May 30th, 2006
Adore me or I'll Smack you!

Micah McCane wrote me last week and asked if I could help him do a poster for his summer show in Provincetown.

http://www.shutupIknow.blogspot.com

Knowing he's almost always broke, and being a big fan, I offered my services and punched out a campy design one Sunday evening and sent it off. A few revisions and edits later, and I'm thinking "Good Work Tommy, what a nice guy you are!"
Micha wrote yesteday to inform me I was one of several artisit who created posters for him, and he'll let me know if mine was chosen.

What is this, a poster beauty pageant? If I had known I had competition I would have stepped it up a bit. I thought he needed my help~ Guess not.

So much for being the reverred master of my craft . . .

Feedback to this article HERE

May 30th, 2006
How I'll spend my Summer Vacation

It's not too late to save your soul . . .
http://www.aidslifecycle.org/7051

Well, it's just a few days away. On Friday I fly via Southwest to San Francisco to join 2000 of my closest friends for a week-long bike tour of California. Nothing but biking, and eating and sleeping in tents for 10 days.

I no longer look at it as the scary butt-numbing sacrafice I used to, now I see it as a yearly opportunity to get out of dodge city for a while and recharge my batteries.

I have (almost) met my goal for this year, and I have some packing to do. This week should be a little charged, with all I have to prepare before I leave. I was so surprised that with all the emails I sent out this year asking for help, some past donors have just flatly ignored me. It's a little disheartening really. I never ask for help from anyone who couldn't afford it financially. I guess it's just the principal.

And now for the gripe
I was very suprised by one friend who told me he wasn't going to donate to me because another friend of his was riding this year, and he donated to him. As if he's only allowed to donate to one rider? I would just prefer he tell me he's broke and leave it at that.
Again, I would never ask of anyone who I didn't think could afford it, so I suppose he can only afford to support one hero at a time. It's not like my request for donation was a surprise, I've been doing this a long time, and being in San Francisco, he was always an intimate part of my launch. I was just kind of stunned by it, that's all.
I know the other rider, he's a well established professional, earns a good salary and runs in some high-level circle. I would not be surprised is he raised a 10k goal.

I'm starting to sound cynical, I know. A gift is a gift, and I'm not entitled to ANY amount of cash from anyone really. Being in this community, the riders, the roaders and other volunteers, puts you in the mindset of "Help whenever you can!"
So it's usually a bit of a surprise when you bump into the OPR (Other Peoples Reality) and realize "Oh, right, I forgot. Not everyone is interested in saving the world"

God, what a whack- job I'm turning out to be.

On a happier front
The donor T-shirts will be delivered this week, hopefully before I leave for San Francisco.

I have to get my shipping envelopes ready before they arrive, then it will just be a matter of stuffing and mailing them off. I'd like to get eveyones T-shirt in the mail before I leave with a note inviting them to the closing ceremonies, and then to our home for a celebratory beer afterwards.
Of course, I do have to run this by my partner . . . .

Feedback to this article HERE

Who knew the deck could hold so many drunken sailors?
I'll have pics for you later in the week.

Lei for Pay
As guests arrived and made themselves known, I would offer them a lei, and take them by the hand the Lei Station that happened to also be where the donation forms and drop-box were located in the kitchen. This modest and simple gesture reminded my lovely guests that it was a fundraiser, and I invited them to donate, letting them know that evey $10 donated gets them a raffle ticket, and $50 get's them that PLUS an Official Donor T-shirt.
This worked better than I thought, because by 10 p.m. there was a line to the donor forms. Yeeha!


Say what you like about the boy, but he has connections!
My Ride buddy Pedro wanted to participate in the party, so he pulled some strings and got tons of items for the raffle.We gave away Sex toys from Fun factory,(Their motto is "Love Yourself", kewl!) Dinners to Gauchos Village and Allegria, and Official Donor Coffee Mugs. There were more winners than losers, and everyone went home happy.

I don't know how he does it, but Pedro got a cake made by Reggie Southerland,(http://www.eatlikeadiva.com) a finalist on Food Networks "Next Food Network Star", a cocoanut/Pinapple wonder of confectionary bliss that was gobbled-up faster than I could say "Just a sliver for me please!"

My guests were in the dining room having tonguegasms while I'm trying to pry through the crowd to get a look at the cake before it's completely gone.

Note to self: write Reggie and email and tell him how well it went over.

HELP NEEDED!
Pedro is still working to reach his goal, with less than 2 weeks to go before we ride.
You can donate to his ride by visiting his webpage at www.aidslifecycle.org/7029

Feedback to this article HERE

I travel two days a week to San Diego now, working my graphic design magic on yet another unsuspecting community. It was easy at first, office personell would volunteer to collect me from the station and cart my butt around whenever I needed, but that system wore itself out after the first 6 months, and after a very expensive cab ride to the RV suite I'd set up as my second home, I decided to do something about handling my own transportation.

As I write this from the Amtrak Surfliner southbound to Solana beach, my Honda Elite 80 (That's a scooter) is patiently waiting for me at the bike rack of the station, alongside two other Hondas, one black, one red, and a very pricey looking Vespa that will serve as the bait to any theives that are looking for a shiny new ride.
Yes, I chained it up, but we all know chains and cables are small deterrants to those who have their hearts set on assumed-ownership of something as sexy as a scooter like mine.

I ride the 30 minute ocean-side jaunt to Mira Mesa, along the bike path. Ocean view through Torrey pines with my Laptop backpack strapped to my shoulders.
It's cheap. $3 to fill the tank, and I can make a months worth of trips like this without having to fill up. Driving the distance would mean $50 in gas, three hours in traffic one way, and no time to blog. The Amtrak is $44 round trip, and I can get it cheaper if I buy a Month's worth of rides in advance.

The only downside I can see is the dorkish visage I see in shop windows as I zip buy in dress slacks, black socks in designer shoes, and my nerd glasses under an oversized helmet. I'm certain there's an image of me in some stock photography catalog somewhere. I am truly the picture of the 21st century commuter in Southern California.

Feedback to this article HERE

May 9th- 2006
Combatting the silent invasion

Listening to opinions being expressed on the trains lately, I overheard one woman referring to the issue of illegal immigration as "The Silent Invasion".

Then I read in the paper about one community that is doing something to combat this phenomenon, which many local residents appparently see as a serious problem that must be dealt with.

A San Bernardino measure that would prohibit landlords from renting to illegal immigrants and force day laborers to prove legal residency to work has qualified for a special election. The initiative is specifically aimed to circumvent a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting public schools from asking students for proof of legal residency.

"If an undocumented family can't live in the city, they can't send their children to public schools," said anti-immigration activist Joe Turner.

The proposal also would ban taxpayer funded day labor centers, mandate that city business be in English and deny permits to businesses hiring illegal immigrants. In most cases, violators would be fined $1,000.

I was a bit surprised and a little horrified when I read this in the paper. It's seems less like an illegal immigration dissentive, and more like an ass-kick to those the city of San Bernardino sees as "Invaders".

Aside from my personal opinion on the right and wrong ways to deal with this issue, there are some other factors I think the city of San Bernardino is not considering:

The Measure Passes, then what?
Do the Authors of this measure believe that roughly 50% of the 100,000 hispanic residents of that city are going to pack up their suitcases and move back to Mexico?

At best they will move outside the city limits, creating a serious housing shortage for neighboring towns and counties, and a massive housing glut in San Bernardino.

At worst, they'll simply end up on the streets, unable to work and homeless, entire families, with their shelter and income taken from them, would not even be able to afford a bus ticket to Tijuana. Regardless, many of the undocumented will see this outcome as tragic, but better than what they would face back in Mexico.

Does San Bernardino have any plans in the works to deal with this new problem? Will San Bernardino choose to modify it's policies on shelters and soup kitchens to make sure illegals are not taking advantage of those taxpayer-funded services as well?

The shot in the foot heard round the world
What about the hundreds of local businesses that depend on illegal immigrants for their labor? A delicate balance has been established in the labor industry that relies heavily on the readiness and affordability of labor. It may not be politically correct, or even ethical sometimes, but the fact is that business funding and finance does not move as fast as these ballots do. The result of this measure on local business will be devastating. Hard working, well established business will not able to afford the new challenges of finding and paying for non-immigrant labor. Everything from Restaraunts to contractors, sewing shops, hospitals and of course, the orchards and vegetable fields will be in some sort of trouble. I predict many small business will need to either seriously downsize, or shut down altogether. That can't be good for San Bernardinos tax base.

Aside from any claims of "Mean Spirited" legislation, this idea just does not seem to be well thought out. Today I'm glad I don't live in this little city, 70 miles east of Los Angeles, but there is no guarantee that these same measures won't end up on a ballot before me in November either.

Feedback to this article HERE

May 1- 2006

Where have you been?

Have you been keeping up with the news about immigrant uprisings in southern California and the rest of the nation?
I have been asking everyone I know about the situation and the subject seems to be pretty polarized. Those of immigrant decent are asking for immigration reform to make it easier for those who have come here illegally to become U.S. Citizens. Those who disagree are armed with legislation that would make it a felony to be in this country illegally, or to assist in any way those who came into this country without the benefit of a visa or a green card.
It seems to me both sides are missing some valuable points, and neither is listening.


My American-born impressions
Those U.S. born friends of mine I have interviewed all seem to be saying the same thing.
"They don't belong here" they tell me,"So who the hell are they to demand anything?"
Some even go as far as to accuse "Them" of sucking the life out of our infrastructure, taking advantage of the rights and benefits of normalized Americans, and not paying any taxes.

What they're missing:
My American friends seem to think it's a very simple issue, but it's really quite complicated. Current proposed legislation would make it a felony, and would set up anyone here for less than three years to deportation. The new legislation is a little harsh, there are other ways of creating dissentives to illegal immigration without making felons of people. There is a culture, many years old, of illegal immmigration that needs to be dis-assembled, rather than erradicated. Peoples lives, and families are at stake.
We're not talking about drug-traffiking or smuggling, we're talking about human beings, trying to better themselves. The rule-makers need to be a bit more sensitive to that fact.


The Immigrant side:
My latin-american friends seem to all be saying the same thing as well, which leads to me believe they can make sense of something no one on the other side can.

I have read protests signs that say "No Human Being is illegal" and "It's our home too".
When interviewing second and third generation immigrants, their argument is one of entitlement. 'Who's going to pick your lettuce?" one friend asked me. "Sewing shirts, taking out your trash, mowing your lawn, face it, you need us!"
Though he makes a point, he didn't answer my question, which was "Why do you feel you deserve to be here?"

What a lot of us on this side of the issue don't get is how many self-imported immigrants had to go through absolute hell to get here. Saving money for years, paying smugglers(Coyotes) a kings ransom to get across, risking death and losing all they've saved for the small chance that they might actually make it into the U.S. and find a job and a place to live. Life in the U.S. as a migrant worker picking fruits or vegetables for 10 hours a day for far less than minimum wage is somehow worth it all. Not going through all this is worse than the risk, that should tell us something. Life in other Latin American countries is so bad, that these people see that they really have no choice. The fact is, if this proposed legislation was enacted 20 years ago, many of the people I talked to would not be here today.


What they're missing:
I don't hear any arguments from those in the community that are here legally, and in all fairness, their voices are needed here. I think this battle would boil down to one of fairness. I see in my mind a political cartoon, with a line of people waiting to enter the U.S., in the line are French characters in berets, Chinese and other asians in traditional garb, Dutch girls and German men holding steins of beer, all waiting patiently in cue.

At the head of the line we see an moment between an immigration official and a crowd of Latin Americans, the punch line reads "Hey Señors and Señoritas, get back in line and stop butting ahead of everybody- Wait Your Turn!"

The point being that in all fairness, rushing the border is not just illegal, it's rude. People of countries that don't border the U.S. don't have an easy access, but then again, no one really does.


The Solution as I see it:
When I proposed to friends that we can fix the problem by sending industry to Latin America they laughed at me. My solution was to make south of the border communites attractive and self-sustaining enough so that fewer people found it a necessary evil to come across. The fact is that this proposal would be just a band-aid for a bigger problem.
Immigrants are flooding into this country for reasons beyond earning potential, it's infrastructure that they crave, as simple as clean water to drink, and as complicated as a real education for the children. These problems cannot be fixed readily by an infusion of cash in the form of salaries for workers.
Taxing the implanted industry would help solve small community issues eventually, but not until the corrupt leaders line their pockets. Corruption in government is a plague that it would take generations to fix, and there in infuses the problem as "Unfixable" in the short term.

Regardless, even if these two sides come to some conclusion, the bottom line is simple.
illegal immigrants(and lets face it, if you come into this country through improper channels, it's an easy call) will have little voice or say in the matter. Those that are here legally will vote on your behalf, and probably lose the fight. Let's hope that whatever the final decision is, it's empathetic and compassionate, practical and fair.

Feedback to this article HERE