Right idea, wrong approach...

Immigration reform, it's the big topic up for debate right now. It's being covered by all the mainstream media, and it has people pretty riled up. People on both the right and the left want to do something about illegal immigrants coming into this country. However, both sides don't see eye to eye when it comes to a solution (insert shocked face here). This subject has been an issue for years, but now it is all Obama's fault that nothing has been done. Forget the fact that nothing was done before him. Well, Arizona got tired of waiting for the federal government to do something, they took matters into their own hands. In my opinion, the resolution they came up with is completely flawed, and will cause more harm than good.

Jan Brewer, Arizona's governor signed into law a bill that would require police to ask for immigration papers from anyone whom they have a "reasonable suspicion" might be in the country illegally. Law-enforcement officials are also empowered to detain anyone they hold in such suspicion. Cool, let's pass a bill that encourages racial profiling. That should turn out well, right?! For those of you who ask what is so wrong with racial profiling, let me tell you what I think is wrong with it. We are a country that has worked extremely hard to end racial hate and prejudice. This bill takes us a step backwards as a nation, and invites us to once again pull over or question people solely based on race. Not to mention the aggravation that will be felt by the countless number of legal US citizens that will be questioned, or possibly detained, over something simple like forgetting your wallet at home.

Perhaps a different approach would be to reach out to government officials in Mexico and work together on some sort of plan that would drastically reduce or eliminate future illegal immigrants from crossing over the border via underground tunnels or in the trunk of a beat up old car. I'm cool with investing in the construction of a giant wall that lines the US / Mexico border and cover it with armed snipers. I am also cool with deporting anyone back to where they came from if pulled over at a road block and are undocumented or arrested due to committing an actual crime. Hell, I'm cool with checking in with business owners, ensuring all their employees are properly documented and accounted for.

I admit, I don't have the answers for what to do, but I do know that what is being done in Arizona is "unacceptable and un-American" (to quote a Republican). What do you guys think, did Arizona do the right thing, or are they going to cause more harm than good? I see this getting messy. I'm just saying...

Some random thoughts to lead you into a rainy and cold weekend...

First of all, this weekend's weather is going to suck. Temps are supposed to be in the low 40's, rain and the nasty "s" word are possible all weekend. All I really wanted to do was get my lawn mowed, put in a patio and get some various other outdoor projects at least started. Well, that won't happen, sounds like I'll be inside trying to stay dry all weekend. Since the weather has me all doom and gloom heading into the weekend, thought I would try to perk myself up by tossing some random thoughts for discussion out there. Here it goes...

The lovely Tea Party folks decided to rally all across the country yesterday. Being April 15th, tax day, they decided they would all hang out near the various state's capital buildings and in places like Monument Square, while shouting something negative about Obama and/or complaining about taxes. Newsflash y'all, this isn't the first tax day, it happens every year. We all hate it, now move on.

Apparently rapper Jay-Z is suing Boston Red Sox DH David Ortiz over the name of Big Papi's night club in the Dominica Republic, the Forty-Forty Club. Turns out Mr. Z has himself a number of clubs around the world called the 40/40 Club. They have accused Ortiz of trading on the fame, value and goodwill of their name through his club Forty/Forty and its website, www.fortyforty.net, which they say has caused their business 'marketplace confusion and damage,' the lawsuit said. Hey Jay-Z, if I were you, I would worry less about this non issue and work on fixing your joke of an NBA team, the New Jersey Nets. Jigga what?

Parents in Temple, TX are asking for paddling to be brought back as a form of punishment in the school system. Really?! I thought smacking a kid was banned nationwide years ago?! Apparently 20 states, most of which are in the South, still can legally use corporal punishment. I'm sure a politician will attempt to ban this form of punishment altogether very soon. In a country where physical punishment is outlawed in prisons, I'm not sure how in the hell it is still allowed to happen in schools. I'm sure the kids are acting better, for fear of taking a wooden paddle to the ass in front of classmates, but I don't see this lasting long before it goes away for good.

Best show on television right now is, hands down, Modern Family. I'm not sure if you have seen this show or not, but you have to. It's on ABC on Wednesday nights, and it is effing hilarious! It follows the lives of three families, all related, and has got to be one of the most realistic, laugh out loud funny shows in a long time.

A majority of people in South Carolina didn't vote for Barack Obama and many didn't want any part of his stimulus cash, and folks in a particularly poor, hard-hit town near the Georgia line were no exception. Until the stimulus money showed up. Is it so bad that the money was sent to all parts of the country to help spur the economy? Or would you have felt better if the government didn't give this money and so many people would be out of a job, living off your hard earned money while that sit at home watching tv? Either way, we are paying for it, might as well get more out of it I say.

Now that the weekend is officially here, I'm going to wish you all a very enjoyable holiday weekend (Patriot's Day is on Monday, who knew!) and I will be back on Tuesday to entertain you. Now off to enjoy me some Alvin and the Chipmunks with Miss Kerrigan! I'm just saying...

Hey honey, can you grab me a coffee from town, oh, and don't forget to bring your gun?!

Supporters of the right to openly carry firearms are planning a public event Sunday, April 25, in Portland. That's right, a rally, across from the Back Cove Hannaford, where people will be there to support the right to openly carry a gun. I'm all for sane people owning guns, assuming there is some sort of background check done prior to purchase. What I'm not all for is people carrying them around on their belt as if it is a damn cell phone or pager. Am I alone here? Does this not seem to be a potentially slippery slope?

It turns out that it is entirely legal in the great State of Maine to openly carry a firearm. I don't mean that rifle in the back window of Joe Buckhunter's Ford F150, I mean it's totally legal for Johnny Quickfingers to openly carry a gun around town. In Maine, you don't even need a permit to openly carry! Now, that doesn't mean that individual locations can't tell you to leave it in the car, but people are working towards making it completely legal to be able to carry it anywhere you go. Perhaps I am missing something here, but what exactly is the need to carry a gun? Doesn't that only encourage the possible use of said firearm? What happens when Billy Notsosmart forgets to put the safety on and takes a chunk out of Little Suzy's leg at the park? And for what reason, so you can make up for your lack of manhood? Go buy a Hummer toolbag, you don't need to carry a gun around.

I'm sure people will come back with all sorts of reasons why this is no problem and that I'm only making a big deal out of nothing. I will finish with this quick reminder. Guns don't kill people, idiots with guns kill people. I'm just saying...

My first eating challenge equals a very fully belly, duh!

To put it mildly, I'm more than a little obsessed with the show Man vs. Food on A&E. I mean, seeing all those crazy eating challenges and all the wonderful and ridiculous meals out there is just entertaining for me. Seriously, how does one get a job like that?! I spent my teenage years eating my parents out of house and home, but is that a good thing to put on a resume?! Well, I'm not so sure it is in the cards for me, but that won't stop me from checking out some of the same spots as Adam Richman from the show, starting with Eagle's Deli in Boston, my new favorite burger joint.

Nichole and I recently made a trip to Eagle's with the Flynn's. It was a maiden voyage, and I had every intention to start with the smallest challenge on the list, the Nick Lachey (yup, that Nick Lachey) Burger. It's a one and a half pound burger with 6 slices of cheese and 6 slices of bacon with a half pound of fries. Well, I got to the counter to order it and totally chickened out. This past Monday though, I was determined to get it and put it down, so we made a return trip.



Well, my buddy Ryan and I eat took on the smallest of the challenges, and were surprised with how much damn food even this challenge was! 3 half pound patties, dripping in grease, covered in American cheese and bacon and a pile of fries. DAMN!! Ryan nearly quit at first sight, but chugged along and put the whole burger down, choosing to break it up into sections, since it was too damn big to take a normal bite out of. I did the same thing, cutting it in half and attacking on burger at a time. I was able to finish off the burger just ahead of Ryan, but neither one of us was able to do too much damage to the fries. That was a lot of burger, and I'm not really sure how anyone could finish the Eagles Challenge, a 5 pound burger with 20 slices of cheese, 20 strips of bacon and 5 pounds of fries! The burger is VERY good, but that is just crazy!

I plan on making another trip to finish what I have started, I can't let that pansy Nick Lachey finish all that food and not finish it myself, that's embarrassing! I'm just saying...

Where does one even begin?!

I've been to a good number of Red Sox games in my life. I've been to the playoffs, I've seen walk off home runs. I've been down on the field, and gotten my picture taken with players and members of ownership. Kerrigan once got a ball from Okajima, and we later had it signed by Jon Lester. We've been pretty lucky, to say the least. Well, Sunday night topped it all.

Sunday night was Opening Night at Fenway Park, against our bitter, hated rivals, the defending champion New York Yankees. Opening Day comes with lots of fanfare. It's a new beginning. For the team that won the World Series the previous season, it's a chance to defend the title. For everyone else, it's a chance to to start fresh. In a 162 games schedule, this first game doesn't mean everything, but it sure is nice to start the season with a win, especially in front of the home fans. Over the years, many things have become commonplace on Opening Day. The Ceremonial First Pitch is one of those things. Former Red Sox fireballer and Pedro Martinez was on hand Sunday night and got a standing ovation from the Fenway faithful. Another ritual is someone shouting out "Play Ball". Fenway favorite Johnny Pesky had the honor this year, officially kicking off the 2010 season. In addition to the aforementioned moments, this night saw a few other unforgettable memories.

5 year old Joshua Sacco gave the pregame pep talk, his own version of the famous Herb Brooks speech given to the US Olympic Hockey Team in the 1980 games. Fenway Park was going crazy for this kid! I can't stop listening to it, and I can't stop smiling. It was a great start to the game, and everyone in attendance was on their feet.

When you think of rock and roll bands from Boston, who is one of the biggest acts you think of first? Aerosmith, right? Well, God Bless America, a song that is traditionally sung during the 7th inning stretch of all baseball games was sung by none other than Steven Tyler. He may have needed to read the words off the jumbotron above our heads in centerfield, but what a cool moment that was!

If you have been to Fenway Park before, you know about Sweet Caroline, the classic song by Neil Diamond. Well, instead of blasting Neil over the CD player in the announcer's box, they decided to have Neil himself come onto the field and sing it in person! We had heard some rumors that he might be there, but the place went into a frenzy (with the exception of the wasted chick behind us, she was passed out cold!) Simply amazing for any Red Sox fan.

These were just the extra things that Opening Day brings along with it. The game, now that was even better! After getting out to a quick start, the Yankees were up 5-1, before things fell apart for the Evil Empire. Boston mounted not one, but two rallies, capped off by a two run shot over the Green Monster by Dustin Pedroia. The place was going insane. Sitting in the centerfield bleachers for a Yankees game is the only way to go, unless you have your kids, in which case, bad place to be! We must have seen a dozen people escorted out, mostly just for being rowdy or throwing an empty beer cup. There was chanting, the wave, lots of talk back and forth between fans and more excitement than one could ever expect at a regular season game. Like I said, I've been to a lot of games, but this was, hands down, the best game I have ever been to. Willy Belly, we can't thank you enough man, what a great game!