come in all nationalities, religions, economic classes, etc. & are equally hated by me.

As a lawyer & somewhat liberal minded person, you can guess what side I take on this. Videotaping the police should absolutely not be a crime. Guess how many regimes in history violated basic civil rights; a lot. If you ask me, this is a check against police corruption that we sorely need in society as a while.

I can think of worse, don't worry. But, let's get serious: you'd better MENTION weekend work unless it's standard practice in the job. You'll not get ME to do it unless it's for my own business or some enterprise where I will receive ample compensation & recognition for doing so. That's sorely lacking in your typical job.

I did my weekend time & paid my dues there, thank you. Now, I'm a married woman with a Master's level degree & deserve to have quality time with my spouse. I simply avoid jobs demanding me to do that since I am a freelancer & get the luxury to create my own schedule.

Some truly bad questions:

1. What's your policy on personal hygiene? (I'm not kidding; my husband could tell you stories about this.)
2. Are you solvent? Financially, that is.
3. May I bring my dog/cat/snake/other household pet to work? (and you aren't handicapped)
4. When will the soul sucking begin?
5. Would you like to go out with me? (That would creep me out.)
6. When will your company join us in the modern age?

What's the use of life if you can't laugh once in a while? It would also make me lash out even more at the corporate world, where personality isn't allowed, if I didn't do stuff like this.

I can relate to this one since I also found college & law school textbooks to be too damn high. I'm surprised the law school scam bloggers haven't talked about that yet. My own law school once openly told us they weren't e-mailing us the ISBNs for the books as they had in prior semesters b/c "the bookstore won't let us & wants to make money."

Well, I want my own gold mine. We want lots of things in life but that doesn't mean we'll get them. I just walked to the bookstore myself, found my books, wrote down the ISBNs, then went home & looked them up online. Unless you store yours in the back & make employees fetch them for students, I guess you're out of luck aren't you, evil campus bookstore??? Saved 1/2 the money buying from non-bookstore sources.

Ed Koch, you rock!!! Good luck to New York Uprising. Stuff like this makes me hopeful for the American spirit & people getting together to say "Enough is enough!" I didn't even live in NYC when he was Mayor but anyone who gets things done & doesn't crumble in the face of controversy to the PC crowd is someone I admire.

All I can say is "Cut the shit!!" Where have you dinosaurs been living since the rise of You Tube, the Internet, cable television, etc.? Is this 1988? I find it ridiculous that they even have a cable show entitled "Dance Your A** Off"; what the hell??? Why can we not spell the word "Ass"; it is in the Bible, after all. Furthermore, since when do the Christians govern this nation??? One religion does not have the right to dictate what everyone else does, especially when others don't follow that religion. You don't see the Amish or the Mormons doing this stuff. Take a lesson from them.

You know you're just going to end up like Terry Rakolta & give the show even better ratings + press. People will speak out against the Parents Television Council and deem them out of touch with modern society's mores. Furthermore, some of you people need to be looking at yourselves & what you are teaching your kids instead of blaming popular culture, television shows and the media in general for your children's spiritual corruption. Let me tell you right now, we have a little thing called a TV remote & I bet your children have seen more Internet porn in 2 months than I've seen in my entire life.

There's a practice called abstinence; it's not just for sex. Grown ups do live in this country & when you infringe on my rights to watch a program or those of my fellow creatives to express themselves, that's when you're asking for trouble.

Finally, some tips on spotting a scam artist:

I saw this Craig's List ad for a job. In case they actually pull this one, here's what it says.

Executive Business Assistant for Modeling Agency (New York)
Date: 2010-08-06, 10:52PM EDT
Reply to: gigs-2hbup-1885186759@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Good Evening Everyone-
An up and coming modeling agency is looking for an Executive Business Assistant for the New York City area.
THIS POSITION IS NOT FOR THE WEAK AT HEART..DIVAS NEED NOT APPLY EITHER!
The company is presently looking to work with eye candy models, so if you have experience there then please include related experience in your response email.
The people selected for this particular position would be responsible for building a team of personnel for the following core management positions in the New York City area: (a) Director of Operations, (b) Director of Marketing, (c) Director of Model Development and (d) Business Assistant
The duties of each of the listed personnel will be discussed with the individuals who surpass the initial screening for the Executive Business Assistant Position
The Executive Business Assistant would also be responsible for finding 10 strong modeling candidates to upstart the market in the New York City area
What the agency is looking for:
(a) A Female who is at least 28 years of age
(b) Someone who is aggressive, detail oriented, organized, and not easily persuaded/influenced (AGAIN THIS POSITION IS NOT DESIGNED FOR WEAK INDIVIDUALS)
(c) Someone with a positive attitude and can share various ideas to move the New York market as well as other markets forward
(d) Must be able to communicate effectively
(e) Must be able to make herself accessible
If you are interested in this position, then please forward your resume and/or bio, 2-3 photos, statement of why you would be the best fit for this position, contact email and contact phone number. Someone affiliated with the agency will be in touch with all candidates who possess the strongest capabilities within 24-72 hours

* Location: New York
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
* Compensation: will be discussed with individuals who surpass initial screening process

PostingID: 1885186759

Freaking demanding of total strangers, eh? I sent in information & corresponded w/a lovely person who completely agreed with my basic points. Apparently, the guy was a clone of the scammer at the fake BMG Network referenced much earlier in this blog.

So, how to spot a scammer? I've noticed a few things:

1. Job ads asking for pictures when the job isn't for an acting, modeling or some creative project. Personal or Executive Assistant to the CEO does NOT count.

If they're asking for pics, chances are the person's seeking a future sexual harassment victim. It actually happened to someone I know. They're also setting themselves up for a serious employment discrimination lawsuit with evidence right there for the world to see.

2. The business owner is evasive. The scammer I dealt with wouldn't even give financial information to potential investors, despite the fact that it's par for the course in this business.

3. The business owner might as well be a 7th grade girl since (s)he talks behind people's backs. I loathe that shit with a passion & it corrodes a business when you don't have honest communication. This kind of drama is juvenile + a waste of time.

4. The business owner never gets back to you on things. The scammer was the worst person in the company I worked in. Everyone else was on the ball, ready to go but that guy always dragged his feet. I loathe this as well.

5. The business owner doesn't want to work with a lawyer or is scared of one. The one concerning this ad apparently claimed to have one but I think that's BS since no attorney I know would have someone post an ad that so obviously violates labor laws. Nor would any sane business person turn down the opportunity to even speak to an attorney, especially in the entertainment game. Remember, attorneys actually get respect in this business. Even if they have one, any sane person would still talk to other lawyers since you never know who might be a resource in the future.

This probably doesn't cover everything (one obvious thing is never giving money on the condition of a job or reimbursement if you've not dealt with the person in the past) but when I see things like this, it's a huge red flag screaming "Lying crook. Get away!"

I Hope You're Sticking Around...

Just trying to adjust to having a full time day job again. Of course, the real test comes in when I get paid. I'm not about to have a repeat performance of the scam artistry of last November. I won't be working unpaid for 3 months this time.

Realized that I have some links I really should go & comment on:

* Legalities aside, I & every sane person in this country have been wanting this to happen for years. It's time to start following the example of other countries & treating citizenship with the importance that it deserves instead of letting illegals cash in on everything.


* A few comments on this:

First off, honesty is a total misnomer in a job interview. It IS, seriously. You walk in there wearing clothes you don't normally wear, rehearsing your answers ahead of time & telling an employer precisely what they want to hear. Personal style & creativity is generally frowned upon as is not being a robot. A smart interviewer knows that there is a degree of dishonesty in any job interview. I would even go so far as to say that a job interview is the ultimate act of dishonesty, especially when competition for a job is fierce & lots of people are desperate.

Second, I'm glad that some of my methods are things that one should do such as dealing w/overqualification right away. Thankfully, my current position didn't come w/that problem. I'm still learning but at least it's in the title of attorney.

Also glad to see that this person despises the practice of not doing a follow-up after giving someone an interview. I hate that & it's a true pet peeve of mine.

Third, employers should also not rely on candidates filling a position. They may have other interviews & get better offers or people who are more proactive than Potential Employer #1.

A few more comments: checking references off list could lead to potential lawsuits. What if someone said "do not contact X person?" There could be defamation issues so we might want to tread carefully there.

We're also not addressing the catch-22 of "no experience w/out a job; no job w/out experience." You can't volunteer everywhere & for every single field. It's actually a terrible idea to volunteer at a library in order to work as a librarian; my husband found out that it will harm you if you pursue that area.

Also not smart to do it as a lawyer unless you're in law school; if you've graduated, you should already have gotten internships or done something in the legal industry to learn how to practice law. Otherwise, you end up stuck as a permanent volunteer/unpaid worker & never get the respect from anyone to move forward. You end up devaluing your own skills & no one takes you seriously if you're doing it years after getting admitted. I've seen many lawyers not take up & comers seriously but simply exploit them for free labor.

For the record, legal aid & other similar groups have requirements for volunteers; I know Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts requires 7 years of legal experience before you can work w/them. Now my situation has not been on a volunteer basis but is a result of how the entertainment industry works.

Oh, and personality not fitting the corporate culture: what if someone's personality is repugnant to everyone? What if you're in an occupation where you're supposed to be less than happy flowers & sunshine to people, where in fact such behavior would cause those you had to get things from to brush you aside? Somewhere, I'm sure there are people whose personalities & general inner being are offensive to everyone in the room; what then?

Finally, be honest but don't talk about a bad boss? Hmmm.... can we say "be a liar?" I don't think that when your former position was a scam enterprise that you help yourself by defending the scam, especially when you have ethical duties to the general public under a professional license. I also think you have a right to talk about the lack of advancement opportunities if people who don't even interact w/you on a frequent basis are the ones making the decisions while ignoring anyone who does spend time w/you (including your immediate boss) & says you deserve to move upward.

Honestly, I think I did much better in interviews when I wasn't worried about making someone like me & simply approached it like a business transaction.

Two big problems w/this one:

First, if I were still dating I prefer not wasting my time w/an animal hater or a two bit scumbag who's just like an ex. I had no qualms talking about pets or exes & used such conversation to determine whether I needed to bother getting to know this person any further. One doesn't need to be the crazy cat lady or mega-obsessed on something but I certainly think it's pertinent to share stories on these topics to implicitly tell someone just what will happen if THEY try doing to me what X in the story did.

Second, you can use that stuff for bonding. My husband & I bonded over bad ex stories. It became a question of whose exes are worse. We declared it a tie.

Oh, and readers? If you try to seek me out aside from this blog, know that I am a very suspicious & paranoid person. Life & general reality has made me this way.

If you have a complaint about that, then take it up w/all the people who have wronged me in some way. Ask nicely & I'll give you a list.