Project Immigration: Visa Runaround ABC & News (Arlington, Virg.) ondering why the people being smuggled didn't just obtain a legal visa and wait their turn in line, Leon quickly found out that nothing about the "Visa Runaround" is that simple.
Top Officials Hinge Careers on Immigration Arizona Republic Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano came closer than ever last week to a full-blown conflict with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio over their differing approaches to illegal immigration.
Choices to Make on Immigration Policy Boston Globe Are today's immigrants having a harder time blending into society than their predecessors of a century ago? This question is central to the current immigration policy debate.
Immigration Raid Roils Iowa Melting Pot Chicago Tribune Mass arrests have staggered America's largest kosher meatpacker and the cosmopolitan prairie town that sees its future on the line
A tribute to Donald Duck, and what makes him so beloved, on his seventy fourth birthday.
June 10, 2008
As the presidential campaigns continue to focus on who said what within earshot of whom, we'd like to say a word on illegal immigration - thanks.
Thanks for cooking our restaurant meals, cutting our meat and framing our houses. For helping prop up Social Security with an estimated $8 billion in payments that will never be recouped because they were based on fake ID cards. For not making trouble about substandard working conditions or zero job security.
Yes, immigration is an extremely complex issue, and we don't mean to make light of the very real concerns regarding border security, crime and more. These problems are real, and not going away. But all too often, it seems to be assumed that the 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants in this country (their very nature defies accurate counting) are a drain on the economy, when the truth is more likely to be that illegal immigration has benefited you economically.
Certainly we know the negatives. Because they're largely poor and don't have to pay taxes, illegal immigrants are a drain on governments services -- chiefly health care and education -- to the tune of $15 billion or so a year. Their impact on the American economy is muted because much of their earnings -- an estimated $46 billion this year -- are wired back to relatives in their native land.
Now the not-so-tidy side of reality. By working for lower wages (and almost always without benefits) illegal immigrants push down the prices you pay for everything from restaurant meals to lawn care. With national unemployment lately hovering around 5%, generally considered the minimum for a healthy capitalist economy, they fill out the bottom rungs of the job market. And they, as Chapman University law professor Francine Lipman notes, "contribute to the U.S. economy through their investments and consumption of goods and services; filling of millions of essential worker positions resulting in subsidiary job creation, increased productivity and lower costs of goods and services; and unrequited contributions to Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance programs."
As we see it, the real problem is that they provide those benefits through a shadowy system that provides wink-and-a-nod protection to employers but penalizes those they hire by giving them no recourse against poor working conditions or worse. You can't fix a problem until you recognize it exists, and in this case the problem -- moral, political, economic -- is that we have an economy that has become dependent on an unregulated, unprotected source of cheap labor.
Once you acknowledge the nature of the problem, the solution, as in so many cases, starts to seem clearer -- regulate and tax. Current immigration law already allows for numerous forms of legal residence that fall short of full citizenship. Certainly a new category could be cooked up that satisfied reasonable demands that we not reward law-breaking while still affording a means to monitor, protect and regulate heretofore invisible workers. Heck, we might even start to have a reasonable idea of how many are here.
This also offers a means to address one of the most oft-cited concerns about immigrants, that they're sucking up government services without paying for them. Evidence shows that most immigrants will willingly pay taxes if given a safe means to do so. Since the IRS created individual taxpayer identification numbers, an alternative means of identification for those ineligible for a Social Security number, some $50 billion has been paid into the Treasury, mostly by illegal immigrants looking for a leg up on citizenship.
Not convinced? Consider the alternative. The Center for American Progress estimates (how they came up with this number is a question all to itself) it would cost $41 billion a year to deport most of the illegal immigrant in this country. Am I the only one who can think of a few better ways to spend that kind of dough?
Share the Eye:
Next President Must Resolve Immigration, Cuba Issues Council on Foreign Relations James T. Hill, the former commander of U.S. Southern Command, says many of the issues affecting U.S. relations with Latin America are tied to domestic political matters in the United States.
Sermon on Immigration Being Barbara It would take a novel to address all the fears that people have around the issue of immigration.
The Political Hypocrisy of Immigration Security Debrief In the abstract, the majority of Americans demand that government crackdown on illegal immigration. In the concrete reality of such crackdowns, American communities and local economies can be gravely disrupted, producing inevitable outcries from local politicians.
The Price for Stopping Illegal Immigration: Economic Crisis Loren Steffy/Houston Chronicle A new study concludes that eliminating undocumented workers would cost the economy more than $1.7 trillion in lost spending annually.
Just when you thought it was safe, here comes another anecdote so read at your own risk.
The s...
Jun. 10, 2008 3:46 PM
What's the key to fixing the immigration mess?
20% 15% 60% 5%
There are pro and con about illegals, especially in Southern California. They've used the hospital emergency rooms for non-emergencies to get basic medical care. The tax payers foot the bill. They've negatively impacted the construction industry because when they're injured they receive money and re-training. the work comp rates go up accordingly, making contractors charge more to recoup the loss. Many thousands drive without insurance or even drivers licenses. The subsequent hike in my insurance premium to pay for the "uninsured" motorist losses is high.
There are many stories of pregnant illegal women crossing the border to give birth. When the County hospital is back-logged they'd ship the women to private hospitals. The doctors would do c-sections because they were quicker and they'd get more money from the government.
The local jails are full of illegals who have been gang members, drug dealers, murderers. The bi-lingual language problems are because of illegals. The cost to the schools and tax payers for bi-lingual education and materials is also high.
Try ordering a hamburger at the local hamburger franchise if you don't speak Spanish.
But despite the negatives there is a positive. They've brought a vibrant culture to L.A. The cost of hiring them keeps many costs low. The tax revenue is a positive. Many own homes and pay property tax. Those who have become citizens are active voters and active in the schools.
I think the real issue is not giving citizenship to a baby because it's born here, unless the parents are citizens.
The bigger problem is we have a third world country on our southern border that is corrupt and controlled by drug lords (like Tijuana). We are spending billions on Iraq to bring them up to the 12th century when we should be working with our southern neighbor to at least get them to the 20th century
For all who can, speak to some illegal immigrants; you are sure to hear the most interesting stories.
Most (if not all) of the illegal immigrants I met in the Midwest who came from North, South and Central America were in the United States to WORK; very very hard at that. Their families had sent their "best," many of whom eventually choose to make homes in the US.
I met some with advanced degrees, professors etc, who came to wield knives in meat-packing plants. This is hard, dangerous work most average Americans would not be willing to do (much less those with graduate degrees)... I'd venture to say that most Americans would become vegetarian before they had to do any of this themselves.
I knew a doctor who worked in the packing plants to raise funds for his practice in a mountainous, poverty-stricken area in Mexico. He spent six months of the year at a time in the US and six months back home, doling out free medicine. He finally was able to purchase an ambulance, his pride and joy.
For me, it's a duty and privilege to pay taxes that will benefit a fellow human being who needs a leg up; I don't care where he or she comes from. Maybe tomorrow it will be you and I who need these benefits?
Back in my full-time actor days, I worked with a lady from Japan. She was an actress, a dancer, and a puppeteer. She was brilliant, deeply felt, a visionary creator of stunning artistic routines. She could not make a living in her chosen field in her native land so, like many great artists, she came to New York.
She is an illegal immigrant.
I shudder to think that my friend may one day be forced to go back to where her great talents will be squandered.
"For me, it's a duty and privilege to pay taxes that will benefit a fellow human being who needs a leg up; I don't care where he or she comes from. Maybe tomorrow it will be you and I who need these benefits?"
I'm sorry but Heiress I beg to differ ~ I can't in any way consider it a privilage to pay taxes so someone that is not a citizen and/or came to this country & did not follow the Imigration laws can benefit from all of it.
It upsets me greatly when I can't get financial aid to go back to school I've benn told to actually quit my job & then I "might" be able to be eligible for some of it. While people who have been living here but did not follow the laws to do so can go to college without paying out of state tution fees, get free meals at the public school levels, get my doctors offices to ahv eto pay for translators so they can see the doctor, which raises my co-pays & insurance costs but they pay their bills out of some fiancial aid giving program because they feel that they crossed a river or an ocean in the luggage compartment to get here they are entitled. We are a somewhat civilized society ~ I cannot abide by the reasoning that well they are here & it costs SO MUCH to send them back we should keep them here give them a free pass.
I don't get that if we are lawful society who believes in their laws why we should reward people for breaking the law. Yet our country continues to do do.
I really don't believe the adage that no else will do the jobs either ~
If parents would teach their children that they need to work hard rather than paying for every whim they have, or if people on any SSI or public assistance were forced to find some kind of work those jobs would be filled.
To DPR ~ I love Aisan Cinema the films & plays coming out of the Aisan world is so much better than the U.S. right at the moment (IMHO) ~ Imagine the influence on today's world she would have made had she stayed in her native land?
Spinner said...
Louisville has a large number of refugees from Somalia and other African countries now in turmoil. We have some of those "child soldiers" that were kidnapped and forced to fight. One is in the news now because he has been turned down for permanent residency because he was an "enemy combatant" even though he came here escaping a sure death if re-caught by the rebels. Our US Rep. is fighting hard to change the mind of the beurocracy, but who knows. He is here having used the system legally, and is getting the shaft. And, as a footnote, he has been accepted at a college in the state after having worked hard to get a good secondary education. How many from other counrties that speak something other than Spanish have come through the system legally and now can't get their family here to join them? Why should they, who have tried to do things properly have to wait indefinitely while those from south of our boarder be given some sort of amnesty? Doesn't seem like the American sense of fair play to me! etc., etc.
To rings90:
Remember that you only get to see the good stuff that comes overseas. There is a huge amount of dung that fills foreign cinemas that we Americans never get to see. Only the cream of the crop winds up accessible in the international market. For every "Lust, Caution" or "Raise the Red Lantern", there are every bit as many mindless action flicks over there as there are over here.
But this is all of little consequence to my story. My friend, while she is statuesque and beautiful, is not a cinematic actress. She is a stage actress, a classically trained dancer, and a puppeteer. The Kabuki and Noh theatre traditions in Japan are a very tightly knit community with few inroads. And western style theatre in that part of the world is usually limited to travelling companies that do their hiring over here.
My friend is in her late 30's. She HAD stayed in her native land for a while and found the doors closed. But they were open over here. All went well until her immigration lawyer passed away right around the time her visa expired. Now, she finds herself between a rock and a hard place through no fault of her own. In the meantime, she and other people in her position are being discussed as percentages of tax revenue and representatives of socio-political groups, rather than as individual human beings with valuable voices and visions.
We DO agree in our disagreement with Heiress, however. While I fully appreciate her feelings on the subject of being delighted to help, I do not feel that "taxes" and "privilege" belong in the same sentence under any circumstances. Taxation is compulsory. If it's such a privilige, why does the government have to force us to do it?
I think we can all provide anecdotal evidence that illegals are either positive or a negative factor in our country. And scapegoating strangers in our midst is a time honored way of protecting the status quo.
The facts are probably a different matter. And who knows what the facts are?
I still think we should not grant citizenship to the children of illegals born here, period. We should require people applying for citizenship to speak English and understand the basics of the Constitution. If you think that's a requirement now, you are sadly mistaken.
I came to this country legally, my father had to come first. My mom and I follwed one year later. There were no handouts. No deals offered. When i came here i was riduculed for being a "lobsterback" (the name given to the redcoats in the Revolution). I was repeatedly humiliated because I didn't know baseball. I was sent to a special school to learn how to pronounce English and spell it the "correct" way. (and I came from the country that invented Engilsh) The people doing the humiliation were the teachers!
The only thing that really helped me assimilate was the popularity of the Beatles. Everybody wanted to know the guy that spoke like them. Today, I've lost my accent, but that's okay -- I'm an American
I got over it. And no one catered to me with my own food or cultural days
To become a citizen I had to prove I knew how the government worked.
If you want to be here legally, or illegally, become an American. You can still have your cultural heritage. But become an American first.
Spinner said...
ExPat:
Here! Here! So many other anticdotal stories come to mind that I won't even go there. Including this thing we have of the hyphon-American. What is with that? If you want to celebrate your cultural heriatage, fine. But if you come here, you are saying you want to participate in the American culture. Then do so. Don't remain first and formost, what your grandparents were. You chose to leave their country. So leave it and participate fully in the culture around you. Don't forget your heritage, I not saying we should do to you what we did to the American Indian, but for goodness sakes, at least learn the language! When our kids went to Germany for only one year, they spent a good deal of time learning German so they could participate fully in the German experience. And that was only preparing for one year, not a lifetime.
PS to ExPat:
I am old. I know. And I really am not very savy about this techy world. So forgive me if I way overstep here. But... Since we are coning out to LA next week, my husband wondered if it would be possible sometime during that week to meet either for lunch or dinner. Are you anywhere near Culver City? Is this breaching the anonimity of these sites? Or is this okay to ask? Do I give you my e-mail address, our kids phone #, you say yes and where and when we meet, or do we just forget the whole thing because that would ruin the fun of this whole thing? Help me out here.
Just when you thought it was safe, here comes another anecdote so read at your own risk.
The short answer to Mr. Peterman’s question is of course you’re not alone in your thinking that there are better ways to spend the money. After all, where do you even begin to develop a rational solution to an issue that has been growing exponentially, in plain sight, over the past several decades . . . but none-the-less ignored?
When this type of scenario develops, e.g., an issue that has grown to include anywhere up to 20+ million human beings; it usually means that it is just symptomatic of a collection of problems and failed systems. The tangled web of root causes for this issue has to be a real beauty!
Heiress’s comments struck a note with me in a couple ways, beyond the obvious one of me living in Midwest where she had most of her experiences with illegal immigrants.
Her references to the meat packing industry hit home because my father worked in the Chicago stockyards for about forty years beginning at age fourteen. I do agree with her statement that “most Americans would not be willing†to do this hard and dangerous today, but that was not the case in the mid 1920’s when my father worked there. My father by the way was a second generation American. His family emigrated from Luxembourg.
At that time there was absolutely no protection for American laborers. Child labor laws did not exist. A forty-hour work week, safety precautions, health benefits, time off, couldn’t even be imagined. What could have developed into the truly “golden industrial eraâ€, became instead a black eye on America’s history because of the greed of a few.
Why do I bring this up? Because I believe that when we as a nation became more socially responsible in regard to protecting the American worker, that the greed of those companies that caused those laws of worker protection to be enacted also drove them to hire undocumented illegal immigrants to circumvent those laws. In other words, just follow the money to find the source.
Although I try to avoid generalizations, I truly agree with Heiress’ comment concerning the work ethic of these immigrants. I worked for a large telecommunications manufacturing facility and served as Employee and Labor Relations Director (yes, I was the evil HR guy). I can proudly say that our Company never hired “under-the-table†and always required full documentation (visas/green cards) and enjoyed a long tradition of being “Best in Class†in terms of employment standards, employee safety, and employee benefits. It was generally my experience that the employees who worked with us from south-of-the-border did indeed come here to WORK and WORK hard. It was a very symbiotic relationship, they appreciated the working conditions and benefits, and we appreciated their willingness to work and learn. We frequently held “English as a Second Language†classes on-site as well as G.E.D.
I know there are many, many reasons things have progressed to this point. I know I’m not smart enough to come up with a solution. I also know there is not a 45 billion dollar “silver bullet solutionâ€.
I also suspect that it would be naive to think that it’s only illegal immigrants that are “paid-under-the-table†and causing a drain on our government services.
My lawn has grown since I started this so now I’ve got to go mow it.
more on the honor rollExPat and Spinner:
You are absolutely right that, when someone chooses America as a home, they should choose to participate in the culture they have adopted. When someone fails to do this and resents being expected to, the phrase that comes to my mind is "What did you expect?"
I suppose my biggest concern is that it should be easier to do precisely that. My brother and sister-in-law missed their first anniversary because the immigration office was dragging their feet on her paper work. And she already spoke excellent English and was well-versed in our culture. The path to citizenship is very important to her (she is from western China) but it is not being made any easier by the very government she seeks to embrace!
I appreciate that there is a very vocal group that contends that the holding onto ancestral customs is more important than even the most basic amount of assimilation. But I have to wonder if they aren't simply a loud minority. After all, if the old culture was so wonderful, what makes living in America so important? As I mentioned in a previous thread, immigration is the sincerest form of flattery.
BTW -- ExPat, I'm heartbroken to learn that you've lost your English accent. From Liverpool to Plymouth, I've never heard one that I didn't find delightful. Now, I shall have to revamp my mental picture of you (at least the audio part).
To: Spinner,
I would love to meet with you and your husband for lunch or dinner. I think we can work out the details.
To: DreadPirateRoberts,
I like to think that my accent has been traveling east since I came to the country at age 10. Somehow, it has finally caught up with me. Years ago people would ask my if I was from Boston....now there are so many differnet accents in L.A. and over 200 languages spoken, I could be from almost anywhere. So when people ask me "Where are you from?", I say "Lots of different places". But if they ask "have you been to New Jersey?" I say "not if I can help it"
DreadPirateRoberts,
We used to employ a secretary from, if memory serves me correctly, a place called Bishops Doorstep. Her accent was such that she would tell you to "shut your cake hole" and all you could do was smile.
To: South-Side John,
The town you refer to is Bishop's Stortford. It's in the south east of England on the English Channel. It was founded by the Romans. Its history is that of a "market town". It's famous for it's pubs and Cecil Rhodes. It's also a place where a lot of the financial people in London like to live. (Do you think that's because of the connection to Rhodes or the pubs?)
They might be famous for their "cakes", too.
ExPat:
It is very fashionable for us metropolitan types to knock New Jersey. But, in all fairness, it actually has some lovely spots. Montclair has the the charm of a European village and Red Bank is a must for arts and antiques lovers. My wife and I have been seriously considering spending our upcoming anniversary (number seven) down in Long Branch on the Jersey Shore.
So, even though I'm supposed to stay loyal to my side of the Hudson River, I'm sending a little love to the union's most densely populated state.
Spinner said...
I went to college in the 50's and went north to a college outside of Cleveland. This was before people started migrating all over the country so my "southern" accent did indeed make me stand out and be the ridicule of a good many people. The best story, however, was when, in my senior year, I tried out for a small part in a play that was to be that of a southern tourist. I decided that, even though I didn't have such a thick, deep southern drawl, these people from northern Ohio and PA thought I did, so I figured I would simply speak in my natural accent.
Way back in the 50's, before people were migrating all over the country (after all, those wagon trains weren't too efficient) I went to college in northern Ohio. I was given all sorts of grief because of what they saw as my southern "drawl". Drove me nuts as I was from Louisville, pretty north for being in the south. So when I quit the band in my senior year, I decided to try out for a small part in a campus play that was of a southern tourist. Since these people from northern Ohio and PA thought I talked so strangely, I decided to simply talk in my normal accent. I was turned down for the part because the director said that my accent was "too fakey" sounding... I did a couple of other plays that year and that director never lived down the appraisal. In fact, at our 35th reunion, he was there and brought it up. So I know about being the "outsider".
On the other hand, back to our son and their German. A month ago, he went to Germany to be a part of a (believe this) launching of The Year of Mathmatics. As part of the opening, he went to several schools and lectured on the importance of studying math. At one school, when he started in lecturing in German, the students actually applauded. So no matter where in the world you are, the natives appreciate the aliens trying to assimilate. It isn't just us isolationist Ugly Americans.
Spinner said...
Sorry 'bout that. I hit enter by mistake the first time and the whole thing dissapeared so I re-wrote it and when I hit send, they both camo up. See, I am definitely NOT techy.
to: ExPat,
That's the place! My misnomer is probably one of the many reasons she would tell me to shut my cake hole.
To answer your question; finance and pubs go hand-in-hand.
To: DreadPirateRoberts,
I was being funny....I heard the line on a movie..it seemed like the best answer at the time (for the character).
To: SSJ,
I kinda figured the two go hand in hand (Ha!Ha!)
To: Spinner,
The hard part for me is I can't even fake an English accent anymore, but my kids can (and they've lived their entire lives here). Go figure!
The San Fernando Valley is not far from Culver City. It's all within the City of L.A. The freeways can get you just about anywhere. I'm sure the decent people on this site would respect the "privacy" of an exchange of contact information.
Spinner said...
ExPat:
I will have to check with the 4yo grandchild as to our schedule she has planned and maybe give you the phone# of their home so we can plan better with a one-on-one. This sounds great and I know my husband wants to meet you so he can give you his side of the story.
To: Spinner,
This will be a great experience. I told La Donna we would be getting together for lunch, she thinks its a cool idea. I wish she could be there, too; she is a wonderful person, and a person I'm proud to call my friend.
Nordo said...
"Thanks for cooking our restaurant meals, cutting our meat and framing our houses. For helping prop up Social Security with an estimated $8 billion in payments that will never be recouped because they were based on fake ID cards. For not making trouble about substandard working conditions or zero job security."
Yes. Thanks. And thanks to the businesses that hire them....to the owners who are suddenly able to realize a 50-plus percent premium to hiring illegal workers versus those who pay taxes, raise families and in general try to opt in to the American way of life. And where does that savings go? Right back to the consumer? Riiiight. In 1990 the average CEO made 85 times that of the employee. In 1999 exploded to a multiple of 419. That trend has continued unabated and today, many of those responsible for the sub-prime meltdown have their hands out to the Fed for a bailout.
Yes, thanks. Thanks to the political geniuses who suggested we abate the gas tax this summer to fight high pump prices. Thanks to the genius who decided to print more money and hand it out to folks to spend this tax year.....spending....the American answer to a slow economy. And thanks to current answer du jour on addressing the illegal immigrant question: Build a Wall.
Let's build a wall to keep 'em out. Forget about the idea that perhaps...just perhaps we should be focusing on the patriots that hire illegal workers, and bring the hammer down on them. Maybe then the chasm between the top and bottom, the continued erosion of the middle class and everything that goes with it, and the basic idea that a job worth doing should be a job worth paying....maybe then we would see some national progress.
Of course, wall or no wall, economics are quickly taking care of the immigrant question. The sub-prime meltdown is doing more to keep dissuade illegal workers than a wall ever could.
Thanks.
Spinner makes a very interesting statement about how everyone appreciates an outsider's effort to assimilate. The thing is, when it's US, we're being "isolationist ugly Americans". But, when it's ANYONE ELSE, it's just the respectful acknowledgement of a culture appreciating another's efforts. Double standard anyone? I am not saying that Spinner takes on this attitude but there are many who do. If anyone remembers my "Ferdinand the Bull" anecdote from a while back, I think it applies to this issue as well.
To ExPat:
When I put on an English accent, anyone from the London area catches the fraud immediately. But people from Birmingham are always fooled and one gentleman even hazarded a guess that I was from Surrey. There was even a time when, after a performance was over, I was told I had to come out and chat with a Birmingham family in my own accent because they were absolutely unwilling to believe that I wasn't English! That is, of course, the ultimate compliment.
Since I have addressed my comments here to both ExPat and Spinner, I've gotta say: You guys know what we gossip mongers are going to do with all this lunch business, don't you!!!
ExPat,
Yes, sometimes the best (and worst) financial decisions are made based on some calculations written in ballpoint on the back of a bar napkin.
Spinner said...
DPR:
Oh please! My husband is going to be there and anyway, I can't go behind LaDonna's back. She seems to be too nice a gal to ... hmmm... maybe I can distract her with my husband...
To: DreadPirateRoberts,
My second oldest son has even fooled my English relatives during a transatlantic phone call with his "fake" accent.
Breakfast with La Donna and lunch with Spinner, seems like a great way to spend a day to me. But y'all will have to gossip about who I'm having dinner with.........
To: SSJ,
There's a well-known real estate developer here in L.A. who had a famous (infamous) case over a deal done on a restaurant napkin.....he said it wasn't a valid offer because he made it on a napkin, the court saw it differently. He lost a nice piece of property.
I like to wander around old graveyards when I visit where I grew up in southern Illinois and Indiana. And I'm struck by how many of the old graveyards contain tombstones in German, rather than English. In the past, during the years when many of our ancestors came here, the first and sometimes second generations often didn't learn English, particularly the older ones, and those who found themselves essentially in a ghetto filled with other natives of their homeland. The process of assimilation has often taken a generation or two in the past to work, and we should really expect no difference now.
We have tightened the laws so that we are asking for the best of other countries, not the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. Except in rare cases, the words inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty no longer apply. So if we've decided that we no longer ascribe to that ideal, shouldn't we take it down?
The United States has far fewer people per square mile than most any other industrialized nation. We don't lack the space, and as the demand for illegal aliens show, there are no shortage of jobs. It looks to me like the principles that people so often use to complain about aliens - government services, not speaking English, taking our crap jobs - have taken the place of a much older principle, and one that made this country diverse, and great.
Stop the presses!
The head of our morals and standards committee has actually stated (in public, no less!) that she is bringing her husband along to lunch with foreign gentleman of independent means! She's lunching with two men at the same time! Who knows where this will lead, my friends and neighbors?
And who knows the REAL reason her second lunching companion left his homeland? Did he abscond with the church funds? Run off with a cabinet minister's wife? Is there an even darker skeleton in the old cupboard?
Inquiry minds want to know!
To: DreadPirateRoberts,
My movie hero is Thomas Crown (both versions) so that should keep you all guessing and gossipping! (Ha!Ha!)
It is time for me to get out the ruler!
meanwhile and far away . . . . . . .